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The things we take for granted
Posted in: Blog by Leo Johnson on June 25, 2010
Can you imagine if we didn’t have a library in Hamilton, or Ontario for that matter? This would be unthinkable. A library is an educational support system that is accessible to both the rich and the poor in Canada, but we often take it for granted. So much so that we think it is an automatic part of our existence.
I realize that it is important to clearly define what it means to take things for granted. Taking something for granted is all about privileges that we enjoy which are usually overlooked. This is exactly what most of us do with a public library.
Who would have thought that in the year 2010, Africa’s oldest Republic with a population of about 3.5 million people would be without a single library? A lot of you may be scratching your head right now, but it is the reality of the situation in Liberia. I also struggle to accept it sometimes, but I have lived through this fact during my elementary, junior and senior high school years. Every time I walk into a library or a book store today, I have mixed feelings. I have mixed feelings because in our society we have so much that we forget what it means to be without.
We take things for granted because we are so concerned with what we don’t have that we forget about what we do have. I wish it was the other way around because every time we place less value on what we have and only focus on what we lack, we fail to appreciate the significance of our privileges. With this attitude, we also fail a fundamental principle of humanity – sharing. Our failure to share what we already have is a result of our inability to see beyond ourselves even when we are in a more fortunate position.
I do not want to take anything away from the hard work and determination that have made our society what it is. In fact, I want us to appreciate what we have more. There is no better way to do this than to share what we have with others who have never been allowed the chance to develop their societies according to their needs. In my view, sharing our opportunities with our fellow humans like the people in Liberia is the best way possible to celebrate what we have achieved. I know it is very easy for us to think we have our own problems and why worry about people in places like Liberia. I fully respect that view and I think it’s a valid point. But we have nothing less than 24 public libraries in Hamilton, there is not one in Liberia. We have at least 25 bookstores in Hamilton alone and there is not one in Liberia. Every time I have to go for lectures or visit the library, I am burdened with our inability to look beyond ourselves.I think it’s our responsibility to share rather than keep it all to ourselves.
For us at Empowerment Squared, we have decided to make a library in Liberia a reality sooner rather than later. Liberians do not want another make shift room full of storybooks that only last two to three years. For 20 years, various organizations and NGOs have collected books, and raised millions for education in Liberia. Instead of engaging the community in finding tangible solutions, they cleaned up makeshift structures and stacked mostly books which were irrelevant for Liberians. Because of this many of these books tended to become wrapping paper in market places and stores rather than being used as a valuable resource. It’s a shameful thing and we all should be feeling it.Many of us stretch our meager resources to donate to these organizations to help out.
At Empowerment Squared, we’ve spent three years developing a Library and Community Resource Center Project in consultation with the Liberian Community and various stake holders in Liberia. The project is in honor of a Liberian hero who demonstrated what it means to appreciate what you have while working on what is lacking. Samuel Kaboo Morris made an impossible journey a reality when he came to the United States in the 1800s and defied all odds to become successful, while saving a college from bankruptcy in the process. His dream to return home and contribute to education was put on hold when he lost his life to a severe cold.
After so many years of being put on hold, we have managed to put his dream into focus. It took the selflessness of people before us to have everything we enjoy today, it is our time to be selfless and share what we already have while we work harder to achieve what we lack. In doing so, we celebrate the hard work and accomplishment of our society and allow others the opportunity to be empowered.
