I Have Found 'The Perfect Gift'

Recently while reviewing some of my posts from years past, I came across one from 2017 that struck a chord with me, regarding the search of so many people for 'the perfect gift.'

What is 'the perfect gift' about which commercials breathlessly -- and loudly -- babble endlessly? Why does the search for 'the perfect gift' cause people to rush to the malls in the dark, stand in the cold, and risk life and limb to buy things they can't afford?

After visiting Africa 10 or 11 times over the past few years, my perspective on what is important has changed considerably. Never one to engage in the mad dash to buy 'the perfect gift,' I am now even more aware of the crushing poverty that envelopes so much of the world. And having that knowledge has made me even more resolved to do something to help.

Prior to starting on a safari in South Africa, I visited the Soweto region of Johannesburg, a very impoverished area. I learned about the after-school program operated by the Kliptown Youth Program that offers tutoring and computer skills to students, as well as sports and arts. I also saw the one-room tin shack in which a mother and her children lived. The community was excited to have recently obtained access to running water -- not in each shack, but through a community pump. Details are available at: https://www.kliptownyouthprogram.org.za/

I visited Ethiopia, where starvation and poverty continue to afflict much of the population.

A few years ago a friend and I visited a school in rural Kenya that has no electricity or running water, only a few books, no computers or high-tech equipment. Each classroom has dirt floors, and the children, all neatly dressed in uniforms, walk miles to school every morning and home again in the afternoon. Another group I follow on Facebook posted about the shoes the children wear, made of old rubber tires. American children would be mortified to be seen wearing rubber shoes, but these kids are excited to have any kind of footwear. 

So pardon me if I don't get excited about America's annual shopping -- and spending -- frenzy. I prefer to put my Christmas spirit into worthwhile causes. I have a small family, and my siblings and I long ago gave up exchanging gifts. We all have everything we need, and if there is something we want, we buy it for ourselves. I may send them a box of cookies or candy, but nothing extravagant.

Instead, I am sponsoring a Kenyan girl from a rural area so she can finish high school. The first student I sponsored has finished her high school education. I will donate to the hospice that cared for my father at the end of his life, and to a couple of animal rescue groups. I also will donate food and money to the local food bank as I do every year. My check to Meals on Wheels is already on its way to help provide food to elderly shut-ins.

The older I get, the less I need things. And really, I don't want people to give me things. I value the feeling that comes from knowing I have helped those in need, especially given the overwhelming suffering and sadness in our world. So many in the US are struggling after the ravages of a pandemic that continues to rage across much of the country. Conditions in less developed countries are even worse, even without the added problems caused by the pandemic.

I value experiences gained from travel, and the friendships I have made during those travels. On Thanksgiving Day, I was thrilled to get an e-mail from a friend I met several years ago during a trip to Kenya. We have traveled together, along with a friend from Scotland, a few more times as well. That e-mail, updating me about what she has been doing and checking in with me, was more valuable than anything money can buy. I also got messages from two women I met during a trip to Tanzania earlier this year, wishing me a happy Thanksgiving. One of them mentioned how blessed she feels to have met me. THAT is 'the perfect gift' for me!

I don't need more clothes or more knicknacks to collect dust. Experiences, memories and digital images from my travels don't clutter the house or require dusting. 

Feeling more connected in some small way to people on the other side of the planet, being able to help people with whom I have little in common, and knowing that I can help those less fortunate in my own country, really is my 'perfect gift' during the holiday season and throughout the year.