Eugene Cho

Africa is beautiful: The danger of how we frame the story of other nations and people.

Thank you for your prayers.

After about two weeks in Kenya and Tanzania, I’m back in Seattle. I spent most of my time in Kenya to assess ODW’s partnerships and projects in response to the worst drought the Horn of Africa (Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia) has encountered in the past 60 years. I have some both encouraging stories and difficult stories to share – as well as images – some of which I’ll share and some that’s best not to share.

But before I share some upcoming posts about things that discouraged me, encouraged me, and the rise of skepticism and cynicism in development, I wanted to share a post detailing how much I’ve enjoyed my two weeks in Africa, my first trip to East Africa, and my third visit to this beautiful continent.

In fact, this post may be the most important of the ones I share about my trip – even if it doesn’t directly engage the main purpose of my trip: to assess ODW’s Horn of Africa response.

The responsibility in story-telling.

It’s important because the last thing I want to do is perpetuate a false picture of how Africans or for that matter, people of all “developing” countries are perceived as helpless, hungry, needy, incapable, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

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stuff, connect, info

one day’s wages | video

my tweets

  • Dear Hong Kong: I'll be preaching this Sunday @TheVineHK at all 3 services: 9.15, 11.30, 4pm. Hope to see you there: thevine.org.hk || 5 hours ago
  • "Justice is the grammar of things. Mercy is the poetry of things." - Frederick Buechner || 1 day ago
  • Proud to support the work of @thesoldproject & @raegoble as they fight human trafficking in Thailand with dignity: onedayswages.org/donate/org/sol… || 1 day ago
  • Don't underestimate the impact of our purchasing power. May our spending and investing be consistent with our values and convictions. || 1 day ago
  • How quickly people forget some of Abercrombie & Fitch's t-shirt designs from 2002 including these racist classics: http://t.co/vF5eGW0x80 || 1 day ago
  • The best way to make a statement against Abercrombie & Fitch isn't to exploit the homeless for a publicity stunt. Rather, just boycott AF. || 1 day ago
  • "My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ & I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it." - Brennan Manning || 1 day ago
  • Justice is not peripheral to God's story. Justice is mentioned over 200x in the Scriptures. It's not optional, it's central. Seek justice. || 1 day ago

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