On Reckless Generosity
And helping strangers as a way of coping with awful times
Come back with me to the year 2018. Times were... (okay, in retrospect they seem idyllic) but I was super stressed.
I was preparing to move my family cross-country, so naturally, instead of packing I was scrolling Instagram.
I came across a friend’s post saying that she had donated to Joseph Nsereko, a man who was running an orphanage in Uganda. Now, friends - I KNOW that you’re not supposed to give money to people on Instagram. I know there are lots of scams out there. Fake charities. Phony contests. A Nigerian prince who needs a small loan. I know, I know.
But I contacted Joseph, and through our IG messages I felt sure that he was a good man doing good work. I recklessly donated a small amount of money -- for which he was deeply grateful.
Over the next few years, we got to know each other. Joseph would reach out if they had an urgent need and I’d send a small donation. On IG I spectated as he bought a goat, prepared a Christmas feast for the kids, and asked for donations for school fees.
And then, in 2020, I pretty much ghosted him when you-know-what hit.
I was stressed to the max, I was worried about money, I couldn’t be bothered to even read any messages sent to me on Instagram because I was having trouble answering emails. When my thinking cleared, I saw he’d sent me a lot of messages that I’d not answered.
I felt terrible about that, especially when I thought about how much I had actually gotten in return for my modest donations.
I was getting to see real evidence of my participation in improving the lives of children. And because I was sending him money directly, my small donations went very far. Every so often he had sent me a video or a photo of a smiling child holding a sign that said “Thank you Auntie Emmy!” Donating to the orphanage was something concrete and simple I could do that was good. Good. Purely good. Purely helpful.
And to be honest -- which I am being here (what is it about turning 54 that allows you to tell the truth so easily?) -- I was not sending that much money. The sporadic donations I was sending in 2019 wouldn’t even cover dinner out at a restaurant in LA, but it could feed the entire orphanage for two weeks.
During the time I’d forgotten to help the orphanage, there’d been a welcome development. Joseph had gotten a PayPal account, which made sending him money a lot easier. Before that I’d had to send money by Western Union and get the tracking info to him, then he’d have to travel to Kampala to pick it up. But now I could easily send a donation and he could access it on his phone.
With all this in place, I started making a monthly donation to the New Life Orphanage.
What has happened has been so wonderful to watch. Before my eyes, Joseph has added buildings. They have a flock of chickens. They have a schoolroom for the youngest children! It’s such a joy to see the improvements in the lives of these beautiful children, half the world away.
My invitation to you today is to get to participate in this joyful and reckless generosity!
If you have a bit of discretionary money you can spend, will you consider joining me in a GoFundMe I have set up?
(Over there you will see I’ve posted a shorter version of this story, plus a list of the items he’s trying to buy.)
Donate to the GoFundMe right here.
Or you can enjoy some fun videos he has sent me here.
Or just reach out to Joseph directly! Find him on Instagram at @94new_life -- he’s a genuinely lovely person to correspond with. (Check out his cool Nickelodeon shirt! ♥️)
I send lots of love to you in these confusing, troubled times. And if it feels too difficult to help a stranger today or if you don’t have any discretionary funds at your disposal, I fully understand. I hope you can make some space to do something nice for yourself today. This meditation on Headspace always helps me when I feel overwhelmed or lost.
With love,
Emmy