This story ran in our internal newsletter this month and references a recent opportunity the Africans at Microsoft community had to band together in support of a Burundian refugee family who had just arrived in the US with nothing, and were trying to establish themselves with the help of a local church. Africans reached out from all over the Seattle region - and some international Microsoft locations - to offer and supply funds, clothing, furniture, phone cards and food. It has been - and continues to be - an inspiring and heart warming example of how the community can be there for other Africans; and how when faced with a specific example of need (rather than an overwhelming and remote story), people are galvanized to take action.
 
Article below:

Did you know that we’ve reached a time in history where people simply don’t care about anything other than the individual? There’s research to prove it.

University of Oregon researcher, Paul Slovic, studied this phenomenon by presenting photographs to a group of subjects. In the first photograph eight children needed $300,000 to receive medical attention in order to save their lives. In the next photograph, one child needed $300,000 for medical bills. Most subjects were willing to donate to the one and not the group of children.

Here’s the kicker. Slovic later repeated the test, showing three photos to participants: a starving African girl, a starving African boy and a photo of both of them together.

Participants felt equivalent amounts of sympathy for each child when viewed separately, but compassion levels declined when the children were viewed together.

I don’t know if this study was US-centric, but it made me wonder if Africans also lack compassion.            

Then somebody sent a mail to the Africans alias about the plight of a local refugee family. And the outpouring of compassion and support from fellow Africans gave me hope that we do all believe our humanity is bound up in the lives of those around us. [FYI click here for an interesting article on Bill Gates in relation to Slovic's study].

I remembered the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, about an African philosophy called ubuntu: 

“Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human… I am human because I belong. I participate. I share. A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good…”

Makes me proud to be African at Microsoft!