Keeping quiet for Africa

Freddy Gray
     Freddy Gray
Deputy Editor, The Catholic Herald

God's watching him FATHER STEVEN KABOKA is a dynamic missionary who spends his time improving lives on the Ethiopian-Kenyan border, teaching locals how to fish.

Among many achievements, he has overseen the building of a local school and brokered a ceasefire between the local Turkana and Merille tribes. Both groups hold him in high regard: one Turkana couple even went so far as to name their baby girl FrStevenKaboka.

Having heard this man was in London, I sought an interview. “I would like very much to help you,” said Fr Steven in a kind, fruity Kenyan voice over the telephone. “But I think, for reasons of vanity, my missionary community would not allow it. But please come see me so I can show you what we do.”
“We don’t really want publicity, you see.”
So we met in a London hotel. He spoke to me about the Turkanas and the Merilles for some time and showed me photographs of both tribes. As we said goodbye I asked Fr Steven if he wanted me to write an article with a “plug” at the bottom so people could see how to give money to his cause. “No, I think maybe not,” he said. “We don’t really want publicity, you see.”

I was surprised, even a little suspicious. Journalists tend to regard people who shun press coverage as shifty – particularly if they are engaged with good causes. But speaking to Fr Steven and others who know him, I realised how different his understanding of charity was to mine. In our culture aid agencies want nothing more than publicity – and cash, I suppose – and thus fixate themselves with celebrities and the media.

Obviously Fr Steven’s Missionary Community of St Paul is less effective at generating funds than, say, Amnesty International. And of course – cue alarm bells in the secular psyche – their motivation is to spread the Christian faith. But is it not healthy for a charity to regard the proclamation of its virtuousness as distasteful and even perhaps morally wrong?

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Reader's comments

A philosophical dilemma
Submitted by alanc on Fri, 20/04/2007 - 12:06pm.

I think this could be an interesting case of a clash between deontological and teleological ethics. Personally I gravitate towards the latter standpoint and think the experience of the ‘end user’ in this moral equation – i.e the recipients of the charity – is where the best course of action lies. If advertising the charity will ultimately dilute the net positive effect on these recipients (say those who hear the call are discouraged for whatever reason), then I would argue this would be ‘immoral’. However, if Father Kaboka does not even venture this far with his reasoning and simply neglects to consider the net result then he is, in my opinion, foolish in the extreme. Whether he has made the calculation remains unclear so be so kind as to clarify.

Alan Abomingal


Ditch the celebs
Submitted by LBEC on Fri, 20/04/2007 - 11:55am.

Fr Kaboka may be pointing the way for the charitable sector. The current reliance on celebrity endorsements is wearing thin. There are too many stars promoting too many causes and the whole notion of charity is trivialised by this alliance with celebrity culture. It would be refreshing for charities to  ditch the egotistical celebs and corny publicity stunts, and trust that the public will support them if they communicate their causes sincerely and directly. 

 

 


Money talks
Submitted by Anirudh on Fri, 20/04/2007 - 10:54am.

While proclaiming one's virtuousness may be distateful, I do not believe it would have been morally wrong for Fr Steven Kabola to have agreed to the Catholic Herald "plugging" his charity. Surely the increase in cash that may have resulted from such publicity would have been beneficial to the Kenyans he seeks to help. Could it not be seen as morally wrong to turn down the possibilty of such resources?

Is this article not a "plug"?

Anirudh Chakravarty


Humility
Submitted by LMC on Wed, 18/04/2007 - 5:15pm.

Well, as a flag-flying atheist, I would just like to say that right up until the last paragraph (whose question I am not going to answer) I think this story is really rather wonderful.

I'm guessing that Fr Kaboka has been in the area for "years". It's the combination of local knowledge and wider world view that has really improved the lives of the people he's helping.

Positive proof that "cash" does not equal "solution" and that the West doesn't always know best.

-----------------------------------------------

... nearly Vlad the Impaler


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