Why Do We Give?

Why do we give? Why do we contribute to Growth Through Learning or to any other charitable organization? Why do we care what happens to a young East African woman who we will probably never meet? Why help anyone? This is an age-old query and one that has been pondered and studied by great philosophers and thinkers throughout history.

Albert Einstein, who was both a thinker and philosopher, writes in the opening of his book, The World As I See It, “What is the meaning of human life?” He believed that we are on this planet to help each other. He said, “We exist for other people – the many unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy.”

John Donne, a seventeenth century English poet in his famous poem, For Whom The Bell Tolls, tells us, “No man is an island.” Anyone’s death diminishes all of us. “Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.” In our American vernacular: We’re all in this together.

In the Gospel of Matthew, it is written that we will be judged not by how much treasure we build up on earth, but by how we treat the least of our brothers. We believe that some of the least of our “brothers” are our sisters in East Africa.

The best way to improve the quality of life, to fight poverty, is through the education of young women. We have the ability to empower these women. Education will help them to be better mothers, teachers and leaders of the future. It will assist them in becoming more productive members of society. By giving to GTL, we plant seeds that will bear fruit though we may not always see the result. We think of it as a harvest that begins today and multiplies into the future – one student at a time.