The authenticity of the proverb has been the subject of some controversy, however, as there is no evidence that the proverb genuinely originated with any African culture, although numerous proverbs from different cultures across Africa have been noted that convey similar sentiments in different ways: "While it is interesting to seek provenance in regard to the proverb, 'It takes a village to raise a child,' I think it would be misleading to ascribe its origin to a single source.... Let me give a few examples of African societies with proverbs which translate to 'It takes a village...': In Lunyoro (Banyoro) there is a proverb that says 'Omwana takulila nju emoi,' whose literal translation is 'A child does not grow up only in a single home.' In Kihaya (Bahaya) there is a saying, 'Omwana taba womoi,' which translates as 'A child belongs not to one parent or home.' In Kijita (Wajita) there is a proverb which says 'Omwana ni wa bhone,' meaning regardless of a child's biological parent(s) its upbringing belongs to the community. In Kiswahili the proverb 'Asiyefunzwa na mamae hufunzwa na ulimwengu' approximates to the same."
Despite rather or not its origin can be given to one source or not is irrelevant. What is relevant in today’s time particularly regarding, this war on our youth, is the fact does it mean anything today. I still believe that it does take a village to raise a child however ultimately the responsibility of parenting does rest on the shoulders of parents or legal guardians of children but to some degree I believe as a community or as society have to be good examples for our children to look up to outside of their homes because not all children have good parents. Therefore it is up to the community to help children overcome many of the obstacles or barriers they endure at home.
"It takes a village to raise a child" and the proverb is from Igbo and Yoruba regions of Nigeria and the basic meaning is that raising a child is a communal effort. It is to be taken to mean that the responsibility lays not only with the parents, but also with the extended family and in some cases the community. I believe this is still true and that many of us in America still believe this.
Many African cultures share this school of thought, the proverb is echoed in the Sukuma "One knee does not bring up a child", and in the Swahili proverb "One hand does not nurse a child." If we look closely at our own culture, we can even loosely compare this to our own scripture in Ecclesiastes 4:9,12 and a mother's self-sacrificing love Isaiah 49:15-16. But do we believe it?
It is sad to say that in the world that we live in today, letting a whole village, or in our case anyone other than trusted family members and close friends raise our child could be a very dangerous and or deadly mistake. Have we not so soon forgotten about Elizabeth Smart, Shawn Hornbeck, Polly Klaas, and too many more to list? These are children who were abducted either from their own homes or from "safe" places in their communities. It is a sad but simple truth, but you just don't know your neighbors, and sometimes, you don't even really know your friends.
In Dallas, Texas 1996 there was an incident that arose and caused some controversy over this saying. The incident involved a group of kids who broke into a local mall. Four security guards who were on duty caught, and whipped the children. The children's parents said that the guards were wrong in their actions, that they had no right to discipline the children. The guards’ response to this was that they did have a right because "It is the village that raises the children." I cannot think of any court of law that would agree with the guards. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law-not by security guards. These were children, minors. They should have been tried as minors.
The guards used Clinton’s book as an excuse to carry out their own type of martial law, and it was wrong. Words are powerful things. People must take caution in their usage, and even more caution in making sure they understand their meanings. The statement "It takes a village to raise a child" does not give a security guard the right to whip my child no matter what side of the law he or she is on.
It is my feeling that it is a parent’s job to raise their children, and yes, we all need family, but don't rely so heavily on them. If you do entrust your children into the care of someone else, check them out thoroughly. Get background checks and references. It is a sad state to be in, but necessary.
Now I am not saying that a village or community cannot play a positive role in raising our children but parents shouldn’t be leaning too much on others to do what they should be doing which is parenting. However as a community or village, we should chip in to help those good parents who are struggling and we should also help those children who are looking for help in spite of having bad parents or legal guardians.
To meet the looming challenges of peak oil, climate instability, and economic irrationality, it does take a village to raise a child. This ancient African proverb teaches eternal truth. No man, woman, or family is an island. But in these the lean and mean 2000s, community isn't always what it is supposed to be. We'd all like to think we live in a place where people care about others -- where people pitch in to help when things get rough -- where it's safe to leave the doors unlocked and let the kids play around outside.
This isn't always what we experience. Instead of community, we find alienation; looking for safety, we are attacked by crime; hoping for a better life for our kids, we encounter gangs and drugs and the lies of television. People often retreat behind closed and double locked doors and try to ignore their neighbors. Politicians preach envy and hate, dividing us further instead of working for reconciliation. Being poor these days just isn’t what it used to be. Nobody Is An Island and that is why if we are to win this war on our youth, we must bring communal back to our own lives. We must help one another in these tough times in order to breed a new generation of youth who understand that we have more in common than many people would like to think.
During the Depression, there was plenty of poverty and misery. Jim Crow segregation viciously discriminated against peaceful, industrious, law-abiding citizens. The very face of the earth seemed turned against us, as the skies were darkened by the choking dust storms of the 1930s. People had many reasons to feel sorry for themselves. They called it the Depression because that's just exactly what it was. You know how you feel when you're depressed. Imagine how it is when the whole country gets that way at the same time. Well we don’t have to imagine because many of us for the last year and 9 months has felt that way at one point or another.
But people connected with each other during the Depression. They had family and friends around them. Everybody was broke and so everybody was in the same boat. And as everyone who is poor knows, there is nobody who is more generous than another poor person. So people helped each other out. Not only with the physical necessities of life -- such as food, clothing and shelter -- but also with the spiritual and emotional necessities. It's pretty awful when you feel like you are all alone and the whole world is against you. Life is a lot easier when you are part of a network of friends and family, a community, a neighborhood. Life is easier when you are part of a network of friends and family, a neighborhood.
Today poor people are pawns in games of poli-tricks. People say, "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, my grandparents and parents did". That may be true, but many of those "bootstraps" are no longer available today. And the first and foremost problem is that the supportive community of our grandparents day yet alone our parents day, the village, the neighborhood, that place where people looked out for each other and supported each other, where they shared joys and sorrows, good times and bad times, in many places is no more. It has gone the way of the gaslight, the horse, and the buggy. And we're paying a really big price for that loss.
It does take a village, to work with the family, to raise a child and weather the storms of life. If we want that kind of support, the place to begin is with ourselves. Community, like charity, begins at home. You start building a good neighborhood when you yourself decide that you will be a good neighbor. If you don't know anyone on your block, you can take the initiative. You can bake some bread and take it to your neighbors and introduce yourself. You can join a church and become part of that community. You can reach out to your own network of friends and start building community.
There are many things that we just don't have much control over. But like eating good food, building community is something that you can do, right here, right now, in the place where you are now -- whether or not you have a job, an education, or a car. Be the first one on your block to reach out and touch your neighbor. Find -- together in Christ -- a new sense of purpose and life on your street. Make your neighborhood your village and find the truth that humans have learned the hard way. United we stand, divided we fall -- cooperation is as important as competition. Maybe, at certain times and places, it's more important.
You start building a good neighborhood when you yourself decide that you will be a good neighbor. Just recently a flower shop in Michigan decided to promote “Good Neighbor Day” by giving away a dozen free roses to anyone who came in to get it as long as they gave 11 of them to their neighbors or to people they don’t know and kept just one rose for themselves. Well people these are the types of things that we should be doing anyway. These are the types of things that will help our youth see that there is real good in a community. It is actions such as this as well as getting to know the village you stay in that help build values in our youth.
No longer can we expect others to raise our children but as a community it does say something when we are all invested in our youth lives in a positive way and when we teach our youth just what it means to be a good neighbor. It takes a village to raise a child is not just a famous African Proverb and it shouldn’t be misconstrued to mean that as a village we should raise the children of others but instead it means that we as a village should help those parents who are being good parents when they seek help and we should help those children who don’t have good parents who are screaming for help but just don’t know how to say it.
It takes a village to raise a child means all of us have a responsibility in creating happy more safe communities that we stay in so that the lives of our youth can be better as a result of it. It takes a village to raise a child means that if we work together to uplift, encourage and motivate each other even in times of despair than we can give hope to our youth that the future can be different than today and they can play a role in creating that brighter & better future.
So this war on our youth will be won with a collective effort from everyone. Youth take responsibility for their own lives and their own future. Parents taking responsibility for being better parents and more of positive role models for their children. Teachers, administrators and educators in general taking responsibility for making sure they are giving youth the best education they can give them while they are school. Community leaders, politicians, religious leaders, and other stakeholders in youth lives especially other family members making sure they are being supportive networks for youth to lean on when times are tough at home. Also they need to make sure they are creating positive support systems to back up those parents are practicing good parenting skills so that youth know that it is a village that is trying to help them succeed and not just their parents.
It takes a village to raise a child and that is what it will take to win this war on our youth and to pave the way for a better future for them. Battles will be won thanks to the village and overall the war on our youth will be won because of everyone believing that it takes a village to raise a child. As a result of a village deciding to win this war on our youth once and for all, this will create a better future for generations of youth who will live and prosper.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD!
SAVE OUR YOUTH!
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