Living and Revitalizing Ubuntu: Challenges of Passing on Ubuntu Values to the Younger Generation and Attempted Strategies to Overcome Them

Living and Revitalizing Ubuntu: Challenges of Passing on Ubuntu Values to the Younger Generation and Attempted Strategies to Overcome Them

Sharlotte Tusasiirwe, Peninah Kansiime, Sarah Eyaa, Fatuma Namisango, Norma Bulamu
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 17
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7947-3.ch008
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Abstract

Although Ubuntu/Obuntu philosophy remains a foundation for many African communities, there are also growing concerns about its gradual erosion and assault. There is limited understanding about the struggles that African parents, especially in the diaspora experience as they pass on Ubuntu/Obuntu values to their children who live in a different context from the one their parents were raised in. This knowledge is crucial for facilitating Ubuntu/Obuntu's revitalisation and transmission to the younger generation. Using a critical approach, this chapter draws from lived experiences and existing literature to discuss two key challenges that the authors, who are African parents, have experienced in passing on Ubuntu/Obuntu. The challenges relate to past and ongoing colonialism manifested in Eurocentric education systems in Africa and the diaspora and dwindling community interactions. Strategies adopted by the authors in the diaspora to overcome these barriers and implications of an Ubuntu/Obuntu-inspired education are also presented.
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Introduction

This chapter seeks to share our lived experiences with Ubuntu, the challenge of passing on Ubuntu values to the younger generation and propose strategies to overcome them. The current reinvigoration of Ubuntu renders the philosophy to mis and or underrepresentation. Tran & Wall (2019) warn of the risk of presenting Ubuntu as a singular, essentialist concept where a complete, exhaustive picture or imaginary consensus can be given. Ubuntu has multiple localized meanings and diverse forms in different communities throughout Africa (Muwanga-Zake, 2009), which implies that authors writing about the philosophy need to state and acknowledge which contexts/community or experiences are guiding their conceptualization. In this chapter, we present the localized meaning of Ubuntu from our lived experiences as Bantu language speaking people of Buganda, Busoga, and Ankole, in Uganda, East of Africa. With over 400 bantu languages (Muwanga-Zake, 2009), there are different Ubuntu terms in these languages and in the communities where we were raised.

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