The sawubona project

The Nguni word Sawubona literally meaning “I see you”. It is the common greeting used by the Zulu and Xhosa people of Southern Africa.  For me the meaning of the word is much richer – it is an acknowledgement of our humanity.  In the words of Desmond Tutu:

“We believe that a person is a person through another person, that my humanity is caught up, bound up, inextricably, with yours. When I dehumanize you, I inexorably dehumanise myself.  The solitary human is a contradiction in terms and you seek to work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own in belonging”

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu