Ubunto is a Ngumi Bantu term for humanity.
The whole phrase in Zulu is umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, meaning ‘a person is a person through other people’.
Another way of saying it might be ‘I am because we are’ or ‘we don’t exist on our own.’
Just think about it – what are the chances of our having being born? It’s billions to one.
And growing up, being fed, nurtured and shaped by everyone around us.
Even now, however old we are, we do not exist on our own.
Take a second to look at the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.
Because it’s certainly not a singular narrative.
~ Thanks to the wildlife photographer Kathy Karn for stirring my curiosity about these wonderful African phrases, which seem so timely. And the image is Steve capturing our youngsters on video.