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African Values

Greeting
Greet people whenever you see them; even strangers. Ignoring anyone is rude.
Strangers
Welcome strangers, respect them, and treat them well, because they may return the favour in the future. The good you do for someone else will eventually be paid back to you.
Elders
Respect your elders. They have many years of experience. They know and hold the traditional values that have always kept communities together. Their minds are less poisoned by the modern world than young minds.
Integrity
You will be judged not by how you look, what you wear, or what you have, but who you are and how you act.
Honesty
If you do something bad, people will find out about it. It helps keep you honest.
Responsibility
No person is an island. Each person exists as a part of the community. No one cannot act without consequence. Each person has great responsibility.  You always have a role, responsibility and duties in the community, determined by your age, gender, health and abilities.
Selflessness
Share what you have, even if it is very little. Do not be selfish.You must struggle against the community's problems and not be content to please yourself. Work for the common good.
Extended Family
The young, the elderly and the handicapped live at home and are the responsibility of the extended family. Invest in your child's education, because he or she will get a job to support the extended family. People survive even with 50% unemployment because the workers support their extended families.
Monogamy
One man, one woman is not always practical; polygamy and the extended family system often works better in traditional settings. Do not marry if you cannot afford it.
Entertainment
Entertainment for its own sake is foolish. Film, music and literature should be didactic and instructive; it should contain a moral message.
Time
Time is subjective. There is plenty of time. Don't let time control you. Your watch cannot tell you when an event should begin or end.
Judgment
When evaluating the time, food, a car, a house or a person, scientific statistics and numbers are less important than your own feelings.
Land and Environment
The environment is sacred; it should be protected and preserved. Land is the property of nobody and everybody; it should be shared. It belongs to the ancestors and to the unborn as well as to the living. Each family should farm as much land as they need. Access should be equal.
Holism
Medical cures must take into account the mind and the body together. Science must synthesise its results, not merely analyse its data.
Death
Death is part of nature and should be discussed openly as something natural. The ancestors exist in the minds of the living; they influence and guide their actions.
Religion
Religion should not be based on sadness, guilt and suffering but joyous celebrations.