In a sociological perspective, why did Marianne spend 10 months Africa?

After graduating from Meridian Junior College in 2009 (and picking up the Student of the Year award), 19 year old Marianne Hui took a path less travelled- instead of entering university the following year, she spent 10 months in Africa working with orphans, HIV/AIDS sufferers, and abandoned babies. In a society of steep competition, where anyone who falls behind in the rat race is frowned upon, Marianne’s trip was seen not just as an act of great compassion, but great bravery.

“I think the only thing that people were concerned about, it wasn’t really 

much of a concern for me, was whether I would find it a challenge to be 

a year behind my peers by putting off school for one year.”

Marianne’s trip to Africa can be seen as brave from several perspectives. Other than challenging the social norm of what a normal Junior College student does after the “A” level examinations (especially one who did well), she also challenged gender norms, and had to sacrifice many of the luxuries that Singaporeans take for granted, such as Wi-Fi.

“Much of the time I didn’t have access to the internet, which meant that 

I did not have access to emails, to Facebook, to Skype… which meant 

that I could not keep in contact with people at home like my family or 

my boyfriend at the time and even other friends. And when I was in 

Zambia, even my phone wasn’t working, so I was totally cut off. At 

times it was hard, but it was actually better that way, so that I could 

fully experience what it was like to be away and just learn live in the 

community there, rather than being pulled back by the desire to be 

home, that would keep me from enjoying my time there more.”

While the experience above is a stark contrast from the rest of her female peers, it was not that far from what the boys Marianne’s age were going through in the army. Not having Internet access, being in a new environment, at times being totally cut off from family and friends, and falling behind the girls their age academically were things common to all boys coming out of Junior College and serving in the army. Yet while Marianne’s experience was not a unique one, it was deemed as brave because it was not something she was forced to do, unlike the boys, but rather done out of choice. In fact the boys who had to give up the same could appreciate her sacrifices even more, and respected her for what she chose to forgo.

To understand why Marianne went to Africa, it is important to look into the social factors that influenced her decision. The first of which was her involvement with religious organizations. Marianne was a devout Christian who had been serving in her church for years. As a result, her life values and priorities were not totally in sync as that of Singapore’s secular society. Capitalist economy advocates striving after material wealth, but Marianne was looking for more intangible goals in life thus her decision to go to Africa. When asked what she was hoping to get out of the trip, she answered, “Spiritual growth and a direction in knowing what to study and also what I would eventually do with my life. And just to find a new family that shared the same love for God.” This was a stark contrast to the Singaporean dream of prosperity.

“To go was just the conviction in my heart that I could not ignore; 

The knowledge that God was calling me, and I acted on it.”

While the spiritual nature of the “calling” that Marianne received was not something that can be easily explained sociologically, the social factors that allowed her to carry through the decision were much more visible. The biggest factor that influenced the decision and the act of her going was probably that of her family background.

“My dad’s a pastor and a missionary, he met my mom in Operation 

Mobilization (a Christian missions organization), the organization I that 

I joined. My dad currently works there as well- my mom too… So 

generally my whole family is very involved in missions; very supportive.”

While Marianne’s actions were at odds with societal values, they were much more in line with her family’s value system. And having interest in a similar cause as her parents allowed her to tap into what Bourdieu (1983) refers to as the Social Capital of her parents: She had a wide range of resources available through her parents who were members of this international organization (Operation Mobilization, or OM). Marianne eventually signed up for a program run by OM and “they handled everything pretty much; Accommodation, food, programs, communication, finance…” This made the entire preparation process much simpler and the trip more feasible than if she had planned it on her own.

“People in church are extremely supportive of my parents, the work 

that they’ve been doing. I think they saw it as legitimate when their 

daughter wanted to go and they sent me with the same amount of 

support that they did (with) my parents.”

The position of Marianne’s parents in the eyes of her church also contributed to her Social Capital, which in this case translated into crucial financial support: “The church covered almost all of what (Marianne) needed to raise in order to be able to go.” Finances were a major hurdle in the process of preparing to go to Africa, as her family (being missionaries) was not wealthy, the trip would cost a lot of money, and she would have to forgo a scholarship just to go on the trip. The Social Capital generated by her parents’ service to the church thus translated into much needed financial resources for Marianne.

“I think because my parents are missionaries, I’ve grown up having 

a positive impression of missions. And them being supportive about 

this helped a lot. I might not have been able to go had they not been 

supportive or I might have given up trying to go if they haven’t been 

so supportive.”

Unlike most Singaporean parents who would discourage their children from taking time off school, Marianne’s parents gave her a level of support that encouraged her to make such a trip. In fact, the destination “eventually became Africa when (Marianne’s) dad suggested the training program which was apparently really good as a foundation for spiritual life and also for life in general.” This further shows the extent of their support for her- her dad was the one who suggested where to go.

“It was going to Africa – It was unfamiliar, it wasn’t like Cambodia or 

India or somewhere in Asia, but it was Africa- a continent that we 

don’t often hear about other than that there are famished children 

dying of starvation.”

Given her family background, it is logical that Marianne ultimately chose to go to Africa. A continent commonly associated with hunger, poverty and danger, anyone who goes there is generally seen as altruistic. If Marianne had gone to another developing country like Cambodia or India, she would still need to qualify that she was going to help the poor rather than holiday. But going to Africa required no such explanation; people assumed she was like Bono. This could be a form of social reproduction of her parents position in society- Marianne would now be seen as doing the same altruistic things her parents do, and thus attaining the same kind of Social Capital (in terms of social position and networks) that they had attained in their years of serving the church and the Christian organization OM.

The 10 months Marianne spent in Africa were seen by most as brave, particularly because it was so different from what any other 19 year-old girl living in Singapore would do.

“The pace is such that it’s very hard to slow down or to break out of 

the norm. People are so caught up with the competitiveness of life 

from the time you are a student up to when you’re working, just a 

competition to be on top and anything that can threaten that is seen 

as just not a priority.”

In analyzing Marianne’s act from a sociological perspective, it is clear that she was acting in line with the priorities of her religious family culture, which had greater impact on her than Singapore culture. Having been born abroad and spending the first few years of her life on the mission field with her parents, the influence of her family’s culture seemed to outweigh that of the culture she was in. Thus though it is difficult to understand her spiritual “calling” to do the brave act, we can understand how her social position helped make it a reality.

References:

Bourdieu, Pierre. (1983). "Ökonomisches Kapital, kulturelles Kapital, soziales Kapital" in Soziale Ungleichheiten (Soziale Welt, Sonderheft 2), edited by Reinhard Kreckel. Goettingen: Otto Schartz & Co. pp. 183–98. Translated by Richard Nice.