‘Africa.’
I can already picture what most of you are thinking: poverty, war, famine, disease, the list goes on. When I told people I would be taking a gap year in Kenya there were two different responses, the first being: ‘that’s amazing you will love it!’ many of these people themselves had visited or experienced Africa in person (outside of the media). The second, not so great, was a hesitated ‘oh okay…’ These people I knew were the ones with the distorted image of a ‘dark Africa’. For starters, some people assumed that war-stricken Somalia was also happening in Uganda and applied to all other countries within Africa. Africa is NOT a country. What’s happening in Somalia is different from that of Morroco, South Africa, Kenya and everywhere else in Africa and indeed the world.
After spending a year in Africa I have only had the opportunity to experience Kenya and Tanzania, but from this short time, I can confidently say that these two neighbouring countries have their very own distinctive cultures, neither of which posed a threat to me, made me fear for my life, or brought me to tears of sorrow every time I stepped foot on the street – despite popular belief. So, to quote George Kimble: ‘The only thing dark about Africa is our ignorance.’ and unless the Western world is willing to put our ignorance aside then the true beauty of Africa will always stay hidden from the world.
Kenya is my happy place, my new home away from home and will forever hold a place in my heart. It is by far one of the most beautiful countries going, name it, it’s here – snow peaked mountains, lush green valleys, buzzing rainforests, clear blue oceans and pearly white sands. But it isn’t because of the 5-star glamourous hotels next to the Indian Ocean or the adventurous off-beat safaris that I’ve had the chance to experience that makes this country so beautiful. It’s the people. Their fellowship, their work ethic, patriotism and their spirituality. That’s what makes Kenya beautiful. Never one word of complaint. It puts England to shame. During my time in Nairobi in April, I got an infection, whilst I was in the hospital I got into a conversation with my doctor – telling her that I wanted to go into nursing after my gap year. She had worked as a doctor in London for a few years but left to come back to her home country because ‘it was too cold and your people complain too much.’ That stuck with me because in the grand scheme of life what do we, the British, living in one of the most developed countries, have to complain about? Our work hours – more than half the population of Kenya would jump to get an extra shift so they can afford to send their child to school. The amount you get paid – the average wage in Kenya is £19,177 compared to England’s £29,000 with 377 million Africans living on less than $1.90 and of course we can’t forget the weather! We pray for rains here so people can harvest their crops to earn a living and enable their families to have a meal at the end of the day. But through this all, if you pay a visit to the local village, school, orphanage there you will find true fellowship, love, a real sense of community and barely a word of complaint. Yes, they may have less material wealth than you and I, but they definitely have more emotional wealth. No selfishness, no jealousy, purely love and that is what gives them true happiness.
So why are there so many negative connotations around one of the world’s most amazing countries? The answer to this is the media. You will have all seen the image of the starving child on the UNICEF advert or heard Band Aids’ ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’. The Western world hears all about the desperate situations going on a world away in the continent of Africa. We don’t, however, hear about the hope that is emerging there every day. For example, poverty rates throughout the continent have been falling steadily, and of March 2019 ‘more Africans are now escaping extreme poverty than are falling (or being born) below the poverty line.’ The death rate of children under five years of age is dropping and most encouragingly, Africa is the second fastest growing economic region and this is expected to be the case for the next 20 years. Yet, the media refuses to focus on this and continues to paint Africa as a never-ending tunnel of horrors. By no means at all do I believe that we should be all ‘hush hush’ on the hardships that many people face in Africa, or that we should turn a blind eye to the issues that the continent faces, but what I do think is that we should stop thinking of this amazing continent as a dark pit of despair. The media should publish stories of hope as well as struggles from the ever-growing and expanding continent, praising each country’s successes.
The media will not stop ingraining a troubled image of Africa to the western world. So how do we stop picturing Africa as a futile continent and start realising it to be the continent of love, hope and pride? I truly believe that to educate ourselves we need to put down the newspaper, the book, switch off the TV and VISIT the continent. Embrace the culture, as facts and figures don’t help us to see the beautifully bright patterned clothing, hear the cheerful singing from miles away, taste the delicious mouthwatering food and have our own lives touched by the grace of others. Because even if you know the latest stats and have read copious amounts of novels and biographies on Africa if you have never paid a visit, then you are still missing out on the real Africa, and the treasure it holds.
Safari Njema 