Africa is a continent

MJ knew




who Nelson Mandela was. Madiba's still alive.

Intentions

In 2007 Unicef in germany launched an ad campaign to raise awareness about the lack of education in "Africa." This is how it turned out.

"In Africa many kids would be glad to worry about school."

"Some teachers suck. No teachers sucks even more."

"I'm waiting for my last day in school, the children in Africa still for their first one."

"In Africa kids don't come to school late, but not at all."

This obviously was not received well by "Africa" or advocates for education in Africa. People felt patronized, betrayed and belittled by the campaign. Not all people in Africa are uneducated, I need not explain this statement. Also, we don't walk around with mud on our faces. And the list goes on and on. I think this campaign may have done more bad than good, it didn't highlight the potential of "Africa" and the many children who want an education. What it did was reinforce the opinion that Africa is a different planet where no one knows what's good for them or what progression is.

Having said this, the intention of the campaign was good (but let's say this again...ill advised and grossly uninformed). I think it's good that people want to develop and enhance Africa and improve what needs improving. But while doing so, we need to remember our own primitive roots and that at one point our ancestors thought that taking a shower once a week was high class. To help Africa, we need to see the potential and the good that already exists. Patronizing and mocking won't ever help.

So when talking, writing or even thinking about the many countries or peoples in Africa, be respectful, honest and objective.

Askies (sorry in Afrikaans)


I'm new to the blogging world and still finding my way. I messed up the html on my last post and apparently the picture of Thembi Ngubane (AIDS diaries) was censored for pornographic/ adult content. But I can assure you that there wasn't anything like that on the picture,maybe the linked website had somestuff on it...it is about AIDS, after all. Anyways, I apologize.


And to make things even more unbearable, you, the much valued readers, can't even leave a comment. I'll try to figure it out. Needless to say I'm confused!!!

Streets of gold in Luanda

Luanda is the capital of Angola (a country) which is on the west coast of Africa. Then it might surprise you that it is the most expensive country in the whole entire world. When I read about it I thought the exact same thing you did: How? Because this is what some parts of Luanda look like:


But then again, there are more pleasant parts like this:

This article explains why Luanda is so expensive (yes, beating Paris, Copenhagen, Moscow, Geneva and Basel). But if you don't have time to read the whole article...this is the short version:

There is a high concentration of expatriates from the USA and other countries in Europe, these expatriates pay for very expensive imported goods from their own countries. And all of this spending inflates the cost of living in Luanda. These findings are used by multinational companies to calculate allowances paid to officials abroad. Interesting, huh?

Now, I don't know how that affects the local citizens, I'm sure they also pay more than they should for certain products. To my consolation, at least, the article does say that the cost of living in these studies are calculated using products and services that expatriates use and pay for. But on the other hand it also makes you wonder what kinds of things we (from the western world) have to have that we are willing to pay so much for them. I'm not criticizing, I'm just calling to attention the fact that we can live with less than we are willing to admit or accept.

I'll give you your ticket when your time comes

AIDS has become an epidemic across the world but has particularly become a plague across the whole continent of Africa. It doesn't discriminate, white, black, learned or uneducated, wealthy or poor, religious or atheist. There have been many conversations, debates, protests, arguments etc. about this thing called AIDS. I remember driving through a township (shanty town) and seeing a makeshift cemetery because all the other cemeteries were full, coffins have been sold out and children orphaned...all because of HIV/AIDS.

The victims are of course not considered victims but often treated as though they were the virus itself. It's true that risk behaviors include having unprotected sex, sharing needles while using illicit drugs and so on. But having lived in South Africa I also know that many of the HIV/AIDS patients are uneducated, still holding onto traditional beliefs and practices. Most babies now born to HIV positive mothers can live a HIV negative life thanks to anti-retrovirals but soon contract the virus via breastfeeding because the mothers can't afford formula milk. We also can't forget the impact and influence culture and tradition has on one's behaviour. Anyways, my purpose is not to discuss the reasons why HIV/AIDS persists in plaguing the human race and all the political and cultural reasons behind it.

This post is to introduce you to a young lady named Thembi Ngubane. She was diagnosed with HIV when she was 18 years old. She was featured on NPR's radio diaries and you can listen to her talk to the virus here. Thembi died of drug resistant TB and you can listen to an introduction to her here. And this is Thembi's blog.

I think Thembi is a magnificent example of someone with hope and courage. She had to fight her own battle against not only HIV/AIDS but also, shame, culture and ignorance. I solute her. Thembi Ngubane.