The second largest country of Africa, full of paradoxes. On one hand, it is rich in natural resources (including cobalt, copper, coltan, crude oil, diamonds, gold); on the other hand, its inhabitants are among the poorest in the world. For decades, the DRC has been suffering from prolonged conflicts that have led to one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world.
25.05.2024
“Sting sings in his holiday hit that in Africa, the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears, a BBC presenter takes a selfie with a malnourished Ugandan boy, adding a broken heart emoji, while Bruce Willis saves Monica Bellucci and all of Nigeria from the savage rebels in a Hollywood production.”
Today, I received a copy of Dipo Faloyin’s book “Africa Is Not a Country.” Just in time for Africa Day, which is tomorrow. It’s time to break stereotypes. Because whose day is it? Which of the 54 completely different countries? Is it more about Egypt, Morocco, Congo, or Zambia?
Colonial times are over, but our minds still cling to the narrow associations. Africa, to us, means wild animals, safaris, and hungry children. The consequences of these simplifications still affect the continent’s inhabitants.
Thirty percent of Africa’s borders are straight lines, drawn on the map by the Europeans. This means that although only one-third of the world’s borders run through the continent, 60 percent of all territorial disputes in the International Court of Justice come from Africa. Bent over the map of the continent, the colonizers carved it up without regard to the fact that their straight lines divided interests, tribes, and families.
This year at the Good Factory, we wanted to launch a campaign titled “It’s Not Normal That…” That children are starving, that bombs are falling on people’s heads, that 263 million people worldwide still have to walk at least 30 minutes to get water. We created a campaign script. The idea was sent to an agency to help us publicize the campaign and hit a minefield of stereotypical thinking. We were told to change the idea, to write “It’s sad that…” instead of “It’s not normal.” Because in their opinion, it is completely normal. After all, that’s what Africa is like. Bare, hungry, and dry as a bone.
Africa is not just hunger and wild animals. It is a continent of wonderful people who, due to the mess in the minds of Westerners, have a worse start in life than we do. Our main task at the Good Factory is to level the playing field. Because “it’s not normal that they don’t have a chance.”
Mateusz Gasiński
14.06.2024
“It’s difficult. I think Dawid is losing the strength to fight the disease. This will probably be a sad post. I want to show people that not only miracles happen here, that there are also difficult times of standing by a child we fought for and we’re beginning to lose,” says Sister Agnieszka from the […]
21.05.2024
Not every story about our patients has a happy ending. Life can be brutal. Sometimes it knocks you down for a moment. Around us, a war is raging, while we fight daily battles to save the lives of patients in our hospital. The staff did everything they could for Nema. Be with them in your […]
17.01.2024
Marketers have designated January 15th as the saddest day of the year, known as Blue Monday. It was invented to convince you to make purchases that are supposed to lift your spirits. But is buying new things, especially after the holiday season’s excess, truly a way to feel better? If shopping usually brightens your day, […]