There is quite a bit of talk that has been going on for a while about the world's favorite charity, Africa.
Thanks to the marketing efforts by international development organizations, Africa is seen as many by the place to invest in, in terms of human development. I used to work at a major international organization, and the vast majority of our budget used to be for Africa, despite it not being able to improve.
After decades of work, it's still not in a position to stand up on its own. This however, is not what I'm going to talk about.
Simply put, what I mean by the "Africa Effect" is that so many people care about you to such an extent, you simply don't care about yourself anymore. In my view, this is what is happening in Africa, hence coining the term "Africa Effect."
We see this in real life, and this is what Godaya has been going through for the past few weeks, which has contributed to the current, depressive state of mind.
People care for you, and tend to watch out for you. They do this, not out of hidden agendas, but because they don't want to see you suffer. But what happens when you don't care about yourself?
The people who care about you start asking themselves, what for? Why am I here? What difference does it make? Have I managed to achieve the changes that I set out to achieve? Has all my efforts so far being in vain?
Even though it's the organizations who work in Africa who do the ground level work, it's the international community who pays for it. And by saying international community, even though we directly refer to the countries that pump money in, it's still the people in their respective countries who pay for it. It's the Joe and Jane Average (not to be confused with fellow columnist, who is quite heartless) who see what people in Africa are facing, who worry about their fellow human being who might have to endure pain and suffering in the future, who spend their hard earned money so these organizations can set out to change somebody's life.
But then, Africa disappoints. The leadership does not care about what's happening to one of the most beautiful, and potentially most prosperous places on earth, and instead they set out with their own little short term pleasure projects (Not to be confuse with The Pleasure Project, which works on effective sex education).
At the end, Africa ends up in a mess. And what about the people who paid for change? Jane and Joe Average? They end up heartbroken, and disappointed.
That's where Jane and Joe need to learn to let go. Need to understand that they need to let Africa fall, be there when it does, cushion the fall, then help Africa slowly return to its full potential.
Now only if letting go and seeing someone was that easy. But as a closing note, let me contradict myself on what I said earlier. I'm talking about Africa here, but then, this happens in real life too. |
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