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Voice of a new Africa
Schoolchildren in Leeds are at the heart of a project which aims to bring about a change in attitudes toward Africa. Neil Hudson went to find out how and why.
ASK most people what comes to mind when they think of Africa and they will say things like disease, poverty and starving people.
Images of starving children with horribly distended bellies were burned into the Western collective consciousness following news reports by the BBC in the 1980s – and Bob Geldof's Live Aid followed.
But more than 20 years on, while it is true the continent is financially poor and in places wracked by disease and war, parts are as fast-paced and hi-tech as anything you would expect to see in Europe or America.
Some African students from the University of Leeds are trying to change that traditional image by talking to children in the city's schools.
Richard Borowski, project co-ordinator for the Leeds Centre for African Studies, is the man behind the African Voices Schools Project, which recruits the students to go into schools to speak to pupils about their views on the continent.
He said: "The main image people have of Africa is that it's full of disease, war, dictatorship, poverty and so on. It's a negative image propagated by aid agencies. Many people do not realise Africa is made up of 53 independent states, is home to over a thousand languages and that large parts are highly developed – there are skyscrapers, people have mobile phones and laptops, which came as a surprise to some of the pupils we met through the project.
"African Voices is about changing people's negative perceptions of Africa and how they see black people."
The project allows schoolchildren to explore issues like international trade and debt and ask questions of African mature students, 12 of whom are taking part in the project this year.
Geoffrey Nsanja, 30, from Malawi, is studying for a masters degree in linguistics and hopes to become a teacher when he returns home.
He said: "Most people's views about Africa comes from the BBC or CNN and they tend to be very negative. They are all about our problems, hunger, disease and war. Africa is a vast continent and yes, we do have problems but there is also a positive side which needs showing. Africa is coming of age.
"The way people relate to Africa and Africans is largely about perception. Coming here, the main differences I noticed from my home country were the weather, the food and the sense of community, which is much stronger where I am from. Here, people keep themselves private and do not bother about their neighbour.
"In terms of our problems, we have homeless but I have also seen a number of homeless people here in Leeds, so every part of the world has its problems."
Steward Kutiyote, 31, from southern Sudan, said: "Sudan is known for one thing: Darfur. The reality is that is a very small part in western Sudan. The country is massive, there are 500 languages spoken there. Parts of it are so much like Britain that you wouldn't notice much difference.
"I have enjoyed discovering what young people think about Africans. Generally, what children think, comm-unities think. One child was surprised I knew how to use a mobile phone.
"I have come to realise the image which is created by charities is very negative. Plus, they have been working for a long time and nothing much has changed.
"When I come to Britain and you tell people you are from Africa, in the back of their minds, many consider you inferior. I have encountered it on numerous occasions, even when giving a power-point presentation – one man was amazed I knew how!
"Changing people's opinions is a gradual process and it won't happen overnight but we hope it will make a difference."
Jon Phillips, year five teacher at Grimes Dyke School, Leeds, which is participating in the African Voices project, said: "The children do not have much experience of seeing people from other cultures. Many thought Africa was poor and that people did not drive and things like that but they have found life in some places similar – there is music, TV, soap operas. It has been a valuable learning experience."
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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