Travel now not tomorrow

  It is a huge continent, made up of 54 countries and a majority are not war-torn, drought-struck or suffering starvation. International charities, however, consistently use Africa and its people as props for fundraising. They don’t pull anyone from Asia to depict a mother with a tearful, fly-swaddled infant, nor do they use South American residents, nor any of the lands in between. However, it seems that it is acceptable to depict Africans as sorrowful, needy and unable to help themselves. The Zambians I remember working with were often resourceful, hard-working and had a huge amount of self-respect. To remind myself of this, I felt a need to return and discover whether my memory was flawed or were charities misrepresenting so many nations. I did discover need, especially concerning the legacy of AIDS. However, I also discovered proud, hard-working people using innovative ways to help each other. People such as Victoria, a nurse, who cared for relatives with AIDS. Others in th...