Something old, Something new

SOMETHING OLD

My first impressions of Africa were probably based on the movie Born Free. My sister and I came out of the theatre dreaming of Africa in exotic dimensions: doing safaris off-road style; sleeping out in tents, cozy under mosquito nets and surrounded by strange noises, and of course, raising lion cubs (and maybe a zebra or two) of our very own. Africans figured little into our visions of Africa.

Films such as Born Free are, granted, beautiful stories set against the pristine backdrop of endless blue skies and Savanna countryside, but they also perpetrate imperialistic attitudes—the free-spirited and adventurous white man, attempting (and sometimes failing) to tame a wild continent—and not getting a spot of dirt or wrinkle on his white, linen clothing. I definitely grew up with these imperialistic attitudes; (being Canadian with two grandparents born in England probably didn’t help). It had never occurred to me that maybe white man did not belong in Africa—that colonization had little to do with “civilizing” Africa, and more with exploiting it, that “our” role has always been the consumer and “theirs” the supplier. Oh yes, the poor children with bloated tummies in Africa made me wince; I felt sorry for them and hoped someone was helping them.

SOMETHING NEW

Another film totally rocked my perception of Africa: Invisible Children: Rough Cut. Three young men traveled to northern Uganda and found that, while lion cubs are still born free, the children in that area definitely are not. A 22-year old war, an unscrupulous terrorist group, a people driven into displacement camps, major shortages of food and water… and educational opportunities—our school viewed it all on a screen. After the film’s showing, the auditorium was deathly quiet—no one clapped or turned to their neighbor to talk, or hurriedly left their seat to get to their lockers. Shock turned to action; since then Collegedale Academy has raised a total of $42,000 for the invisible children school for schools program—winning the School for Schools contest by making the most money for its designated school in Uganda two semesters in a row.

Hence this trip: I was picked to be the teacher to take part in the teacher exchange program. At the moment, I am assigned to “Sir Samuel Baker” school, and I do not yet have a Ugandan counterpart, but am assured one (I think). Of course, everything is subject to change (as Amy, our coordinator, put it, flexibility means everything in this project: read the itinerary but expect modifications—it’s a good thing I enjoy spontaneity).