Erokamano Africa
… if it’s true that Africa’s pain affects you and doesn’t leave you anymore, then I think I’m doomed too… Because thinking about it there are so many sensations, that only a world of authentic simplicity at the same time great as a whole can give you.
I don’t know if what I miss most is the contrast between the blue of the sky and the blue of the lake, the huts between the acacies, the fishermen’s lashes in the night or the South Cross towards the horizon… I just know that the smile of people, among the dust of the streets, children’s voices and their games, lean animals on the edges of the paths, the courtesy and great dignity of a living humanity, marked to the rhythm of their songs that enters your blood, They are not described with words but they remain imprinted in your heart… a great gift that is received from those who struggle, suffer and hope.. a great teaching from those who fight every day, with joy, their battle of everyday life!!!
We lived a bit of Africa, for 3 weeks, in schools, at the markets, among the earth to dig a tub, to testify to our – HARAMBEE – work together… us white people, musungu, and black people … all this because we believe that the most just and dignified method to reach out to the poverty of those people and that land is to work with them, side by side, without falling into the trap of uncritical assistance, without giving gifts to return to the Our ′′ peaceful ′′ lives with our conscience unloaded, without being addictive…
When living Africa we realize that our meters of judgement, our convictions, our safety are not applicable in such a different reality… that Africa has its own rhythm, its music… that we need to tend your ear to those sounds and internalize them as much as possible, to try to be an active part of a world that is growing, with its style, with its times, with its breaks and with its needs…
Saw a garden, a henhouse, boats.. a scout center… played, sang, did bans, interviewed kids in schools, witnessed traditional dances, dug holes, painted walls, danced at mass Sunday / and, ate corn polenta and chapati…
I’ve seen the possibility of gradual or homogeneous development with local reality… I’ve seen the possibility of mutual growth between black and white people… on the same level, with the same desire to donate 1 ‘ to each other , with the same desire to realize your dreams… because in the world there is not only those who give and receive.. who can afford a future and who can only live to the day…
I saw families helping orphaned children, sick… felt deep respect for the elderly, the imbalanced, the different, the less fortunate…
I’ve seen a woman run a Center, develop initiatives and coordinate our works… talk to her people, mediate meetings, work the land…
I’ve seen eyes of careful people watching you, stopping on the street and shaking hands… I’ve seen 6-7 year olds taking care of their younger brothers and taking care of them so tenderly… I’ve seen sick people… with clothes worn out and dusty… women working… boys walking for hours to go to school… people going to get 1 ‘ water.. fishing… at the market… at the dispensary…
I’ve seen missions that recreated a small piece of Europe beyond the road that separated them from Africa… just a few meters and an unhealthy fracture between different worlds… pharaonic companies that no local committee could manage… where at White’s departure, seen as a capable and rich god among poverty, will only remain unused walls without future…
I was blessed to be able to grow up with smart people… with whom I shared fears and sensations.. I lived the Scout Method in Development Cooperation…
I have opened the horizons to new problems and I believe, hoping, that it is possible to change our habits, our waste, direct our choices of responsible and critical consumers towards a fair and supportive market that allows all countries to trade with dignity and dignity. respect for the environment and workers.
… I believe that adapting my daily life is a great testimony and real help for Africa and for all poor countries fighting hunger, diseases, drought, discrimination, abuse of power, exploitation …
… I think it’s honest and necessary to do this… as a scout… as a Christian… as a citizen of this global world of ours… as a sister of every child who plays, smiles and fights for tomorrow all over the world …
Erokamano Africa!!! (Thank you Africa!!!)
Elena Ferrara