Juliane Okot Bitek is the daughter of a poet father and a storyteller mother. She was born to exiled parents in Kenya, came of age in Uganda and now lives in Canada. Her work has won writing awards in Canada, the United States and Europe. She is a free-lance writer, essayist and  poet.

Her parents exposed her to many of the African literary greats in their home. Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, John Pepper Clark, Taban Lo Liyong and Rose Mbowa were frequent visitors and hosts to the family when she was young.

African authors are using their voices to put the narrative about Africa into proper context. Okot Bitek joins other women, such as Monica Arac de Nyeko and Beatrice Lamwaka, who are continuing the legacy of their literary ancestors. These women have been recognized for their contributions by The Caine Prize for African Writing.

There is an African proverb that expresses the challenge of controlling a narrative.

Until the lion learns to speak, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

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Okot Bitek has further unwrapped this proverb in her essay “I’d Tell Anyone”. Her heartfelt words challenge the narrative that many people have about Africa. She reminds people of our common humanity and the necessity to honor the dignity of every human being.

I’d tell anyone who wants to help us in Africa to look around their own neighborhood, city and country. Find someone you think is less fortunate, however you determine fortune to be defined. Have a conversation. Listen. I bet you’ll find that much of the time nobody wants to be the recipient of your pity. Nobody wants their experience to be the currency with which you deposit the soft sentiments to make sense of your privilege. Realize that the cheap clothing, shiny jewels, fast smartphones, sweet bananas, organic coffee, and the myriad of other things that you have easy access to may be the result of people having been swindled out of the rights to their land and the fruits of their labor.

I’d tell anyone who wants to help us in Africa to get an education that teaches you to question the essence and insistence of people’s pictures from certain places be stock photographs of children who are frozen in a miserable moment. Do they ever grow? What do they become? Their faces provoking pity and the writing of checks to organizations that are invariably headquartered in the richest neighborhoods of those poor countries. Do the people in the frozen picture carry luck throughout their lives? Do they die of misery? They are the depository of a burden; of people’s tears; of the sorrow of retired men and women who lounge in their retirement homes with their television channels stuck on World Vision programs. For a penny a day. Only a penny a day. The old men and women reach out to the table beside them. No. That’s only a glass of water. Not glasses. Not a checkbook. Not a pen.

I’d tell anyone who wants to help us in Africa to wake up and realize that helping is not a step on a ladder. You up there giving me a hand. Me down there. No.

I’d tell anyone who asks how to help us in Africa to have the manners and the understanding to realize that this is also a moment that does not need to be frozen in time. Misery takes turns. This might be the moment of mine. Tomorrow yours. Tomorrow when you have a collection of ignorant but well-intentioned people who want to take pictures with your children smiling and laughing. Children impudent at the camera as kids everywhere will be. Will that be enough?

I’d tell anyone who wants to help us in Africa to look around and realize that Africans have people who have already looked around their neighborhoods, cities and countries.  They are having conversations and working together. Exchanging ideas. Has that worked for you? Maybe it can work for us as well. Grow a heart. Grow a useful heart and then wake up.

Juliane Okot Bitek
© 2012

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Coca-Cola has launched a new advertising campaign dubbed “Africa Lets Go Crazy” aimed at celebrating and inspiring individuals who do “Random Acts of Kindness” and share happiness in their everyday lives.

The inspiration behind the African-themed campaign is the notion that those who practice kindness seem to be viewed as strange and crazy. The campaign emphasizes that kindness is just the craziness the world needs for change. Coca-Cola aims to use this campaign to tell the stories of people whose lives have been changed by receiving kindness while celebrating those who continue to share themselves with others.

If being kind to strangers is crazy, then Africa is the craziest place on earth.
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The commercial features photographer Edward Echwalu from Uganda, world laughter champion Belachew Birma from Ethiopia, community leader Douglas Rori from Kenya and traffic officer Corporal Sebul Audu from Nigeria.

Ugandan musician Maurice Kirya is the voice of the commercial. He sings the theme song titled “Continent of Kindness”. His latest release is “The Book of Kirya“.

The advertising campaign successfully highlights the greatest natural resource that Africa has to offer; her people.

The commercial is reminiscent of the groundbreaking 1971 Coca-Cola television commercial titled “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke“. The commercial featured a positive message of hope and love provided by a multicultural collection of teenagers singing “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony)“.

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Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) was a pioneer of modern African literature. He wrote “Things Fall Apart” and received global critical acclaim when it was published in 1958. The book chronicles the life of Okonkwo and the complications and contradictions that arise when white missionaries arrive in his village. The clash between colonialism and traditional culture still makes the book relevant in today’s globalized world.

He described himself as a storyteller, not an author.

In addition to “Things Fall Apart“, Achebe wrote the novels “No Longer at Ease“, “Arrow of God“, “A Man of the People“, and “Anthills of the Savannah“. He also wrote several short stories, collections of poetry, and essays of social and political commentary.

Achebe received over 30 honorary degrees from academic institutions all over the world.

Achebe was a tireless critic of Eurocentric literature that dehumanized Africans and robbed them of their dignity. He also studied the perceptions of Africa and Africans in Western education. Some scholars have suggested that he was shunned by intellectual society for criticizing other authors and the traditions of racism in the West. Despite his scholarly achievements and the global importance of his work, Achebe never received a Nobel Prize.

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There is that great proverb that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter. Once I realized that, I had to be a writer. I had to be that historian..

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Ugandan artist Fred Mutebi uses a vibrant array of colors to create beautiful woodcut prints that depict stories about Africa or that portray images indigenous to the African environment.

He is a master of the “multi-color progressive reduction method” of woodcut printmaking.  The image is meticulously carved onto a wood plate, rolled with colored ink, and then registered onto a surface.  The process is repeated five to six times on the same wood plate with different colors to complete the final image. At each stage, the colors transition from lightest to darkest. This particular technique of woodcut printmaking destroys the wood plate in the process. Carefully carved images and patterns are eventually removed in later stages to acquire the desired final print. The plate can never be used again.

As an artist and teacher, he believes that it is paramount that art should be used to inform people about global challenges. He strongly feels that it is extremely important to reach as many people as possible with art that relates with their issues, especially the youth of Uganda.

Mutebi is very active in rural development in Uganda. Proceeds from the sales of his artwork are used to fund several community based initiatives.

Video credit: Zara Sarzin

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Fred Mutebi has been featured in the global media. Click the link below for the list of references.

Fred Mutebi in the Media

Stephanie and I with Namasembe

Stephanie and I traveled to Uganda for the first time in 1998. We were invited by a Ugandan gentleman who had launched a grassroots organization to help the orphans and rural peasants devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He was helping people in his own community located in the Rakai District.

We were introduced to the children in the village who were attending the school that our Ugandan friend had started. This is when we met Namasembe.

During our next visit to Uganda in 2000, we were presented with the opportunity to bring Namasembe back to the United States to raise her as our daughter. After serious consideration, we decided that this was something that we wanted to pursue. We did not have any children and had struggled with fertility issues starting our family.

We collaborated with the village leaders and the appropriate American representatives to facilitate bringing Namasembe to our home. We had an American agency prepare a social report about us. Friends in Uganda helped Namasembe acquire the necessary documentation, including her birth certificate, passport, and health examination.

Stephanie returned to Uganda in 2001 to finalize the process. The legal requirements in Uganda were slow and frustrating. What we thought would take two weeks, took two months. We were finally granted guardianship by the High Court of Uganda. Unfortunately the American Embassy would not grant us the necessary visa for Namasembe to enter the United States. Stephanie returned alone. She was heartbroken.

Stephanie and I continued to support Namasembe over the years. We visited her during additional visits to Uganda. We receive letters and pictures from her that keep us updated. We have a room in our home that we still call “Namasembe’s room.”

While we were disappointed that one child from Uganda could not be a part of our family, we have been blessed with many more relationships in Uganda.

We are a part of a big family.

Various art methods were taught in the workshops such as linocut printing, painting, drawing, and tie-dyeing.

I attended the art workshops and had the privilege to spend time with the students. During my time with the students, I got to hear their personal stories. Some of their experiences were expressed through the artwork that was created. Okello Collins Monday told me his story. He shared an experience with me that was also memorialized in his artwork.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time when I was staying in a village called Olwal, I was abducted by the rebels when we were sleeping. It was at night when the rebels came and found four of us sleeping in the same room. Due to my bad luck, the boys ran away and I was left alone in the room. One rebel entered the room where I was sleeping and I was captured. We were three that were abducted and out of those I was the youngest. One person was killed because he tried to run away and then there were just us two. I was given a heavy load and the other man was being tortured seriously. On the second day we moved for about 20 miles. My leg was swollen and they decided to kill me because I was unable to walk. Due to my good luck the commander ordered one abducted man to carry me on his back because I was very young. On the third day we came to a village called Natiko and we stayed there for three days without moving anymore. My leg was treated and I got cured. We were being sent to go and get food stuffs from the nearby camp. On the seventh day, which was my last day in the bush, we moved from Natiko to a certain village called Laroo, which is near the town and I decided to escape.

I interviewed Okello Collins Monday during my visit. I wanted to learn more about this incredibly resilient young man. I wanted to know about his family. I wanted to know more about his community.  I wanted to know about his hopes and dreams.

Five years after I interviewed Okello Collins Monday, Academy Award winning actor and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker interviewed him. Forest is the founder of PeaceEarth. The organization helps societies affected by conflict and violence transform into safe and productive communities.

Okello Collins Monday is now facilitating the art program at Hope North that was started by the Lalela Project. The arts curriculum will give students a structured program purposefully designed to address the trauma and conflict that they have experienced.  The vision is to spark creative thinking and awaken the entrepreneurial spirit to inspire a peaceful future..

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1. Africans to Follow on Social Media
2. Slactivism in Africa
3. African Superwomen
4. Understanding Africa for Dummies
5. Christmas in Africa
6. Ugandan Barkcloth
7. CNN Hero: Jackson Kaguri
8. Malaria Prevention and Mosquito Control
9. A School For My Village
10. The Ugandan Masters

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Solar Sister is an innovative social enterprise that empowers women in Africa with economic opportunity and clean energy. Solar Sister combines the breakthrough potential of innovations in affordable, portable and durable micro-solar technology with a deliberately woman-centered direct sales network.

Women use their “business in a bag” to become Solar Sister entrepreneurs, earning an income and bringing much needed clean energy. Access to clean energy technology enhances education, improves health and safety and provides economic opportunity.  Through economic opportunity and the transforming benefits of solar technology, women are able to lift themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has developed the concept of “Momentum for Change” as a way to demonstrate the multiple benefits of addressing climate change and to transform misperceptions surrounding taking action on climate change. Solar Sister has been recognized for their positive efforts to address climate change in Uganda.

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Follow Solar Sister:. 

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UPDATE: Solar Sister is featured on CNN.

Solar sisters spreading light in Africa

Women are now gaining their place in leadership roles in the new millennium. Women are now presidents of nations, government leaders, business executives, peacemakers, and agents of change.

These are some of the women who are radically changing the perception of woman’s roles in Africa. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. It’s intended to be a starting point for people who wish learn more about the changing roles of women in Africa. If you know a African woman who you believe should be recognized, please provide information about her in the comments below.

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Marieme Jamme (@mjamme) is a London-based social entrepreneur, blogger, and technologist with a passionate commitment to helping empower Africans through education, leadership, and economic development. She is a co-founder of Africa Gathering.

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Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg (@wanjirukr) is an activist, social entrepreneur, and Assistant Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco. She is the founder and director of Akili Dada.

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Dambisa Moyo (@dambisamoyo) is a Zambian economist and author of the bestselling book “Dead Aid“.  She was named as one of 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2009.

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Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) is an award-winning columnist and an international public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues. She is a lecturer and researcher on the growing importance of social media in the Arab world.

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Magatte Wade (@magattew) is a self-proclaimed cultural adventurer and entrepreneur from Senegal. Her newest adventure explores the world of love, happiness, peace, and human sensuality. Discover Tiossan.

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Evelyn Namara (@enamara) has a strong background in information technology and systems management.  She is the country director for Solar Sister in Uganda. The organization seeks to alleviate energy poverty by empowering women with economic opportunity by utilizing the potential of solar technology.

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Rosebell Kagumire (@rosebellk) is a multimedia journalist working on peace and conflict issues in eastern Africa. She is passionate about promoting the work of bloggers and journalists to enhance human rights coverage.

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Ugandan superstar Maurice Kirya has released the follow-up to his debut album “Misubbaawa“. “The Book of Kirya” features 14 fantastic new tracks written by the award-winning singer/songwriter from Uganda.

The new album takes listeners on a musical journey through Kirya’s growth as a person and musician. It shares the things he has learned throughout his life. The album also reveals the playful and wild side of the “king of mwooyo”.

Kirya wanted to create an album that anyone could find interesting. He combines serious subjects of philosophical introspection like “Mulembe Qwa Kirya” and “Don’t Wanna Fight” with the love stories shared in “The Blue Dress Song” and “Sent From Above”. He pays tribute to the women of Uganda with “Ugandan Girl”.

The songs on “The Book of Kirya” successfully reach into the listener’s soul to provoke an emotional response. Whether you smile from ear to ear or shed a tear will depend on which song connects with your own personal story. Do yourself a favor and treat your soul to the gospel of “The Book of Kirya“.

Maurice Kirya launches his new album “The Book of Kirya” at a press conference in Kampala, Uganda.

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Click link to purchase: “The Book of Kirya“