Is Africa Really So Big?

By Marc Levitt, Storyteller and AISA 2010 Visiting Author

From the stone churches and walled cities of Ethiopia, to the lions and leopards of Kenya, the lemurs and old French colonial houses of Madagascar, to the soft ocean breezes of Dakar and the tragedy of Goree Island, these are just quick tourist descriptions of what was in reality a rich journey of sights, sounds, thoughts and smells that was my six week tour of Africa this past January and February. Under the auspices of AISA and The International School of Dakar, The International School of Kenya, the American School of Antananarivo and the International Community School of Addis Ababa I visited schools, told stories, shared ideas with teachers and students on writing and storytelling and worked with the common denominator of International Schools; Third Culture issues.

I was treated with kindness and courtesy by everyone and was impressed with the sincerity, intelligence and adventurous nature of those who work, go to school at and/or send their children to International Schools. This is the first time I had been to sub-Saharan Africa and while I can’t say that I had previously fully shared many of my countryperson’s misconception that Africa was mud huts and dangerous animals, I was not prepared for the ecological richness and demographic diversity of this incredibly large and varied continent. I learned patience (or tried to). I understood that pushing is not personal and still miss the incredible array of fresh fruit juices I drank almost every day.

Africa is, as you all know better than I do, incredibly complex and contradictory. Its history is fraught with many tragedies as well as life affirming depth and hospitality. It embraces you with colour and vitality and breaks your heart with its poverty and inequality. Those who go to school teach there and/or send their children there are blessed with being a part of it and from what I witnessed in my short time are benefiting from their experiences. The schools I visited are taking advantage of the world around them, living with the Maasai and hiking Mount Kenya, riding the buses and shopping at downtown markets in Dakar, visiting tribal areas in Southern Ethiopia and learning from Madagascar rain forests. What better way to learn than by doing and exploring; by becoming curious from real experiences and by challenging widely held prejudices through everyday interactions.

The Global Citizen is alive and well in these schools with teachers who push their students to think critically, engage with the world and to perfect skills for genuine reasons. If my visit in a small way helped teachers to honour their work at connecting their students with the world they are surrounded by, I feel my visit was a success. If I helped students realize that the smallest detail of a seemingly inconsequential incident can be the seed of a good story, I am happy. And if I helped parents realize that in spite of the challenge their chosen lifestyle has presented to their children and to themselves, the ultimate rewards will be far greater than the cost, then I have fulfilled my mission.

I thank all those who made my trip possible, as well as to those who were so supportive of my work and gave me the opportunity to enter in their lives and into the life of Africa. I also want to remember Sharon Brown, with whom I had much contact before my trip and whose tragic death, as well as her friendliness and generosity were my companions during my wonderful six week adventure and look forward to coming back to work with international schools in the AISA region.

For more information on Marc Levitt visit www.marclevitt.org