I recently watched this AMAZING TED Talk by a Nigerian woman
named Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It talked of how a single story is harmful.
Specifically, she gave many examples from her own life of how the Western
world’s single story of “the country of Africa” is harmful to the entire
continent. Please, please, take the 20 minutes to watch this discussion. It may
very well change your view on the world.
One of my favorite quotes from this video is this: “The
problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are
incomplete.” Our stereotypes of “poor Africa” are incomplete. It is exactly 1/3
of my job to bring Uganda back home to America, to show the wonderful people of
my beautiful country the amazing truth of Uganda, the truth behind the lives of
the people here. Unfortunately, I am not necessarily the best person to do
that. As much as my worldview has changed in the last seven months, being
abroad will never, no matter how long I am away, completely strip away my
America-colored glasses.
Thanks to a wonderful presentation by our Diversity
Committee at IST, I have adopted an idea. I want to host guest authors on my
blog. I am going to give the students and staff of my college the opportunity
to tell you all what Uganda is like, from their own perspective. Before I do
this, though, I want some information from you. What questions do you have
about Uganda, about Africa? (Also, for my international readers, please don’t
think this is limited to those in America.) Do you want to know what their
daily lives are like? What about their cultures interests you? The
possibilities are endless. Even if you have political questions, you’re welcome
to ask them. I am unlikely to post them publicly, but I will gladly email the
answers to you.
So post below or email me at bethanyinuganda@gmail.com if you
would like to submit questions, and soon I will open up my blog to my students
and colleagues!
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