Africa isn't just a sad place with only suffering people who need to be saved

So I was listening to that "Feed the World" Christmas song which pretty much says that Africa needs our help because everything is going horrible there, and don't get me wrong people should be helping out more, but after going to Africa and taking classes about Africa, I resent the idea that Africa is just a big group of people in deplorable conditions that can't possible be happy.

As much as those kinds of feeling generally mean well, there is something inherently arrogant about it. The Western world seems to assume that people can't possible be happen in situations that aren't necessarily as nice as ares and what exactly defines a nice situation. I mean, it is hard to believe that starving people without access to nice medical care are in a perfect situation, that shouldn't be all we see.

I went to Ghana, which is admittedly a fairly well off country where I may not have seen the worst of the worst situations, but there were certainly not as many luxuries as I'm used to, but there was also a happiness that I rarely experience here. I taught school in the small town of Hohoe and people seemed to be genuinely happy and appreciate what they have. I taught the kids questions and answers in English and one of them was "What is your favorite food?" and they would say things like rice and yams. Things that they ate everyday but there remained an appreciation for them. They loved what they had.

People also depended on and supported each other. It was the rainy season and whenever I would get stuck in town when it started to rain, without fail a shopkeeper would invite me into the back of their shop to sit with them and get out of the rain. Most would even invite me into the back room to sit with their family and make conversation.

One day there was a child sleeping on the floor so I asked the woman if it was her son and she said "No but I didn't want him to be cold," and I was just swept away by that kind of thinking.

Once again I'm not saying that there aren't situations that need to be fixed and worked on and there aren't many things we should do to help, I'm just saying that to assume the people in Africa can't be happy in the situations they are in is shortsighted and a little ignorant even if it comes from good intentions.

Just a thought