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The usual presentation of the African continent in the European media is unrelentingly negative, with stories of civil war, corruption and disease. While undeniably these stories are all true, there is much that is positive happening in Africa but those stories seldom reach the media. ‘So you think you know Africa?’ presents the other side of Africa, an idea strongly expressed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
This documentary weaves together a day in the live of four people, in four different countries, each one of whom can be seen as a success story. MACDONALD MUNUVE has a small shamba, or small holding in Eastern Kenya. In 1998 his father died, followed by his mother in 2001. He was left with two younger brothers to support and educate with casual work- his only source of income. Then, three years ago, he was invited to participate in a dairy goat scheme run by the NGO Farm Africa. We see how he became a key member of that scheme, first voted in as Community Animal Health Worker, a kind of barefoot vet who is trained to look after the goats, and other farm animals. This has provided him with a real secure source of income, even earning enough to pay for his youngest brother to go to university. We find out how he was voted to be chairman of the Mwingi and Kitui Goat Breeders Association, the farmers representatives set up to take over and run the scheme when Farm Africa leave. CHOUCHOU NABINTU is a young radio reporter, working for Radio Maendeleo at Bukavu on the eastern border of the Democratic republic of the Congo. Radio Maendeleo is a community radio station set up by local NGOs, to provide an unbiased source of news and a voice for the local people. This is really important in this region which has suffered from intermittent civil war over the last ten years. It has an audience of about two and half million people. Radio Maendeleo has encouraged local people to form radio clubs, and supports and helps them to make their own programmes presenting their views on matters which are important to them. Chouchou works as mentor to various women’s groups, both in Bukavu and out in the country. Women there have suffered really badly from the conflicts, and Chouchou enables them to talk about their experiences. We see her travel out to collaborate with a remote rural group who are making a programme urging women to stand in forthcoming local elections. BEATRICE MUTALE is a much respected teacher at a girls high school in Northern Zambia. Female teachers are rare in Zambia. However, blind female teachers are even rarer. Beatrice lost her eyesight, from meningitis, when she was a child. We hear her tell her story of what happened when her sight went, how she completed her education and helped support seven orphaned nieces. And we discover how she achieved her extraordinary ambition of becoming a teacher in a sighted school for girls.  VICTOR KOFI is a Park Warden in Ankasa Park, the only remaining evergreen wetland forest in Ghana. Increasing population around the park is putting critical pressure on the wild animals and plants the local community rely on. And the park is the only place in the world where various animals live in the wild, like the White Naped Makebey and the Roloway Monkey.We see Victor patrolling the forest for poachers. We follow him around as he works with the local community encouraging them to work for conservation and helping them realise what will happen if they hunt animals they need - to extinction. We see a meeting where, after the local community have conducted a census counting numbers of local animals, they agree a quote for hunting them.  As these stories are told we intercut interviews showing how they relate to the wider perspective of what is happening in Africa. Interviewees include Hilary Benn, Minister of Overseas Development 2003 – 2007 and Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. | |||||||||||||||||
