I was the proud father today. My youngest daughter aged 6 won a fancy dress competition. I was there.
At a fair raising funds for an African charity the children were invited to dress in a manner that tells of Africa. Out came the Lion costumes and the bright clothing and the many vague, even faulty ideas that we have in the west of “Africa”. How do we really capture a continent in such a simple competition?
My little girl decided to dress as an African lady. So with a bit of help from YouTube and a mass of old sheets, fabric paint and a doll, before my eyes I saw my little one dressed in several Kanga (Sarong) with a baby firmly on her back. She was transformed by the simplicity and practicality of a Tanzanian traditional dress.
Let me tell you why she won. Her costume included the baby, it was the attention to detail of holding the future of nations in a traditional manner that captured the attention of the judges.
We all embrace the past and hold onto it for now. But the future is what captures our imagination, our dreams. And we want the future to be held by what we know and find familiar now.
Perhaps I think too much, but I was left wondering what the future holds for my little girl and the girls and boys the fair was helping. There will be enormous change in their lifetime; what will we have instilled today that will take them forward to face their future?
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