|
|
Marvin to the rescue of the Starvin'
A South African teenager won the grand prize in an Africa-wide youth writing
contest on the theme "A Full Food Basket for Africa by 2020".
Seventeen year old Nelisiwe Mbali Mtsweni's short story entry entertains with an
unlikely hero - Marvin, a 70s disco-king fairy godfather, complete with bell
bottoms, platform shoes and afro, who rhymes his message of hope to Africa while
urging the world to take notice of food problems in Africa.
The competition, sponsored by the International Food Policy Research
Institute's (IFPRI) 2020 Vision Initiative, was organized in preparation for the
all-Africa conference "Assuring Food and Nutrition Security in Africa
by 2020: Prioritizing Actions, Strengthening Actors, and Facilitating
Partnerships held in Kampala, Uganda, earlier this year.
Contestants from two dozen African countries entered their poems, essays or
short stories, expressing their insight and hopes for food and nutrition in
Africa. Runners up in the competition were Yoda Jean Paul, age 18, Burkina Faso
and Oladayo Osunjaiye, age 17, Nigeria.
IFPRI have produced a booklet containing selected entries from the contest
"which seeks to deliver messages from Africa's youth to the African leaders
in government, civil society, well as others throughout the world. Here, with
concern, compassion, and even wit, young Africans share a human perspective on
these sad realities, voice their confidence that hunger in Africa can be
overcome, and utter a collective demand for action".
To download the booklet, enter here. http://www.ifpri.org/2020AfricaConference/writingcontest.asp
.
Nelisiwe Mtsweni's short story follows below.
EMANCIPATION FROM EMACIATION
Grand Prize Winner
Nelisiwe Mbali Mtsweni
Age 17
South Africa
Once upon a time (we're talking eons ago), Gaya (Mother Earth) and her children
lived as one big happy family. They coexisted impeccably and wanted for nothing.
But after some time, the children felt the urge to leave their nest called
Pangaea to explore their "wide futures." So they each went their
separate ways and went on to bear their own offspring.
Inevitably, they each had their fair share of triumphs and tribulations, but
the one who bore the brunt of it all was Africa. She was trapped in a perpetual
web of distress over her ailing children. They were plagued by war, fatal
epidemics, lethal pandemics, and famine. The latter was most prevalent. Famine
had mutated into an invincible monstrosity that was ravaging more than half of
Africa's children. It was so notorious that it had aliases like Hunger, Death,
Starvation, Barrenness, Malnutrition, and Deprivation, and it had a sidekick
named Poverty. This ruthless antagonist knew that once Africa had fallen prey to
its insatiable appetite, it would almost be inconceivable to free it from its
clutches. Almost?
The only thing that kept Africa's children alive was a tiny glimmer of hope
that they refused to discard. It resided deep down in the pits of their
stomachs. It was so minuscule that it could easily be engulfed in their
stomach-ripping hunger pangs and be forgotten for a while. But it was there
nonetheless. It was this tiny spark of hope that initiated the revolution. To
Famine's future dismay, Africa's children were able to dig deep and channel that
glint of faith, just enough to give them strength to ask for help one last time.
All those millions of microscopic glimmers of hope put together created quite a
formidable force. Gaunt, emaciated, and with hunger emblazoned in their eyes,
they sent out a cry so loud that it drowned out the deafening sound of their
collective rumbling stomachs.
Gaya heard them. She felt their pure anguish and unadulterated sincerity, and
her heart almost imploded. After extensive deliberation, she resolved to
bequeath to them what she knew would undoubtedly redeem Africa from this
scourge. If this failed, Africa would be doomed, for Gaya's well of solutions
had run dry.
Africa's children feared that their cries had fallen on deaf ears, as their
calls hadn't yet been heeded. Starvation was in its element as it forcibly
lacerated every last atom of their hope while they wept. Their gushing tears
felt like excruciating acid rolling down their dry, discolored, paper cheeks.
Little did they know that as each tear touched the scorched earth, a ripple
effect was created. All their tears combined sent forth a colossal ripple that
vibrated through the earth. The ground quaked vigorously. Thick black storm
clouds rolled in from nowhere. Thunder exploded. Lightning slashed the sky. A
gargantuan tornado approached from the horizon at the speed of thought. Yet, the
most uncanny and inexplicable phenomenon was that during all this apocalyptic
weather the children could have sworn that they heard the 70s Bee Gees hit
"Staying Alive" blaring in the air. Psychedelic disco lights flashed
everywhere. Glitter fell from the sky. Had the mind-numbing involuntary fasting
forced their sanity to abandon them?
Then, just as abruptly as it all began, it came to a screeching halt, except
for the song, lights, and glitter. The dust finally settled. There he stood in
all his glory, too bright to look at with the naked eye. The children couldn't
believe their eyes when they'd miraculously adjusted to the blinding shimmer.
What in the entire universe was this apparition before them? Posing in 10-inch
platform shoes, glittery sky-blue bell-bottoms, multicolored polka-dot shirt,
and electric pink, starshaped sunglasses, he held up the peace sign with his
fingers above his awe-inspiring afro.
After retrieving her jaw from the ground, one of the children mustered up the
courage to ask, "What kind of angel are you?" The figure replied,
"I ain't no angel, child, or a pixie or an elf. I'm your fairy godfather,
sent to help you by Gaya herself."
A 70s disco-king fairy godfather that spoke in rhyme wasn't quite what they'd
expected, but they were desperate. "What should we call you?" they
asked.
In his animated manner of singing and dancing to everything he said, he
replied,
"Well, I'm here to nullify Starving,
So you can call me Marvin.
For too long now, every African nation
Has suffered from hunger's emasculation.
I'm here to give you emancipation
From goiter, kwashiorkor, and emaciation!
With human kindness and education,
We'll declare an embargo on starvation.
I promise to get rid of Famine,
So we can all be carefree and jammin'!"
The children of Africa were skeptical. This idealistic image that Marvin had
described sounded like an unattainable Utopia. They asked him,
"In a world where unemployment, poverty, and hunger are rife,
How can you expect anything but hardships and strife?"
Marvin replied,
"Hey, if I can make you speak in rhyme,
I can do anything. You'll soon see in time!"
And before the children could open their mouths to retort, a whirl of purple
wind suddenly engulfed Marvin, and he disappeared. All that could be heard was a
fading voice in the distance singing,
"By 2020, instead of an Africa that's malnourished,
We'll see an Africa that will have flourished!"
As the saying goes, charity begins at home. So Marvin entered the homes of
billions of people around the world during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack
times. He made himself invisible and whispered little
inspirations in people's ears while they stuffed their faces. He'd whisper
things like:
"Listen up, dude.
Here's some food for thought.
While you're being fussy about your food
There are people without grub of any sort!"
Or he'd say,
"Dealing with having nothing to eat is one major feat.
While you scoff down junk food in your comfy seat,
Millions in Africa can't afford meat, or even dry wheat!"
He'd also whisper,
"Just before you take that bite,
Picture this unappetizing sight:
A child with kwashiorkor is dying and its mother has no might
To fix the situation because there's no food (a basic human right).
So don't just sit there with your heart closed up tight,
Open it up to the less fortunate and to their lives add some light."
People all over the world suddenly had the impulse to rectify the hunger
crisis in Africa and in their own communities. It started small. People stopped
throwing food away. Schools organized monthly nonperishable
food drives, where each learner had to bring one food product every month. Then
companies started to do the same. NGOs admired this initiative and donated tons
of staple foods. The movement grew. Celebrities used their fame and status to
hold fundraisers. It grew even more when the governments got involved.
Firstworld countries abolished the debts of the third world. They encouraged
trade and invested in health, education, and agriculture.
Medication was sent over to treat diseases like goiter, anemia, kwashiorkor,
and AIDS, and the people were also educated about their prevention.
Technological farming equipment was donated for commercial agriculture, and
people were taught how to be self-sufficient through subsistence farming. A huge
emphasis was put on education, especially for girls, so that the number of
working professionals would increase, therefore enriching the economy. African
governments included fiscal policies for agriculture in their annual budgets.
Famine was no longer nobody's business. Everybody was concerned, and it became a
priority of big news networks to report on the progress of the food drive. An
International Food Council was established, which was responsible for organizing
funds, research, giving aid, and ensuring that all donations were distributed
accordingly.
Although it was still a very controversial issue, people became a bit more
susceptible to the idea of genetically modified food. And though it took some
time, the warring countries finally reached mutual resolutions, and all
refugees, who made up most of the world's hungry, returned home and were
incorporated into the new economies.
Marvin's course of action had produced phenomenal results. Famine, Dearth,
Starvation, Deprivation, Hunger, Barrenness, Malnutrition, call it whatever you
like, was now a former notorious invincible monstrosity.
Even its sidekick, Poverty, was keeping a low profile. Gaunt flimsy skeletons
usually seen roaming or vegetating aimlessly were no longer the norm. The words,
"I'm FAMISHED!" which people would bellow in agony, had now been
reduced to a mere "I'm feeling slightly peckish." Marvin quietly
disappeared back to where he came from and was soon forgotten or brushed off as
a typical hallucination caused by extreme hunger. But what he accomplished was
never forgotten, as they were faced with it every day.
People's generosity and selflessness,
Was the unfaltering recipe for success.
The world was once filled with doom and gloom,
Now everywhere you looked, a smile would bloom.
And thus ends the story, ladies and gents,
Africa's children lived ever joyfully hence.
The world was gorged with pure elation,
As they'd acquired their emancipation!
More information:
IFPRI
Return
to Budding Science
|
