Tipping the Scale

Africa is getting so close, I can smell it. Those of you who know me well, know that I have a slight love affair with the continent. I blame my father. He took me to Cote d’Ivoire at the impressionable age of 14 and I saw the country with young eyes. I viewed the trip as my first taste of real adventure, and you can hardly blame me for falling hopelessly in love at first sight. I didn’t notice the poverty or the unstable government that would become a coup only a few weeks later. I saw only the smiles, the colors, the smells. Africa got under my skin about ten years ago and I haven’t quite been able to shake it.

In college, I had the opportunity to go to Africa two more times when I spent a few weeks teaching English in the drought-stricken Ethiopian countryside, and another week walking through some of the biggest slums in the world. These two trips were different than my first. I was old enough now to grasp the poverty I saw around me and to resent the policies of the foreign governments, but I was still young enough to see so much potential.

Honestly, every time I go to Africa I feel smaller. I feel like I have less power to spark change or aid in development.  I feel the weight of hundreds of years of my race abusing another.  I wonder how we could ever break cycles of generations of wrongdoing.  I think about how my wealth comes at the price of others having nothing.  Yet, when I  begin to question whether or not we can really change the world, there are a few hopeful stories that come to mind. I remember meeting women who were empowered through business ventures or touring fields where locals were combatting hunger with sustainable farming, and these are the stories that make me forget the terrible stories and believe, once again, in change. Ultimately, I really do  believe that there is more good in the human race than evil and that belief drives me to tell stories that reflect that.

I cannot wait to spend a week making a film where we listen and observe stories of hope in Africa. I feel that being behind a lens is such a gift, and I want to use my lens to tell uplifting stories. There is so much more to the continent than problems that need to be solved. May the stories Dave and I tell allow you to witness good in the world and perhaps we can continue to tip the scale towards change together.

For more information about the trip, or to make a donation, visit our Razoo page here.

Photo by the fabulous David Burke.

2 thoughts on “Tipping the Scale”

  1. So well written! I love this Erica! And I love that you are going back! It was such a joy serving alongside you in Kenya and your love for Africa just shines through you!!! Can’t wait to see what you guys document and hear all your stories!

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  2. This post brings tears to my eyes! I’m so very proud of all you have done in Africa thus far. You have touched so many there with your beautiful smile and warm embrace! I know they see Jesus when you look in their eyes! Love you and I’m praying for you and Dave!!!

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