When Mrs. Patricia Mertz from Ivory Coast Mothers and Children (ICMC) invited me to visit a village where she had spent decades building a clinic and helping the locals, I jumped at the opportunity. It was an amazing chance to discover a different Francophone culture and turned into one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life.
Landing at 1 am in a foreign country alone with no family or friends may seem daunting but fortunately the lovely people at ICMC were amazing and sent someone to pick me up from Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport. Unfortunately, he had to battle a horde of eager taxi drivers crowded around me demanding to know where I wanted to go.
After a quick shower and message to family and friends assuring them that I was doing well, I collapsed on the hotel bed and awoke the following morning to two people from Brafouéby, the village where I was going to spend the week or so. However, hearing that it was my first time in Côte d’Ivoire, Matthieu and Auntie Ami wanted to show me around Abidjan first.
Walking in the streets of Abidjan, I was enthralled by the eclectic energy of the city but I had never seen so many curious onlookers and groups of children mimicking Kung-Fu moves upon seeing me. Matthieu later explained that most Ivorians had only seen Chinese people in martial arts films, and definitely not one that spoke fluent French. Finally, after some grocery shopping and a quick hour and a half drive, we made it to the village of Brafouéby.
As Desmond Tutu once said, ‘A person is a person through other persons’, echoing the Ubuntu philosophy which signifies the interconnectedness of humanity.
This sentiment has never been clearer to me than when I visited Brafouéby: Dozens of people gathered around Matthieu’s car, eager to introduce themselves and the village to me. Despite never having set foot in Côte d’Ivoire before, the locals immediately made me feel at home and showed me to some of their customs.
The first was this strategy game called Awalé, where the objective was to capture or munch ‘bouffer’ more beads than your opponent through strategic placement in different holes. Although the rules are easy to follow, calculating and predicting your opponent’s moves while looking for opportunities to capture was particularly challenging.
I also met Oscar, a great friend of Patricia’s who is unfortunately quadriplegic from childhood polio but a mentor to all in the village and helped me immensely throughout my stay. He studied Mathematics and Computer Science at university before the second Ivorian Civil War broke out and returned home.
Finally, the day was wrapped up with a hearty dinner of chicken and vegetable stew (kedjenou), an assortment of tropical fruits, and different juices.
Project Frafrica 
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