Comic Relief - the serious bit

As usual there were lots of information films, sometimes harrowing, in last night's programme. Often tears are uncomfortably juxtaposed with laughter but, by and large, this tension works well. Last night there was a film which illustrated the importance of something as seemingly trivial as a mosquito net, costing £2.50. The film featured a young mother undertaking the long and difficult journey from her rural home in Tanzania to the nearest medical facility with her small child who was suffering from malaria. I expected it to follow the usual format of arrival at the hospital in the nick of time with the message "but thousands of children are not as lucky as Shayla". Wrong. I watched in disbelief as the look on the young mother's face turned from one of worry to absolute desolation. Shayla had died in her grandmother's arms. I was shocked. Later in the programme, to illustrate the fact that one child dies every 30 seconds, this clip was shown again with a countdown in the corner of the screen. I don't think for one moment that the organisers of Comic Relief are irresponsible people. I have no doubt that much soul-searching was done before the decision was finally taken to show this clip and without a doubt it will have provoked high levels of compassion among the viewing public. But in this instance, I think it was wrong. To witness at such close quarters the shocking and complete despair of a mother as the fragile threads of her child's life slip away just felt wrong and voyeuristic. It reduced the sacred stuff of human tragedy to a mere marketing ploy. Well, that's how I felt, anyway. But that is not to detract too much from the good that is done via the Comic Relief proceeds.

An appropriate way to end this posting would be to share the recent reflections of a much-loved friend of mine who is 'on the ground', as it were, in Africa:

"It can be so tiring seeing endless European projects, propped up by white people…..with the best intentions but not really doing anything to give people dignity and responsibility and creating a kind of aid dependency and expectancy. There are no easy answers but there is a lot of naivety in projects that are set up. Nakuru is full of ‘projects’ and of course people will try to benefit from anything going. So much wisdom is needed. Kenya has received so much aid and is one of the most corrupt countries. We were trying to imagine the other day what it would do to a city’s morale if foreigners kept pouring into Birkenhead to solve the problems of homelessness, drug abuse etc etc (rich Americans maybe?!). In the end you’d give up, take no responsibility and just expect handouts. So much better if local efforts were supported behind the scenes?"

Food for thought.