Eat, drink and be media-savvy
Ohio University hosts its first "Taste Africa! Benefit Dinner"
By Jennifer Bak, Staff Writer
November 13, 2007 | 5:34 p.m.
The Baker University Center Ballroom was buzzing with the sights, smells and sounds of Africa on November 11 as the African Student Union helped to host the first “Taste Africa! Benefit Dinner” to raise money for an Eastern Africa Initiative.
Students and local residents got to taste African culture at the “Taste Africa! Benefit Dinner” in support of Ohio University students reporting from Africa on behalf of Afrikanews.org and the Common Language Project. Both organizations are nonprofit and aim at reporting true, often under-reported news from across the world. Afrikanews.org, started by OU grad student Ernest Waititu, focuses on “writing exactly what’s happening, both the good and bad,” Waititu said. Similarly, the Common Language Project is a Seattle-based group working to uncover news from different countries and project it to audiences around the world and to encourage positive reporting across borders.
The group of students, including Waititu, is heading to Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya for about four months. The focus of the trip: changing the way international news is reported and shedding light on undercover issues abroad. They will be reporting on pressing news such as water scarcity, climate change, elections in Kenya, political tensions over control of the Nile River and current issues affecting African nations.
Julia Marino, a graduate student studying journalism, is also traveling to Africa with the group and has been working hard to prepare for the upcoming trip. She has been helping to plan fundraisers like the benefit dinner and one that recently took place at The Donkey where Professor Bob Stewart and his band preformed. Marino is excited for the opportunity to go abroad and report. “I’m leaving Jan. 7 and coming back in mid-March, but the rest of the group have one-way tickets because they either live there or are going to stay there longer," Marino said. "I have to come back here for school."
For Julia this is a trip of a lifetime. “I’m looking forward to the overall experience and understanding new cultures and politics,” she said.
Adele Mavuso, a communications OU graduate student, supports the Eastern Africa Initiative. “There are some positive stories you can tell [about Africa],” she said, claiming that the media report mostly biased stories focused on poverty.
Mavuso was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, and knows firsthand just how partisan the media are regarding issues in Africa. Upon coming to the United States about five years ago, Mavuso realized how limited Americans’ knowledge of Africa and its current issues really is. She is highly critical of the media and is supportive of the students’ desire to make the move toward a more objective, truthful media. Mavuso is just one of the many attendees of the “Taste Africa! Benefit Dinner” who wants to focus on the real news in Africa rather than a misrepresented version of the facts. Because of this, many came out on Sunday evening to show support for a group of students aiming to make a change.
Those who attended the benefit dinner also got to experience a little bit of Africa in a familiar setting. Traditional African dishes were served and extremely well-received, with guests dining on jollof rice (rice with carrots, corn and beef), mandazi (an African take on a doughnut) and chapati (flatbread), all from Kenya. An African DJ was there to spin traditional African music after dinner, and a silent auction featured jewelry, art, clothing and handicrafts from Africa. OU students studying photography donated samples of their work to be auctioned.
There are some ways students on campus can get involved and lend their voices to the move toward real, unbiased reporting on Africa. The main way students can get involved is “by writing” Waititu said. “If tragedy is happening in Africa, let’s have more news about it," he said. “Write about [Africa], even if it’s an opinion, here’s a way to get published.”
Ernest also said that there is not enough material and information about Africa spreading because there are not enough writers, and anyone who wants to contribute to the cause can further develop themselves by publishing with Afrikanews.org.
He gave one final piece of advice for OU students: “School is not about getting an "A" but about all-around development. If there’s something to contribute, students should do it,” he said.
Visit www.Afrikanews.org for more information on how you can get involved in the movement toward non-biased, straightforward news regarding issues affecting Africa.
---