Written by CorpsAfrica/Senegal Volunteer Mr. Mama Diop

I had a dream last night, a message I had to pass on to you.
Last night in my dreams, I was going for a walk into a gloomy and dark forest.
All of a sudden, I could perceive a skeleton running toward me.
I wanted to run away from it, but he told me “My grandson, please, don’t run away from the truth”.
I was frightened to death and I could not say a word.
She added, “Perhaps you do not recognize me, but I’m your grandmother. I am Africa”.
I was astonished and I asked her how it could be my beautiful Africa.
She answered “oh my grandson please believe me. I’m your grand mum and let me tell you my story.”

“My son, in the old days, I was a beautiful woman who gave birth to many children. My children were as beautiful as me, they had many resources. They were living happily together, having their own language and their own ways of living.”
Then, she stopped talking for a while and shook her head. I asked her what was wrong before I hearten her to go on.
She added: “Now grandson, as you can see I’m a skeleton because my flesh was stolen by other people from another world. What they did is turn me into a spider web, to implement their own culture and to steal all my resources.”
“What I can say my grandson is that it is me who has fed others continents and my sons have fed some other continents.”
“Also my grandsons don’t work hard to help me get my flesh back, they abandoned me, they don’t believe in themselves many of them do not love me, they only look for their own interest”
I could not hold back my tears when I confessed to her that her story was very tragic.
Indeed, I asked her what the solutions for her situation were.
And replied: “Grandson I have a message for the world and it is your duty to pass it on.”
She shouted “Grandson tell African people that they should be optimistic and that they should definitely stop listening to people who keep on telling them that I will never get my flesh back. Of course, I can get it back. But only if they just believe in it.”
“Tell them that I have hidden a part of my flesh and only those who work hard can find it”
“Tell them that I’m very mad at people who staged coup d’état by killing the brave ones who sacrificed their life in order to free my sons from colonial yoke”.
“Tell them that, I’m very irritated by the comprador bourgeoisie who keep on plotting with my enemies to rob my resources”.
“Tell them that I’m feeling very upset because of my grandsons who die because they have to take canoes to go abroad”.
“I fall out with people who are dividing my communities, by putting them in bad terms before giving them arms to kill each other”.
“Tell them that, I blow my top to see rulers misleading their people, stealing their money that they hide in overseas banks”.
“I don’t like seeing people killing my innocent grandsons in the name of religion. Tell them that all religions recommend peace and love whatever their differences are”.
“I cannot stand seeing my grandsons losing their values and education that constitute the base of my development”.

After saying this, she nodded her head, smiled, and I wanted to know why.
She revealed to me “Grandson, because of something, I can still keep hope that one day some of my grandsons will get my flesh back.”
Being curious, I asked her what it was.
And she answered “because now, I can see three people from different mothers, but the same grandmother, working together to rise me upward”.
I asked her whose people they were.
And she told me: “these people are from Morocco, Senegal and Malawi and they all know, despite their differences of language and culture that they must work together to bring back the CORPS of Africa”.
“They are young people who understand that my development is sleeping in rural areas with local communities who are helping”.
“Tell them that I’m very happy for what they are doing”.
“Tell them that I’m very indebted to CorpsAfrica Volunteers from each country”.
“Tell to LIZ FANNING that I’m very grateful to her, her assistants and her partners”.
After this, I promised her that I would pass on her message and that I would come back again and again to pay her a visit.