The light of Africa

Clara Sallán, 2nd year History student and International Office,
has won the short story competition "Cuentos que Cuentan" based on her experiences in Africa.
based on the experiences of her volunteer activities in Africa. In the story she wanted to
to capture in some way everything she saw in Tanzania.

"I was only able to give a few sketches, as it is difficult to talk about such a different reality in just 300 words.
reality in just 300 words. Especially because, at the same time, it is a world that is much
world much closer than we could imagine".

Andrea Gonzalo Pascual, illustration of the original story at Cuentos que Cuentan

A long time ago, someone took away the light in Africa. Overnight, the continent woke up without streetlights. It is said that strangers suddenly came and took away bulbs, streetlights and high-voltage cables, leaving streets, villages and roads in darkness.

They left the women with their big baskets of fruit and clothes on their heads and their children on their backs, the Maasai with their herds of goats and their chequered blankets and the children with their feet white from playing on the dusty roads in the dark. Why did they take the light from Africa? Perhaps there were no streetlights on their continents.

But the Africans continued to drive along their roads, shining dala-dala headlights, turning the road into a dazzling snake after dark. The women continued to sit on their blankets selling avocados and bananas, from sunrise to sunset and in the moonlight. The Maasai continued to make colourful necklaces, jumping and singing by their smoky mud houses.

Africans adapted their eyes to the darkness, and where they could not, they created light. From Kenya to Senegal, from the Sahara to the Cape of Good Hope, a thousand campfires were lit, and

Africa shone. Gradually, over the years, Africa emerged from the pit of darkness into which it had been plunged, shining with its own light.

Africa is shining, and will soon dazzle us all.

Tanzania, June 2019

Read the three winning texts (their authors, Tania de la Roza de Miguel and Leire Alargunsoro Maiztegui, are also students at the University of Navarra) accompanied by illustrations, didactic guides and possible educational activities for children.

About Cuentos que Cuentan and ONAY

Organisation of Navarre for financial aid among the Peoples (ONAY) has been collaborating for more than 25 years with different countries in areas such as health and Education, and supporting the construction of a more supportive, critical and committed society in Navarre. Within this context, we are committed to the international university volunteer activities and we collaborate with Tantaka training and management . 

In 2019, thanks to funding from SOCIAL INNOVATIONwe are organising a children's story competition with the aim of goal to disseminate these experiences in order to make the realities of the countries of the South known to the children of our community, emphasising the positive aspects and richness of these countries.

Educating and raising awareness among children about the inequalities that exist in different countries is the main aim of this goal competition , an initiative of the ONAY at partnership with Tantaka, the solidarity bank of the University of Navarra.