He feeds the world but sleeps hungry

Monday, July 02, 2012 - 22:28, by Nana Kofi Acquah
I was originally going to write a post on why one shouldn’t date a goat but then saw this photograph I have of an Ivorian Cocoa Farmer. I find his pose and stride intriguing. His clothes are tattered. He holds his hat like a cowboy who just got off his horse. I love the image. He’s poor but cool. I wish I could change the poor bit.
I have always said Africa’s poverty is just the by product of a leadership crisis. A perpetual leadership crisis. It’s like having a land that never sees sunshine; and yet wonder why its citizens are depressed. It is like having a land that never sees rainfall, and wondering why the ground is hard.
This photograph shames me and inspires me at the same time. I guess that’s why I can’t stop looking at it. I don’t know if a day goes by when someone in my house doesn’t eat something with cocoa in it. How can the one who feeds the world go to bed on an empty stomach? It is an unfathomable paradox but so true. He feeds the world but sleeps hungry… because he’s in Africa. The Ivory Coast is the world’s number one producer of cocoa.

Profile

Nana Kofi Acquah

Kafi was born two hundred metres away from São Jorge da Mina, the first slave castle built in tropical Africa. (Read on!)His grandmother had a pub where wayfarers, fishermen, their wives, officers and anybody who had trouble or was looking for a little happiness would come, buy tots of the local gin, “akpeteshie” and start pouring their souls out. He would crawl under tables, eaves dropping and soaking it all in. When he got bored listening to them, he’d run to the beach, sleep in a docked canoe, play soccer with his friends, catch crabs or help some fishermen pull in their catch of the day. He has always loved good storytelling. He got a degree in English from the University of Cape Coast and has been working as a Radio Presenter, journalist and in advertising before deciding to pursue photography full time. He owns a well equipped studio in the heart of Accra but most of his photography is done on location. He mainly focuses on Africa and so far has shot (still photography and directing and producing video) for corporates, NGOs and magazines in Angola, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, and Ghana. His work has been exhibited in Europe, Africa and America.

Personal Blogg (external link) | RSS

  1. [1] of posts are tagged with Green
  2. [1] of posts are tagged with Food
  3. [1] of posts are tagged with Laughing
  4. [1] of posts are tagged with Humor
  5. [1] of posts are tagged with Malaria
  6. [1] of posts are tagged with Tropical
  7. [1] of posts are tagged with Africans
  8. [1] of posts are tagged with Anopheles
  9. [1] of posts are tagged with Black
  10. [1] of posts are tagged with Children
  11. [1] of posts are tagged with Oranges
  12. [1] of posts are tagged with Kokrobitey
  13. [1] of posts are tagged with Beach
  14. [1] of posts are tagged with Soccer
  15. [1] of posts are tagged with Holidays
  16. [1] of posts are tagged with Housing
  17. [1] of posts are tagged with Yellow gallon
  18. [1] of posts are tagged with Water shortage
  19. [1] of posts are tagged with Akan
  20. [1] of posts are tagged with Tradition
  21. [1] of posts are tagged with Water crisis
  22. [1] of posts are tagged with Jelly can
  23. [1] of posts are tagged with Fante Culture
  24. [1] of posts are tagged with Child naming ceremony
  25. [1] of posts are tagged with Water
  26. [1] of posts are tagged with Well
  27. [1] of posts are tagged with Kuffour gallon
  28. [1] of posts are tagged with Segun
  29. [1] of posts are tagged with Tuareg
  30. [1] of posts are tagged with Arsenal

Search
CMS and web by Noop | Design by Ingrid Apollon | Supported by Norad