‘Komera’ is the Rwandan word for courage; these words were spoken by a genocide survivor who has seen her share of catastrophes. She doesn’t underestimate the challenge posed by the coronavirus, but she has a sense of perspective that not all of us share at the moment. Many people in Africa are not surprised when […]

Anyone who has raised a child or provided care for a loved one knows that being a care giver can be exhausting, both mentally and physically. It is doubly challenging if you live in a society that sees women as servants rather than citizens: there is little support or sympathy for women who have to […]

“Familiarity breeds contempt” is an idiom attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer. Yet sadly, it is just as relevant – and painfully true – today as it was when Chaucer wrote it in 1386. Most of us have been guilty of it: not showing enough sympathy when our partner has a cold; glazing over when a friend […]