Most of us have a friend or relative who treats us like a free counselling service: we do our best to be attentive when they want to talk about their problems. Yet, in some cases, it isn’t a two way street. Perhaps they aren’t keen on listening when we want to vent, or they take […]

Unless you live in rural Africa, it is hard to grasp just how difficult it is to find affordable medical help when you need it. However, people in the developed world who are without sufficient health insurance may understand how quickly life can spiral out of control when you become unwell. The same applies in […]

Often, when someone from the global north asks what Network for Africa does, we are told, with a wistful smile, that people in Europe and America could also benefit from the services we offer. This is true now, during the pandemic, more than ever. We train people in Africa, living in difficult circumstances, with simple […]

This update from Network for Africa is different from the others we publish. This time, we are making a special appeal for funds for our work in Sierra Leone, in West Africa. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone was so impressed by the work of our local partner during the 2014 Ebola […]

“God gave burdens; he also gave shoulders.” Yiddish proverb This is, appropriately enough, Mental Health Awareness Week, and people around the globe are working to come to terms with the unwelcome burden of stress on their shoulders, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. A little kindness from others has never been more important for our daily […]

Most of us are absorbing a tsunami of news bulletins and articles about COVID-19 on a daily basis. From China to Italy, and then in our own communities, we have followed the alarming progress of the pandemic through the developed world. But from now on, we may see increasing media coverage of how the virus […]

‘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 […]

In 2020, Network for Africa would like you to hear from some of the amazing team of people who have worked with us on many of our projects, beginning with Dr. Barbara Bauer. Why do you do this? I wanted to do humanitarian work from the age of 14 when I read The Other Side […]