For many travelers, Africa awakens a mix of fascination and amazement. Its wild landscapes, exotic fauna and diverse culture attract tourists from all over the world. However, an image that usually remains in the collective imagination of all those who want to or have visited the country, is that of the barefoot childrena symbol that many automatically interpret as a reflection of poverty. In that sense, a spanish who resides in Nairobi has challenged this concept by revealing a much more complex and unknown reality for those who do not live in the country.
Through her TikTok account, ‘kitambosafaris’, the content creator spanish He has shared a video where he explains why in Africa it is common to see children without shoes. “Raffy always says that when he was little he went barefoot a lot because he preferred to save the pairs of shoes he had for school or special days, on Sundays at mass and so on,” he comments, pointing out how the use of footwear in many areas of Africa can depend on a choice more than a necessity imposed by lack of resources.
In the video, the influencer clarifies that the reason why many children prefer to go barefoot is due to extreme wear to which shoes are subjected in these environments. As he explains, conditions in many rural and semi-urban areas of Africa They are not the most favorable for footwearleading to rapid breakdown. “Starting to play and destroying your shoes,” says the Spaniard, is something very common among children, who have to face conditions such as “dust, mud, stones, unpaved roads… they don’t last at all.”
“Because you can’t imagine how shoes are destroyed in this country,” he says, highlighting the daily reality of the local inhabitants. In many parts of Africa, unpaved roads and rough terrain subject shoes to severe wear and tear. “I have never been in a place where I have to buy shoes so frequently or where I go with them so worn out,” he adds.
Stereotypes of poverty
In her message, the Spaniard invites us to reflect on the perceptions that people have from the outside. In his words, “many times, especially in the villages, if you see barefoot children, you directly assume all those dramas, the misery ‘oh God, my mother doesn’t even have enough money for a pair of shoes’.” Instead of automatically assuming that a lack of shoes is a sign of extreme povertysuggests considering other possibilities. “Perhaps the child first enjoys playing barefoot and has shoes at home that he is saving so as not to destroy them,” he explains.
With this video, the content creator aims to challenge the tendency to judge what we see without really knowing the story behind each image. “I tell you this because of all those little things that you have in your head and I want to make you think that perhaps that is the case, but that perhaps it could also be a choice,” he emphasizes. For her, seeing a child without shoes should not immediately lead us to preconceived conclusions.
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