Social Construction Of The African Child

Introduction The notion of the "African Child" is a social construction that varies across time and place. Moreover, every child's experience across the world is very individualized based on their own personal experiences. Karen Wells (2009), noted that childhood is a social construction which is composed through a complexity of social frameworks consisting of social, political, cultural, laws, policies, beliefs, economic institutions, and the interaction between both adults and children. The idea of the African Child has changed throughout history, and across time and space. Africa is a very vast continent consisting of fifty-four countries, and a population of approximately 1.16 billion people (Population Pyramid, 2015). To simply apply

This is a common pattern found among charity campaigns and organizations, during early philanthropy work that took place in Africa throughout the 1900's. Emily Baughn (2013) explores early philanthropy work through her article titled “Every Citizen of Empire Implored to Save the Children! Empire, Internationalism, and the Save the Children Fund in inter-war Britain”. Baughn (2013) explains that early philanthropy took place in the first initial campaign that was claiming to save children in Africa. However, the Save the Children fund was also to satisfy Britain's personal political agenda. The Save the Children Organization used media such as: newspapers, advertisements, and branding the African child as a victim of poverty to appeal to europeans to “help” Africa. For instance, the media contained many images that depicted African children as malnourished, poor, sick, starving, or dying. The way Africa was painted by these big organizations were quite similar to the photo of Angelina Jolie and the child. However the photograph would have been used for the purpose of appealing to people, with the intention of wanting people to donate money to support the cause. Thus, the trope of the African Child being characterized as the victim of poverty has been instilled in society for over two hundred

Ebigbo (2003) emphasizes the severity of the situation of abuse/neglect with a spot light on Nigeria. In the article Child Abuse in Africa: Nigeria as Focus Ebigbo (2003) explains that due to economic hardships, political wretchedness, and unemployment which has lead to uneducated, abused, and ill-treated women and children. This applies to the stereotype of the African Child we see illustrated in the photograph and how the child in Angelina Jolie's embrace is tethered to a post. There is, what seems to be a short rope, tied around the child's left ankle which is attached to a tall stick in the ground. In Addition, what is missing in the photograph is the child's family. The child seems to be comforted by Angelina Jolie, and further implying that the child may be orphaned or neglected by the people who should be taking care of the him/her. Nevertheless, this further pushes the impression of the African child as the victim of abuse/neglect and in need of saving by