The tweet that revealed African kindness to the world

“O jewa ke eng?”

Africa is known for its challenges- so how come we’re (mostly) keeping it together?

Empathy and kindness.

“O jewa ke eng?” Was a simple tweet posted in January 2019 by an 18-year old student. The phrase, in Sotho, means “What’s eating you up?”, or “What’s bothering you? “ the response was overwhelming. People not able to graduate from university because they owed fees, people in desperate search for a job, small businesses seeking to grow, or just people needing a hug. And what followed was even more amazing. People started jumping in to help strangers. Many who had gone through similar challenges and made it reached out a hand to pull others up from their dip just because of empathy and kindness.

Of course the tweet went viral and took on a life of its own in Nigeria, Kenya and other regions across the continent.

This is really a very 2019 manifestation of the magic recipe that keeps Africa going!

Context: I was nominated for Female Innovator of the Year by Africom — which is a huge deal! At this stage it is a popular vote here: https://get.knect365.com/africacom/female-innovator-of-the-year-2019/

Because Innovation never happens in isolation, and this accolade should also recognise so many people who have helped me get to where I am, I wanted to use the exposure of the nomination to showcase African Innovation. I have pledged to showcase #AfricanIdeas for every vote I get on my social media feeds: twitter, LinkedIn and instagram.

This story was too long to fit in a tweet so I’ve posted it here.