Parents are great, aren’t they? They made you. They take care of you. They cook for you. They assist you. They clean for you, even the stinky messes. They quarrel with you about every single small mistake you make. Most of all, they love you.

This is how most Africanadian parents are and will always be. Alas, how about their parents? How were their parents and how is every other parent in Africa? Are they similar or different from the parents we Africanadian kids love so dearly? I have been to Tanzania and Uganda and I think I can answer some of your questions.

You’re sprinting home, huffing and puffing like there is no tomorrow. A huge grin is pasted across your jubilee face. You are faster than any man alive right now because this is your moment to shine. You have scored 100% on your very important math test that adds up for 40% of your grade. You trip over a rock. BAM! You’re on the ground and your knee is scraped. But you don’t care! You get up quickly, without hesitation. You just can’t wait to show your parents your fantastic work. Nothing else matters! If you live in Canada, your parents would either be home, ready to congratulate you on your success or they would be home in a couple hours with a big treat for you after you told them over the phone.

If you were in Africa, let’s say Tanzania or Uganda, first off, you will probably be in boarding school and won’t see your parents for months. If you aren’t in boarding school, you probably wouldn’t be able to see your parents for several hours or days. They would probably be in the office waiting for traffic jams to cool off or on the way back from work stuck in those long traffic jams. They could probably also be on a business trip in some other part of the country or continent. You wouldn’t be able to call them either since you don’t have enough money to buy some airtime. The only people who could congratulate you are your siblings or your Dadas, which means “sisters” in Swahili.

Dadas are girls/women like housemaids who work for a lot less pay than western housemaids/nannies but do a whole lot more. They care for the family kids, the house and compound, wash the clothing, buy the food, cook the food, run errands, and even bathe those that are still young. They clean everything. By everything, I also mean baby’s junk in their trunks! They do all these things and the parents (or their bosses) do hardly any of them.

Dadas basically raise you while you might not even be related to them. You see them more often than your own parents too. They are like your second parents. African parents are usually away both for work or other reasons known to them. They often leave early in the morning and come back home very late. With29 school five days a week and your parents working for long hours and even going on long trips, the only day you could really associate with them is on Sundays.

On weekends, when you expect African parents to spend time with their children, they are out at wedding meetings and parties, memorial services, and other gatherings. Even though these are important, you would expect them think of immediate families over extended families and friends. Compared to African parents, in Canada, our parents are around us a lot of the time, like they never heard of privacy, and go out with us to many places, unlike parents in Africa.

Africanadian parents on the other hand do all the housework dadas in Africa do. They are around to take care of you, cook for you, clean for you, take you to various after school programs, argue about keeping the house clean to you, and even bathe you! They help you with school work and spend time with you on weekends as well. They congratulate you for doing well and support you when you are feeling down. Bottom line is they are always there for you, no matter what.

There are some significant differences between Africanadian parents and African parents, but there are also similarities. Both love to dance, so much to the extent that they end up embarrassing you. They both like eating and drinking (food is number one to them); they both hassle you in their own ways too. Ooh, they are both LOUD and JOYFUL! Guess what, they both originated from AFRICA!

But the one big thing they both share that is best of all is their love for their children. They might not always be around to say or show it, or might even be around to much that it bugs you, but they do and always will love you, no matter what. Ooh, how I can’t wait to be a parent after university of course!

Angelous