Changing the Narrative of Africa

A few years ago, I came across a video on youtube with a young man sitting in an open gutter while eating. The title of the video was “Why Rwanda’s Capital Kigali is the cleanest city in Africa“. The idea that anyone would do this was shocking for me, as open gutters are not known for their hygiene. Nevertheless, I proceeded to watch the video. I was impressed with the story told by Wode Maya and went ahead to subscribe to his channel and enjoy more content.

For so long, much of Africa’s narrative has been told by others. Mostly the doom and gloom you usually hear from the world’s media. The negative news about Africa creates a barrier in the minds of people including Africans that there is nothing worth celebrating in Africa. 

As a colonized continent who have fought for the freedom to govern itself, we’ve come a long way and definitely worth celebrating. This is exactly what Wode Maya is doing with the content he creates. He’s changing the narrative of Africa. 

Who is Wode Maya

Wode Maya is a Ghanaian content producer and a self-proclaimed village boy. He’s proud of his roots and at every opportunity shares this with his audience. With his fame across Africa and the world, he still remains humble and never goes anywhere without his sandals.

“Wode Maya” means my mum in Chinese and is an honour to his mum.  She encouraged him to pursue his passion for creating content online about Africa instead of settling for a job after his aeronautical engineering degree. 

Changing the Narrative of Africa.

Wode Maya’s goal is to tell stories that bring Africa to the World. As a continent, we know little about each other, the wonderful places, people, languages, culture and way of life.

His content is bringing Africans together by letting us appreciate what we have. He’s meeting up with heads of state, and entrepreneurs building fantastic businesses on the continent and highlighting the fact that Africa is the place to be. 

His content is also providing a positive narrative to Africans in the diaspora. Over the last few years, thousands have visited the continent due to his content, and many have decided to leave the west and make Africa their home. They are building amazing lives for themselves and their families. Many of those who settle go ahead to document their journey on Youtube to show the world you can prosper in Africa.

His content is helping Africans who might not have the means to travel see the beauty the continent offers. He is going to the far reaches of the continent and telling stories of people who you would never hear from otherwise. Living with rural tribes and showing their unique way of life. 

Wode Maya Reaches 1 Million Subscribers on Youtube

His content has a global audience and has led to his youtube channel reaching a million subscribers. An incredible feat of achievement. He becomes the first Ghanaian YouTuber to reach that milestone. 

He is working with other content producers on the continent, so they all tell the African story. Komla Dumor talked about this in his TeldTalk a few years ago. You can check the post here. He said until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter and this is what Wode Maya and others are doing.

His mission is simple; creating content that is changing the narrative of Africa. For so long many have accepted the story told about us. A place of lack, unemployment, and civil wars which has limited our capacity to dream and succeed. 

The theme in many of his videos is to highlight the fact that you can live your dream in Africa and that the west is not Heaven.

Check out his channel and join the growing online family.