My mum’s from Ghana, and she used to say this Ghanaian saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’,” said gospel rap artist Guvna B, when explaining on Sky News what communities can do to keep children occupied and safe from violent crime.
Unfortunately for the nation’s cringe reflexes, his interviewer and the presenter Jayne Secker appeared to misunderstand the proverb, taking it literally: “But we’re not in a village in Ghana and people don’t necessarily feel there is much of a community in some parts of London at least.”
Oh dear.
With spectacular levels of politeness and patience, Guvna B informed Secker that her “comment’s quite stereotypical because I live in Greenwich, southeast London, and I feel like I’m part of a community”.
He later tweeted:
“Live on @SkyNews earlier. Think the presenter got a bit confused. FYI “It takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb that means that an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe & healthy environment.”
–
Credit: newstatesman.com
