At the bottom of this article, you will find the translation into the other working languages of the ILO.
One morning, Europe looked like an old, wet sock: grey skies, cold wind, and passers-by with faces like someone had stolen their hot chocolate. But here came John from Yaoundé, without a coat or umbrella, smiling as if he’d just come back from a vacation in the sun. He wore a bright pagne sandals, and a little drum strapped to his side—a real walking ray of sunshine.
First culture shock: John crossed the street without an umbrella in the light drizzle, letting the wind mess up his afro. “Hello, family!” he called out to each freezing passer-by, who looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. A lady, bundled up in three layers of wool, dared to ask him, “But… doesn’t this cold freeze you?” John burst out laughing and tapped his drum. “Cold? Ah, this is just Yaoundé’s natural AC (Air Conditioner)! You just gotta keep moving a bit!”
Without warning, he started dancing right on the sidewalk, beating his drum louder and louder. Little by little, people stopped, first shocked, then amused. An elderly woman dared to clap her hands, a man in a suit started swaying his hips, and in no time, a true scene of joy erupted in the rain!
Then, bold as ever, John shouted, “Alright, to warm you all up, let’s do the sun dance!” And soon everyone was jumping, spinning, waving their arms, shouting “hey, ho!” like in a movie. Cars stopped, drivers honked with laughter, and a police officer took out his phone to film the scene.
End result: not a single ray of sunshine appeared, but the gloom had vanished. John had just invented the first “autumn festival,” with nothing but a wet sidewalk, strangers turned friends, and a collective laugh that was worth all the warmth in the world.
And as the African proverb goes: “When you have sunshine in your heart, no matter the clouds, the warmth always wins.”
Version française : ici
Spanish version (deepl) : aquì