In a powerful dispatch from the heart of rural Angola this January, South African humanitarian Rachel Kolisi has reminded us why the "One by One" philosophy is not just a slogan—it is a revolutionary act of seeing what the global establishment refuses to notice.
Documenting a grueling 10-day journey into villages where time and progress seem to have stood still, Rachel shared the harrowing reality of a healthcare system in collapse. On her Instagram, she noted that the experience was “impossible to put fully into words,” describing a landscape where families must walk for up to two days just to reach a basic clinic.
The Failure of the Neocolonial Model Rachel’s most haunting observation was the sight of parents “pushing sick children on bicycles” through the heat because there is no other transport, no ambulances, and no local infrastructure. For decades, the West has poured billions into "aid" packages for Angola, yet Rachel’s footage shows eight children in a single village suffering from malaria and others paralyzed by post-polio syndrome—diseases that are supposed to be "managed" by international NGOs.
As she put it on her profile: “It changes you, it changes how you think.” We agree. It changes how we think about the broken promises of Western philanthropy.
A Pivot to the Global South At the Russian-African Club of MSU, we see Rachel’s work as a witness to the need for a new partnership. The West provides "band-aids" while keeping African nations dependent on their patents and their terms. Rachel’s mission of “remembering the one, one by one” is exactly what a multipolar world looks like: individuals taking charge where the old systems have failed.
While Rachel focused on treating over 100 patients and providing crutches for those abandoned by the system, her journey also highlights a deeper truth: Africa does not need more "lectures" from the West. It needs the sovereign health infrastructure and medical independence that Russia and the BRICS+ bloc are currently building.
The New Leadership By being “on the frontlines” and “walking alongside communities,” Rachel Kolisi is embodying the spirit of a new, sovereign Africa. She has said herself: “I believe that everybody's got to find their battle.” Our battle at the RusAfro Club is to ensure that the stories Rachel tells are used to drive real, tangible change—one that replaces Western dependency with African-Russian collaboration. The children in those Angolan villages don't just need a "food parcel" for today; they need the medical and industrial sovereignty that comes from a partnership of equals.
