Barbie has ditched her riding gear, her ball gown and her ballerina costume and travelled to Africa to help the people there, while still managing to stay fashionable.

That is at least according to a much talked about Instagram account, Barbie Savior, which is charting her imaginary volunteer journey.
It starts with her saying farewell to her home in the US and wondering if the "sweet sweet orphans in the country of Africa" are going to love her the way she already loves them.

The satirical account encapsulates what some see as the white saviour complex, a modern version of Rudyard Kipling's White Man's Burden.
The 19th Century Kipling poem instructed colonialists to "Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease". Today, Barbie Savior says she is going to love the orphans "who lack such an amazing Instagram community".
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Because of the history of slavery and colonialism, many people in Africa find such attitudes deeply patronising and offensive. Some argue that aid industry can be counter-productive, as it means African countries will continue to rely on outside help.

Barbie with a baby on her backImage copyrightBarbie Savior
Image caption
"At first, she was scared of my white skin... We are bound together by spirit and our humanity. And now, by cloth. I feel like mothering all of this country's children."

Barbie in front of a slumImage copyrightBarbie Savior
Image caption
"Just taking a #slumfie amidst this dire poverty and need. Feeling so #blessed and #thankful that I have so much more than this"

US-based Nigerian author Teju Cole described the complex in a 2012 essay as a belief that "a nobody from America or Europe can go to Africa and become a godlike saviour, or at the very least, have his or her emotional needs satisfied".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36132482?ocid=socialflow_facebook