In Europe, once a young girl has learned to walk, she may then start ballet or dance lessons or learn to ride a bike or simply start playing games with friends.

In many parts of Africa all of the above may apply, however added to the list is how to walk whilst balancing things on your head.

In recent times I have witnessed this skill on many occasions in the likes of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Rwanda & Uganda.

I imagine the process. Start at a very early age, begin by balancing the likes of a block of wood, move up to an empty box and gradually start putting items in the box until you can carry a full one without it falling off.

I always suppose that there must be many times the items come crashing down in the training process until such time as the skill is perfected.

As well as learning the perfect pose to achieve balance whilst walking up and down hills and across rough terrain, the girls must begin to develop incredibly strong neck muscles going by the size of some of the loads that I have seen carried in this way.

Stacks of bananas, mangoes or pineapples, baskets of potatoes or sugar beet, bundles of sticks, sacks of rice or grain, large bowls of charcoal, containers full of water or other liquids. Sometimes they have two full hands and young children to shepherd at the same time. Wow!

I am in absolute awe at their skills and love to see the absolute grace with which they go about their business. The cheeky side of me would love to see a race between loaded up ladies. A much better spectacle than the English tradition of sack racing!

Footnote: Shadow direction is affected by hemisphere because the apparent path of the sun in the sky differs between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres due to Earth’s axial tilt and rotation. In the Northern Hemisphere, the noon sun is in the south, making shadows point north, while in the Southern Hemisphere, the noon sun is in the north, causing shadows to point south.