Jengu

In the Sawabantu groups of Cameroon — a river and sea-dwelling mermaid spirit who brings fortune, heals disease, and mediates between the living and the spirit world.

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Around this time, I used to talk to my grandmothers every two weeks, and the conversation was mostly about their health. They told me, more or less frequently, about the pills they needed to take — some in the morning, others at night — each for a different reason.

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To make things easier for them and add a bit of fun, I designed a stackable pillbox with two compartments. Creating it was quite challenging. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I could make it simpler, take up less space. Remember those stackable colored crayons from our childhood? I used to love them! So why not incorporate that concept into the pillbox?

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I visited them after a while and gave them the gift. One of them said she used it daily, finding it both useful and fun (let’s take her word for it), and the other… no idea. Nevertheless, ❣️.