Investing in AFRICA

Countless times, I have been asked by Americans and even some fellow Africans what I thought would be the best way to bring about development to the continent. To dodge long and unpleasant potential ideological debates, I usually say that the best catalyst would be changing the mindset of the population, which is very difficult (voire impossible) and it is not something an external third-party can achieve; I also mention that making a significant impact would require dealing with local government officials: good luck with that! And then we switch straight to the weather...:)).
In all seriousness, I thought about the areas in which members of the diaspora like myself or even foreigners can give back to the mother continent, not to change the face of the world overnight, but to make those little actions that could impact the life of a few key people every year. Here they are with some concrete examples of what someone can realize:

1) Infrastructure: 

This is a huge pool of possibilities. Most African countries suffer the lack in infrastructures: Limited means of transportation (roads, trains, effective public commute either urban and inter-urban), buildings (like schools, hospitals, etc...) or access to basic resources like water or electricity. A successful member of the diaspora could organize a fundraising to build a well or a building that could be used as school or hospital in a rural area.
2) Tourism: 
The perception of Africa from most foreigners is that of a gigantic zoo/jungle (i.e. a huge land of natural environment where animals and Man cohabit in harmony), but the guides and guards of the "Park" just happen to die of hunger, malaria and AIDS while constantly fighting each other.Okay I admit, this is little exaggerated; a friend of mine makes my point better and funnier, check out her blog post. Working on preserving our landmarks as well as our fauna would definitely attract tourists and then we would be able to show our wonderful our community-based lifestyle can be.

3) Education and Health Care:

For a more effective, yet slower and long term impact, there is always actions towards educating the youngsters and provide with ways to fight against the not so deadly (avoidable and curable) sicknesses that are killing them. A good and simple idea could be to provide tuition scholarships to the smartest kids in a school or help them become the teachers, the doctors or engineers that will tomorrow work in the infrastructure built in 1).

4) Artistry and Values:

I have heard so many times that the African population is loosing its identity. Apparently, we want so much to integrate the globalization that we tend to loose those values that make us who we are. So I believe that anything that could be done to golden our identity is highly welcomed. Examples include art galleries, cinema promotions and why not book and music publishing provided the contents focus on African cultural heritage.

5) Technology and Telecommunications:

This is probably the area where I will personally try to work some magic. It is a definite win in terms of business: the adoption of cell phones skyrocketed in a few years, more than 33% of the population in Cameroon (from CIA papers) now own a phone compared to the less than 5 out of 100 households in 2000. The venue of the Internet is also a big game changer (just think about the impact that social media had in the recent government overthrow in Egypt). If only we could make the hardware less expensive and bring forth faster and cheaper internet..... Education in technology would also be a big plus.


There you have it. There is a lot more that can be done, and I might actually be wrong in many aspects, this a is just what I feel is best.
In the comments section you can debate specific subtopics or propose your own solutions.

Courage to Engage

Me trying to speak in public :)

This was the theme of this year's edition of ISLC (International Student Leadership Conference), a panel of internationals, for internationals, by internationals, organized and hosted by James Madison University and Eastern Mennonnite University.
Students from all parts the US get together to learn and discuss the tips and tricks necessary to a successful leader, coupled with fun activities (dance party for example). It is a great occasion to meet people from all around the world studying or living in the United States, hear their stories and learn about their culture. I can not possibly layout all the lessons that could be gained throughout the conference (go next year if you can, and experience for yourself!!), but I will discuss a couple points I personally gathered.

          First, a general overview of the theme: "Courage to Engage". A leader is someone that people follow and trust to develop/achieve a project, a passion or something they believe in. So each of us is a full blown tank of leadership potential waiting to burst. This does not mean that everybody has be the president of a group or war leader or anything like that (though these are included), it all starts with the little things such as having the courage to engage into a difficult conversation or with a stranger or simply getting out of your comfort zone to have a connection with your alter ego.

          One example can be derived from the inspiring documentary movie "Crossing Borders" by Arnd Wachter, which follows 8 students (4 Americans and 4 Moroccans) living together in Morocco for a week (see trailer below).  The movie was shown at the conference, followed by a very interesting group discussion on the topics developed in the movie (the previous picture was taken at that moment), moderated by the author himself Arnd who gracefully accepted to participate at the event.


CROSSING BORDERS (Trailer, 3 mins) from CROSSING BORDERS on Vimeo.

"There is enough religion in this world to hate each other, but not enough religion to love one another" - King Abdullah II of Jordan