Ubuntunomics

When I met my hero at TED2010

Jacqueline Novogratz is my hero, I so love her work. She is the Founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. I met Jacqueline at TED2010, a wonderful, humble and remarkable lady that is doing so much for Africa.

Jacqueline is slowly changing the rules of the game in Africa, she is taking action and making a huge difference in people lives. She is genuinely interested and emotionally linked to Africa which I admire enormously. Being an advocate for Africa in all spectrum, having met so many friends of Africa, I can say that what the world needs now is more Jacqueline Novogratz. I am sure your work will inspire millions in the years to come.Thank you Jacqueline for your great work. I love you! xx

Read more about Jacqueline on Wikipedia or BlueSweater

Facing up to the Future in Africa

A recent trip to Africa, where I had the opportunity to visit many schools and meet students who are aspiring to a better education, to serve their countries, to help their families and even to become tomorrow’s leaders, was a thought-provoking and dispiriting experience.
Education is a basic right of every human being, but it is a right that is being well and truly violated in Senegal.

Senegal is one of the 53 African nations that celebrates this year 5 decades of independence from its colonizers. Sadly however, it would be a mistake to think that this independence has made a difference to the educational system.
The Senegalese government is failing kids at all levels. The system is too complex and hopelessly out of date.
Kids go to school with low expectations and have to work in dreadful conditions, including classrooms that are hot, sandy and dirty.
Teachers’ lack of proper training is spreading mediocrity to thousands every day but nobody is monitoring the situation. Thousands of students in Senegal struggle to find books, (maths, history, geography, science), computers and other basics. Libraries and place of learning are rare in Senegal. Books are too expensive and lessons are still copied from the board.
The Senegalese curriculum is too heavy, often changed without consultation and not adapted to international or local standards. Outdated and in-adapted philosophy textbooks are studied that serve no use to anyone and science lessons are pitched too high. The work of Leopold Sedar Senghor – Senegal’s first president, one of Africa’s leading 20th century intellectuals and the first black man to become a member of the French Academy – will not be found in the more rural and isolated parts of Senegal, simply because there are no books at all or the French language is not understood and/or spoken badly.
When you are poor and have few resources, basic survival comes first.

The government is spending on real estate, by building hotels and other luxury developments, but little is being invested in education. Recent government claims that it is to spend 40% of the annual budget on educating its people are misleading.
Conditions of study throughout Senegal are tough. Kids that have poor parents will continue to be penalized by the system, while those from wealthier families will not fulfill their potential either because the program is not adapted to their needs. Most kids from privileged backgrounds finish their studies abroad. The prospects for building a stronger, better-equipped Senegalese workforce in the next 10 years look grim. Unless the conditions of study and investment in education are looked into with urgency, I don’t see any future for the current generation. This is the sad reality in Kaolack today in 2010.

Rethinking Africa

“Africa is the home of limitless potential, feel free to dream and together we will make it happen”

Africa will host its first International tournament this year 2010. Millions of people are expected to fly in the continent and to discover the beauty, the humanity and smell of it. No African nation has done this before therefore this opportunity will put Africa in the spot light. Visibility is expected at its highest.

It’s also an opportunity to Rethink Africa. South Africa is one portion of Africa with its population reaching the 50 million out of 1billion people living in the continent, a very poor country still where unemployment is extremely high and income inequality has almost created racial discrimination between Blacks and Whites. Women are still raped violently, reduced to nothing, polygamy and violence are still an actuality in South Africa.

South Africa is not Africa; there are many other countries in Africa that by 2020 can hold an International tournament as this grandeur. Yes lots of work needs to be done to achieve that but with reserve certainty, it could happen. This mean that in the next 10 years we must work hard to build necessary infrastructures, stabilise our governments, invest in ICT, help Africans with sustainable applied educational programs that will create jobs and reduce poverty.

Africa is not poor, but 70% of the continent is poorly administered, governed with individuals that want to remain in power for centuries, fear to loose wealth, and good “life”. They have forgotten their noble mission in society and just thinking of themselves and their entourages.

I always say that Education is Key to Africa development, we must teach governments to be accountable, reliable and responsible. They have been elected to serve their people, therefore must serve with Dignity! When a mandate has been served, another elected government must take over. Governments aren’t family businesses and we must know this. They have earn the vote of that poor woman in the village therefore must have the decency to deliver what they have promised. African governments need to be taught basic lessons of humans’ rights. 2010 will be a testing time for Africa, it will get lots of visibility, but the credibility, and profitability it needs will depend on how its people rethink of it.

Social Media will have a huge effect on the continent with an expected #hashtags trending on the Twitter home page. It will mean nothing for the people that don’t know Africa, but will mean a lot for the Diaspora and millions of Africans that are leaving outside the continent for diverse reasons such as force immigrations, war, poverty, asylums or simply lack of opportunities in their countries of origins.

Rethinking Africa is crucial for 2010, as we enter this new decade; change must happen at its core. Some people in Africa are very poor, this is a fact and they do not even know why they are so poor, why they can’t buy food, why their resources are misused, or why they can’t get access to basic education and that’s the sadness of it. We all must rethink Africa;do the right thing as it has lots of potential that can contribute to a better world.