Out of Africa

According to the United Nations, millennium goals for the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are far off track—and when it comes to Africa the need is great and the prospects for moving forward are dim. None of the goals, which include a 50 percent reduction in extreme poverty and hunger; universal primary education; promotion of gender equality; reduction of child mortality by two-thirds; cutbacks in maternal mortality by three-quarters; combating the spread of malaria, HIV/AIDS and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a North-South global partnership for development are likely to be met in Africa, a United Nations study concluded.

Should we become the United States of Africa?

And even if we should, are we ready?

Introducting Solving Africa.

Written and organized by journalist Kingsley Kanu Jr. Solving Africa is a project/quest to discover how young people can contribute toward the development of Africa. 
He is a currently on tour of seven African countries— Dakar (Senegal), Accra (Ghana), Lagos (Nigeria), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Tunis (Tunisia), Nairobi (Kenya), and Johannesburg (South Africa). In this interview with Farafina magazine, he explains what Solving Africa is all about: 

This project is a collection of dreams; asking young Africans what they see as wrong or right with the continent and their role in its development. But it’s not a policy book. This is first and foremost a work of creative nonfiction that I hope makes people think about some of these issues. …

The African dream is to leave Africa. There are many people like me. We are often at the tops of our classes and each year, our SAT scores and achievements prove that we can run with the best from any country on earth. We have capable people who do not see Africa as theirs to build as much as something to sidestep. But if it isn’t this generation of an educated, uninformed African middle class, who else is going to care? Who else has the resources – social, political and economic – to care?

For those of us in the Diaspora, let’s keep up with his findings and see how we can contribute as well!