In all the talk that there is about the development of countries on the African continent, the focus remains on the role of African governments and international aid organizations. This mentality has led – with debatable effectiveness – from one grand initiative to another. Whether it was the structural adjustment programs of the World Bank and the IMF in the early nineties governing how poor countries could spend borrowed funds, or today’s Millennium Development Goals by the UN, the focus is rarely on the role of individuals as drivers of development.
While these grand initiatives slowly make their way to the ground, batch after batch of Africa’s best and brightest minds leave for schools in Europe, America and Asia because their opportunities are limited at home. Some places do not have enough schools, and where there are schools, there may not be enough jobs for those who graduate. Parents realize that their children will never achieve their full potential by remaining stuck in these situations so families send their kids abroad. This “brain drain” may be just as detrimental to Africa’s development as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade because the very people best equipped with the training and energy to move countries forward seem more focused on leaving these countries than building them.
HENCE THE PROJECT – SOLVING AFRICA
To each person who sees that ordinary individuals have the potential to transform a village, city, country or continent, we invite you to be part of what we’ve loosely called the Solving Africa movement. Our goal is to showcase, inspire and mobilize young Africans and their friends involved in: thinking up, launching, and executing fantastic projects in their villages, cities, and countries.
We are a smattering of entrepreneurs, development professionals and skilled idealists from around the world interested in creating a new African dream. We think it’s possible that if one thousand people, say Cameroonians, decided to start hospitals that adhered to international standards and treated the diseases most common to their people, these 1000 individuals would have essentially transformed the healthcare sector of their country. Yes, there are many variables and unknowns but that’s how a country is changed – one daring individual effort after the other.
Anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” So what is your Solving Africa initiative and how can our growing network of entrepreneurs, development professionals and eager-to-work idealists be a part of it?
