(Some) African kids changing the world

1) Kelvin Doe

Kelvin Doe is my hero and the most inspiring person on the planet in my book. He’s only 15 but recently became the youngest person EVER to be invited to MIT’s ‘Visiting Practitioner Programme’. His claim to fame? His incredible ability to turn trash into batteries, generators and even radio transmitters. Completely self-taught, he has used these skills to create a community empowerment radio station, which he runs as “DJ Focus”. But despite his genius he is incredibly down to earth, humble and the sort of person we should all aspire to be. Be warned, this video is the most motivating and heart-warming I’ve ever seen, tissues will be required!

2) Richard Turere

A 13 year old Maasai herdsman from Kenya was losing his family’s livestock to lions from the nearby Nairobi National Park. Rather than trying to kill the lions, like most people in his community felt forced to do, he used incredible resourcefulness to invent a solar powered lighting system that now protects the cattle from his own and several other villages.  By providing a different way of protecting the cattle, he has also done a lot to help the lions.  By safeguarding human lives, protecting livelihoods and building harmony with the natural environment, Richard shows us how little it takes to come up with completely new solutions when we truly pay attention to local circumstances.

3) Nadege Iradukunda

Nadege is an 18 year old Rwandan who is dramatically reducing the cost of running schools by setting up bio-digester plants. A bio-digester plant uses natural biological processes to converts food waste into energy! The plants help schools in Rwanda not only to reduce their environmental impact but also to save on heating and lighting costs by as much as 40%.  This in turn makes education much more affordable and accessible to more Rwandan children. Since the inception of the project she has overseen the deployment of 15 bio-digester plants, serving more than 15000 students.

4) Ludwick Marishane

This 17 year old South African is no stranger to invention, and when in Grade 9 (12 years old) he even invented his own bio-fuel! The invention featured below is called Dry-Bath and is a way to properly cleanse your body without using any water. Ludwick says he specifically invented this for the millions of people across the world who don’t have enough access to clean water, and so help with the prevention of diseases such as Trachoma. Beyond this though, he sees this particular invention as a way to save water, protecting and preserving this scarce resource.

5) Laetitia Mukungu

Laetitia (18) founded and steered to success the Women’s Rabbit Association of Kenya. After a volunteer teaching stint she realised that the biggest impediment to quality education was a lack of funds at home, which impacted on the schools’ resources and even affected their ability to provide uniforms and stationery. She decided she needed to start an income generating project and decided on rabbit breeding! Watch this to find out why she chose rabbits, as well as how 15 families have been transformed by this one inspiring individual.

6) Miriam Nsekonziza and Precious Nyabami

Having only very recently been announced as the winners of a regional science, technology, engineering and mathematics competition (March 2013) little information is currently available on these two 17 year old’s achievements. What is known is that their study can be considered, in the inventors own words, ‘as a major breakthrough in the wake of concerted efforts by the government to ensure access to clean water for all households in the country.’ Their studied covered methods of tapping of rainwater from rooftops.

 

A response to Robert Bates’ piece ‘Africa through Western Eyes: The world’s dark continent or capitalism’s shining light?’

Robert Bates recently wrote a piece (http://thinkafricapress.com/culture/africa-through-western-eyes-worlds-dark-continent-or-capitalisms-shining-light) documenting his understanding of the history of and reasons for Africa’s image in the West. I found the piece thought-provoking but have to say I don’t agree with everything he said.  After reading it I felt it necessary to respond to some unsubstantiated claims, particularly relating to what I saw as his unfair and uninformed portrayal of the organisation Africa The Good News. Let me at this stage declare that I have written for them (as an unpaid volunteer) in the past and plan to do so again in the future. I support Africa The Good News’ mandate and believe that they have an important role to play in inspiring, informing and mobilising the people of our continent – our greatest strength and resource.

He wrote: “It is partly because some people think the best way to repudiate the negative stereotypes of Africa is to pump out wholly ‘good news’. An account on Twitter called @AfricaGoodNews is a case in point. Its handler tweets links to positive reportage of Africa: such “Angola May Produce One Million Eggs a Day…” and “Doing Business in Fast-Growing Africa – Europe Edition…”.

It is one facet of a larger rebranding project. Whilst some observers may approve, seeing them as necessary correctives to the boilerplate journalism mentioned above, others are already finding them clichéd and boring or downright misleading; a facile PR exercise designed to encourage (mainly Western) investment.”

My first objection is to the selective representation of the sort of information shared by Africa: The Good News’ Twitter account.  In it the writer has quoted (out of context and incompletely) two mundane, banal and Eurocentric tweets. He doesn’t show the tweets about opportunities to be involved in volunteer-created textbooks, feedback on research and census studies, economic market information and news of general political, cultural, environmental, economic and even entertainment events from across the continent.  All these, I would like to add, seldom appear in Western media, even in the “back pages” so to speak. Is this news primarily positive? Yes, that is the entire point of the organisation, but more on that later.

My second concern is with Bates’ portrayal of Africa: The Good News as a Twitter account and no more. It is far more than that, and he has neglected to mention the organisation behind it.  A little research would have revealed that the organisation was originally founded as an offshoot of the very successful South Africa: The Good News, which had been founded a few years earlier by Steuart Pennington. Its aim was and is to counteract the overwhelmingly and exclusively negative portrayal of South Africa in the local and international media. It was not about creating an artificially positive alternative reality, but rather was aimed at ensuring that the real South Africa, both the good and bad news, got the balanced coverage it needed and deserved.  This all started when Steuart went to a ‘Farewell, and Congrats you’re getting out’ party for some friends emigrating to Australia, and found himself getting angry at the endless negative stories and statistics about South Africa doing the rounds at the event. What made him really angry was not so much that these things were being said, but that they rang true at first hearing and he did not have the facts at hand to refute or confirm them. After taking on a couple of the guests, and earning himself a night on the couch as a result, his wife suggested he do something about it instead of moaning about it.

So he started doing some research, and discovered that not only were many of these common ‘truths’ on the downfall of South Africa overexaggerated or downright wrong, but also that there were many good things happening too. He found himself motivated and inspired to join the ranks of those working towards the future we all dream of for South Africa, and so the organisation was born. After a few years of running the rapidly growing and successful South Africa: The Good News the team recognised that a similar platform was needed for the continent as a whole, which led to the birth of Africa: The Good News. Of course both these organisations are (hopefully) changing the attitudes and actions of investors (local and international) but the arrogance inherent in the assertion that Africa: The Good News is just an investor propaganda machine quite frankly infuriates me. Even if this assertion was true (which it is not) why should Africa not be able to market itself to investors by showcasing its strengths? Virtually every city and country in the world does that!

South Africa: The Good News and Africa: The Good News take the view that since the negative side of Africa gets so much coverage there really is no need for them to add to it. Does this mean they only publish naively positive stories? No. When reports such as the Global Competitive Index come out they are shared in their entirety, not just the positive parts. Does either organisation blindly act as if either South Africa or the continent as a whole doesn’t have any problems? Again, no. They do, however play an active role in correcting these instead of swooping in from afar, dismissing inconvenient details as irrelevant and rushing away without offering any solutions or alternatives. I see no reason to give more credit to negative news than positive simply because of their outlook – I’ll admit Bates never actually says this outright but the implication is pretty clear. If this analysis of Africa: The Good News had been based specifically on reliability of sources, accuracy of data or even the dates of data published etc. and then substantiated I would have paid more attention. Let me be very clear that I don’t believe any of these are in question, however a rational review of them would have at least been useful and much more fair.

My final complaint is not against the portrayal of Africa: The Good News specifically, but the general assertion that reporting on good news from the continent is found by “others” to be “boring”, “cliched” and “misleading.” Those are pretty serious claims to make and if they had been made against a specific journalist we would now have quite a row on our hands.  Why should it be any different when made about an entire group of (unnamed) journalists?  Who are these “others” he refers to?  The fact that no one specific is mentioned makes it difficult to challenge him on specific facts – probably the intention of these vague, unsubstantiated claims in the first place.   There is no logical reason why good news should be reported any less than bad news, and all reporting should be judged on its accuracy and reliability, not simply it’s positive or negative tone.

Since Bates started with Twitter let’s go back there now: a quick search  of the word ‘Africa’ shows the enormous number of people in Africa and across the globe who have warped and inaccurately negative views of the continent. Africa: The Good News is an important and laudable initiative for a grossly misunderstood and maligned continent. All Mr Bates’ attack on this organisation does is show how very necessary initiatives like this still are.

 

(Some) African Producers

Sources:

• Bermosa, N. 2010. ‘World’s Largest Producers of Betel Nut, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Pistachio, Soybeans, Vanilla and Others + Uses’ http://tinyurl.com/cmreorg
• Bermosa, N. 2010. ‘World’s Largest Producers of Fruit’ http://tinyurl.com/bmtcut4
• Bermosa, N. 2010. ‘World’s Largest Producers of Fruit II’ http://tinyurl.com/bwppas6
• Inoue, J. September 2010.  ‘World’s top five producers of phosphate’ http://tinyurl.com/c4lkxmq
• Lucas, C.  April 2011. ‘Kenya’s Flower Exports Seen Growing In 2011 After 15% Decrease Last Year’ http://tinyurl.com/c5eso9d
• Mieu, B. July 2012. ‘Ivory Coast Plans More Cocoa Grinding at San Pedro Sites’ http://tinyurl.com/c94zbz
• CGIAR. 2009. ‘Banana and Plantain’ http://tinyurl.com/bpvdkne
• Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 2011. ‘A profile of the South African Mohair Market Value Chain’ http://www.daff.gov.za/docs/AMCP/MOHAIRMVCP2011-12.pdf
• FAOSTAT. 2010. ‘Top Production, Bambara Beans’  http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx
• FAOSTAT. 2010 ‘Top Production, Cassava’ http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx
• FAOSTAT. 2010 ‘Top Production, Camel Milk’ http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx
• FAOSTAT. 2010 ‘Top Production, Cereal’ http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx
• FAOSTAT. 2010. ‘Top Production, Leguminous Vegetables’ http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.asp
• ZAR.co.za. 2007. ‘What Makes South Africa Unique?’ http://zar.co.za/world.htm

 

(Some) of Africa’s Scientific Discoveries & Contributions

An infographic to highlight some of Africa’s lessor know scientific discoveries and contributions, of which there are MANY more…

SOURCES:

• McLaren, W. August 2006. ‘Mohammed Bah Abba And His Pot-in-Pot’ http://tinyurl.com/986etkj

• Treacy, M. May 2012. ‘Device Turns Your Sneaker into a Portable Cell Phone Charger’

  http://tinyurl.com/8jnwt8z

• Ashoka Innovators for the Public. 2008. ‘Ashoka Innovators for the Public: Mohammed Bah Abba‘

  http://tinyurl.com/9nlrwur

• Biofuels Digest. May 2012. ‘CleanStar launches first cooking fuel facility in Mozambique; alternative to

  charcoal cooking, heath risks, at hand in Africa’ http://tinyurl.com/94lmzal

• Noble Prize.Org. The Noble Prize in Chemistry 1999: Ahmed Zewail http://tinyurl.com/9jknsbr

• Novozymes. May 2012. ‘CleanStar Mozambique launches world’s first sustainable cooking fuel facility’

  http://tinyurl.com/9ozs7lu

• Google Science Fair 2012 ‘Meet our 15 finalists and Science in Action winner’ http://tinyurl.com/8fjlw82

• RNW Africa Desk. February 2012. ‘The Cardiopad: an African invention to save lives’ http://tinyurl.com/9btaxfv

• The Right Livlihood Award. Aklilu Lemma (Ethiopia) http://tinyurl.com/9dd8j65

• Wikipedia. Sema Sgaier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sema_Sgaier

• Wikipedia. Raphael Armattoe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_Armattoe

 

A real life example of why I believe in Africa

One of the best days of my life to date – definitely top 5 moments – was a random Tuesday of June 2009 in Orlando West, Soweto. I was standing outside a classroom at Nkanyezi Stimulation Centre and watching with 2 others (Prisca and Vusi) through the window, behind the curtains where we were out of sight. We were watching as one of the carers from the Nkanyezi Stimulation centre, Salomina, was encouraging Thato to take her very first steps. Thato was six at the time, suffered from three different physical disabilities and doctors had told her parents that there was a very tiny possibility that she would be able to walk but in order to achieve this, extensive and continuous (read: very expensive) treatment would be required. Yet here she was taking her first steps in a classroom without electricity, carpets, any equipment – never mind specialised equipment – and a carer with no training but plenty of love and patience. Thato seemed to understand the gravity of the moment and after 5 steps in a row, taken very seriously and with every bit of her concentration, she exploded into that true belly laughter that only children seem to be able to do. And while Thato laughed Salomina, Prisca, Vusi and I all cried, cried and cried some more at the witnessing of what was a real life miracle.

What made this a miracle was not that her chances of walking, according to doctors, were slim even with the best care available – although this was so – but that this had occurred in a place with so little in a physical or material sense. Also because although Thato was the first to be taught to walk at Nkanyezi there have been several others who have done the same since. It shows that what really counts at the end of the day is perseverance, patience, determination and (albeit very hippy of me) love. With these things the most insurmountable odds can be overcome. This centre is proof of that…

The Nkanyezi Stimulation Centre was founded by Prisca Tshabalala, who having recently given birth to Nkanyezi, a child with multiple disabilities, searched for some form of support and assistance in her Orlando West community of Soweto but found none. Not the sort of woman to sit around and do nothing she started a support group for parents of children with multiple disabilities that within weeks had over 40 members. This group grew and grew all the while with Prisca reading and learning as much as she could about not only coping but flourishing with, because of and despite any disabilities. Eventually it became clear that a special school was needed for such children and since there wasn’t one Prisca founded one. After years of fund raising, campaigning and dogged determination Dimpho Stimulation Centre for children with multiple disabilities was only weeks away from opening when tragedy struck.  Prisca’s shining star, as she called Nkanyezi, passed away in 2000 at age eleven having never seen the school his mother had worked so hard to create for him and others like him. Despite her heartbreak, despite the fact that she no longer needed the services of such a school she persevered and now she did so because of a promise to Nkanyezi to make as much of a difference as possible to the lives of ‘his people.’ Twelve years later Prisca still runs the school, in fact gives her monthly pension to the school to ensure it survives, and is the foundation of strength, love and determination which seems to feed the rest of the school. From the carers, who come to work with smiles on their faces and endless patience for their pupils despite the fact that they often go unpaid for months at a time because of funding shortages, to the gardener Bra Nxobo who has been providing lunch to the centre through his vegetable garden and maintaining the centre grounds for 10 years also more often than not without pay and even with broken ribs!

This centre is just one of the many reasons I believe in Africa. The economic growth rates, education statistics etc. are all very impressive and important but it is the people, the people like Prisca, Salomina and Bra Nxobo that make me believe. The knowledge they have acquired on their own, the innovations they have come up with to overcome resource shortages, the dedication despite scant reward are motivators and inspirational to all who come across them. They make me believe because with such goodness, determination and self-sacrifice, of which Nkanyezi is just one example of many from our continent, it seems impossible for us not to succeed.

For more details check out Nkanyezi on Facebook (Nkanyezi Stimulation Centre) + Twitter (@NkanyeziCentre)

 

Unpacking Africa’s Middle Class Consumer Behaviour

This is the first infographic I have ever created, so not very creative at this stage but packed (I hope) with useful and surprising stats! For more details on any of the above figures please consult the following sources:

Afrique Avenir. 2010. ‘New consumption patterns in Africa’ http://bit.ly/AbSnTe

Imara Africa Securities Team. 2011. ‘Financial groups eye Africa’s growing middle class’ http://bit.ly/yuR8dA

Ncube et al. 2011. ‘The Middle of the Pyramid: Dynamics of the middle class in Africa’ African Development Bank Publication

Maina, W. 2011. ‘Kenyans quench new thirst for fine liquor’ http://bit.ly/xIIMXk

Kunateh, M. 2011. ‘Africas middle class triples to 313 million’ http://bit.ly/xnnb3W

Sikiti, L. 2012. ‘Look out for the African Middle Class’ http://bit.ly/Ash0K6

Youth Xchange. 2004. ‘More and More Cars: Africa’ http://bit.ly/yLsGVx