Why Africa???

Yesterday, I had the privledge of going to the airport to help pick up five of my nine friends (four of them are stuck in Washington D.C. until tonight) that have been in Ethiopia for the last 10 days. It was so neat to get a little bit of a glimpse, from the few stories that were shared, of what I have to look forward to on my upcoming trip.

Mark, one of the guys that just got back, let me borrow a book a few weeks ago, and I have been reading my way through it for the last couple of days. It has really given me some insight into why Africa struggles the way that it does, but it also paints a really neat picture of all the potential that Africa has to suceed as a continent.

Facts that I found interesting from Against All Hope: Hope for Africa:

Natural Resources
- Africa has the land space of the United States, Europe, New Zealand, India, Argentina, and China (22.3% of the world's total land value).
- It has been said that Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have the agricultural potential to feed the entire continent.
- If Africa could dam major rivers, there would be enough water to plant crops in the worst drought stricken areas.

Poverty Stats.
-14% of the world's population lives in Africa, but produces slightly less than 2% of the world's Gross National Product.
-17 of the 21 poorest countries in the world are in Africa.
-148 out of every 1,000 children will die before their 5th birthday.
-Average life expectancy is 51 years old.
-29 of the 42 countries with the lowest literacy rates in the world are found in Africa.
-Human Development Index (HDI) measures the "quality of life." based on life expectancy, literacy rates, educational attainment, and adjusted real income. 33 of the bottom 40 countries on the HDI scale are in Africa. (Mozambique is number 171 out of 177. The United States was listed in the top 8.)
-34 of the 50 "least developed countries" are in Africa. (Mozambique is also on that list)
-Mozambique is #7 on the list of "Least Livable Countries." (#1 is Sierra Leone)

HIV/AIDS
-71% of the world's AIDS cases are in Africa.
-6,000 people die in Africa with the disease each day.
-A conservative estimate of 28,500,000 Africans are infected with HIV/AIDS.
-About 12,000,000 children are orphaned throughout Africa as a result of both parents dying from HIV/AIDS.

Corruption Perception Index (CPI)
- CPI is a scale that ranks countries on a scale of Highly Clean(10) to Highly Corrupt (0). Sixteen of the African countries that were surveyed rated as highly corrupt. Mozambique ranks at 2.8 on the Corruption Perception Scale.
- Among the world's richest men are African heads of state.
- It is estimated that approximately $148,000,000,000 is in secret bank accounts of African rulers. This represents about half of the $300 billion that Africa as a whole owes its foreign creditors.

So the question of "Why Africa?" Africa is a place that needs people to care about it. I think that these statistics help to paint a picture of a continent that is without hope. They help to paint a picture of a continent that needs more people to be aware of what is going on. I have choosen to help make sure that the people that I come in contact with know about Africa. These statistics will hopefully help to explain the urgency of the message that Africa needs our help.

That is why I have choosen to take the opportunity to spend my summer in Maputo, Mozambique. If I happen to run into a hippo while I'm there, it will make the trip all that more memorable.


jb