Category: Africa

Africa, books, community, Hachette Book Group USA, travel

Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan

Christa Avampato

Hachette Book Group USA has put out another book that I fell in love with. (The first set of books from Hachette that caught my attention were those by Stephenie Meyer. I was thrilled to learn that Twilight is being made into a movie set to open on December 12, 2008! This latest book, Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan, was a more difficult read, though a call to action that is timely and necessary. The book is a collection of 5 short stories by Akpan, a Jesuit priest originally from Nigeria who is now living and teaching in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Akpan’s is certainly not the first set of stories to chronicle the trouble life of people across Africa. What is unique about the collection is that it is told entirely from the perspective of children. Because of their resiliency, children are able to see the light and dark, simultaneously, in many situations where adults see only one aspect or the other. Children are on a quest for joy, for resolution, and most certainly for peace. As Frank McCourt said in the trilogy of books about his own life, children keep moving forward because it’s the only thing they know how to do. Akpan’s characters embrace that philosophy and take us along with them for the journey.

To be sure, the circumstances are horrifying – tribal wars, destruction, rape, poverty, starvation. I sometimes had to put the book down because each page is so densely packed with raw emotion and brutally honest storytelling. There is no sugar-coating here. What kept me coming back and reading late into the night was Akpan’s intensely visual story telling that has us bear witness to what’s happening in countries all across Africa. We are unable to turn away as we make our way through the book and we feel compelled, even obligated, to do something, to say something, to change something. Through literature, he found his voice while also giving a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves.

Say You’re One of Them was recently reviewed in USA Today. And today, there is a front page article in USA Today on Americans who are finding purpose in Africa.

Africa, environment, food, friendship, girl scounts, politics, sports, television, travel

10 little things

Christa Avampato

My friend, Julie, is in Tanzania for about 2 months. She’s on assignment with the Peace Corp and has started a blog to track her experiences. http://turnyourhead.wordpress.com/


On one of her posts, she takes a cue from her blogging sister and lists 10 little known things about her that are interesting and unique. I love the idea so much that I’m stealing it. Thanks for the inspiration, Jules 🙂

1.) The first profession I ever had an interest in was paleontology because I loved dinosaurs.
2.) When I was little, I memorized every fact about Africa that I could get my hands on and my mother would patiently listen to me go on for hours – if only we had the internet then.
3.) I was a Girl Scout until I was 12.
4.) I learned how to swim when I was 30.
5.) This is the first year I have ever been registered with a political party. My mother gave me a voter registration form when I turned 18 and until this year have always been an Independent.
6.) There is a tractor crossing sign on the road I grew up on. 
7.) The two countries I must visit some time in my life are Rwanda, to see the mountain gorillas, and Cuba because of the movie For Love or Country.
8.) I hate talking on the phone – it’s my least favorite form of communication
9.) My favorite charitable cause is environmental protection
10.) Mary Lou Retton was my childhood idol  
and a bonus fact:
11.) My sister and I have two common obsessions: The Gilmore Girls (my baby niece is named after Lorelei Gilmore!) and Dunkin’ Donuts (which we affectionately refer to as “Dunks”)
Africa, education, media, science, technology, TED

Searching for the Next Einstein

Christa Avampato

There is a profound belief in the West that if we throw enough money at a problem, the problem will ultimately go away. I’m not sure how or when or by whom this misconception was started. I do know it runs deep in this country, and recent world events have shown its fragility.

I read extensively about Africa and the circumstances that many of the nations on that continent are facing politically, economically, and socially. Recently I heard an NPR story covering integrated schools in South Africa where students don’t feel safe because of ever-rising racial tensions. In the New York Times I’ve been following the campaign of Morgan Tsvangirai, the man who dared to challenge President Mugabe, and then dropped out due to the threat of violence. Yesterday I was reading a story in Sierra Magazine about Ethiopia’s optimism, a story chronicling the long-overdue arrival of contraceptives that are allowing women and girls to take more control of their lives.

The one topic I don’t hear much about in relation to Africa is science. Yes, in a roundabout way the topic is addressed via food shortages or medical relief work. Science education isn’t touched. With great excitement I learned about a program initially sponsored through TED, NextEinstein. Neil Turok, a brilliant cosmologist and education advocate, was honored with the TED Prize, and thus was able to use TED’s incredible network to announce his one wish for the world and receive support to bring that wish to life. “My wish is that you help us unlock and nurture scientific talent across Africa, so that within our lifetimes we are celebrating an African Einstein.” Essentially he is saying that Africa must solve Africa’s problems if those solutions are to have longevity.

In 2003, Turok, who was born in South Africa, founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Muizenberg, a postgraduate educational center supporting the development of mathematics and science across the African continent. The website http://www.nexteinstein.org/ was just launched about a month ago and the movement is looking for help in the form of donations, media talent, creative business consultants, educators, and infrastructure.

This effort is about helping entire nations lift themselves up and propel themselves forward. African nations have been down-trodden for too long, dependent on aid that is always too slow to arrive and never substantial enough. Neil Turok is building a program for Africans to help other Africans. There is more to those nations than disease and war and social ills, contrary to so much of what our national media covers. It is a continent rich with possibility and talent and heritage. Now the question is how to mine that potential so that the outcome is even more elaborate than Turok’s dream. To lend a hand, visit the TED Prize website.

Africa, books, child, children, technology

Child soldiers

Christa Avampato

I just finished the book A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. Ishmael was a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Through his own bravery and with the help of the U.N., he was able to escape to the U.S. to begin a new life and start down his road to recovery. I finished the book in a couple of days – Ishmael’s honest and plain-speaking memoir make the book impossible to put down.

NBC Nightly News is also covering the issue of child soldiers this week with Ann Curry based in Congo. It is a frightening tale – these children are facing such devastating circumstances, hopped up on drugs and armed with some of the deadliest weapons on Earth. One boy said he has no way of knowing how many people he killed before he as rescued by the same U.N. program that saved Ishmael. 
I am very interested in volunteering time to help with programs like this one. I have left a message for Ann Curry on her blog and if I hear back from her on ways that Americans can help these children, I will post the information here. In the meantime, visit the NBC site covering Ann Curry’s trip: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23164955/
  
Africa, green

On Green: Can the sun save Africa?

Christa Avampato

I have long felt that Africa was an economic giant who has laid sleeping too long. It’s a continent that much of the world has written off as a charity case, a place that has too many tribes, too many dictators, and not enough resources save the few pockets of oil and diamonds.

And I could never understand this mentality. How is it that the continent where human life began has been rendered useless? The whole world that has doubted Africa’s ability to save itself from itself may finally be proved wrong. And the sun itself may be the protagonist.

There is a concentrated solar project now being conducted in the African desert that has the ability to create enough power to supply 1/6 of Europe with all of its electricity, drastically cutting emissions and providing many African nations with a consistent stream of income. It’s about time we let this giant rise and shine.

The above picture can be found at http://www.xemedia.com/africa/p_images/sun_lg.jpg