My last couple of blog posts on Project Diaspora have focused on best practices to improve service delivery on the continent and mobile solutions to potentially improve visitors’ experiences when they travel to Africa.

San Bushman man from Botswana. Photo Credit: Ian Beatty from Amherst, MA, USA

As I contemplated this current blog post, I looked through my notes to find an inspiring idea. I wasn’t inspired by any of them. So I revisited a Wikipedia search for Africa, which I recently conducted.  What I found was seemingly pretty basic: history, geography, politics, etc.  What struck me, however, was that the overall entries about contemporary Africa were quite negative in general, supported by images of a San bushman from Botswana, Beja Bedouins from Northeast Africa, a rural woman from Benin and a street musician from South Africa.

Beja Bedouins from Northeast Africa. Photo Credit: I, Jpereira

While none of these photos are particularly derogatory, they fail to accurately reflect what the continent has to offer, in terms of its educated urban population and its market potential.

As a diasporan born in Uganda and raised in New York, this all stirred up negative emotions within.  I grew up in New York during a time when it wasn’t cool to be African and I struggled with my identity, despite having gone to the United Nations International School – a very inclusive and empowering academic institution — and living in a community of mostly multicultural families.  At the time, it was much easier for me to assimilate as an African American (a group with which I still very heavily identify having grown up in the US) trying to bury my “Africanness”.  It’s only when I got to Syracuse University as an undergrad and took a few Africana studies courses that I began to develop pride for my heritage and to seek out additional sources to reinforce that feeling. So while the title of this post is about the kid in Podunk, I believe that what I’m proposing below is important also for the African kid (a) living in the diaspora, (b) who is fortunate enough to access the internet in Africa and even (c) whose friend and can teach him/her about who he/she can become as a result of hearing about his/her fortunate friend’s discovery online.

I must stress that my issue in post isn’t actually with Wikipedia — “a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual content, and to providing the full content of these wiki-based projects to the public free of charge.” The question then is “who should bear the responsibility for the inaccurate portrayal of Africa?”  Is it an individual, an organization or African governments?  Who stands to benefits most from a more inclusive and therefore positive branding of Africa?  You may in turn ask “why this is important?”  Well here are my two cents:

Children, the future leaders of the world, are generally quite impressionable.  So what they’re taught as children influences the decisions they make as adults.  Exposure to correct information about Africa would therefore lead them to recognize Africa and Africans are valuable partners in the global economy rather than the current perception of Africa and its people as a lost cause.

Liya Kebede, Ethiopian model, maternal health advocate, clothing designer and actress who has appeared three times on the cover of US Vogue. Photo Credit: Ed Kavishe, Fashion Wire Press

It’s imperative therefore that Africa and Africans amend the Wikipedia pages on Africa and the African Diaspora, to reflect more inclusive images of Africa and the African Diaspora, given the intrinsic value of the latter both to the continent and the countries where they reside.

Below is a very SMALL sample of diasporans of note who could potentially be spotlighted.  I used the following methodology to find them:

1. I searched Wikipedia for diasporans with whom I am familiar and then used links from their profiles to identify others. I was mindful about the need to reflect talent from the whole continent.
2. I excluded people on the continent making their mark, purely as a means to remain focused on Project Diaspora’s mission: to promote African diaspora engagement in sustainable economic activities within Africa.
3. For simplicity sake, I narrowly defined Diasporans as those who currently reside outside of Africa and who were born in or have parents from Africa.
4. I linked to the Diasporans’ existing Wikipedia pages and grouped each sample according to primary industry.
5. Finally, I used photos from diasporans whose Wikipedia pages had rights-free photographs.

African Diasporans of Note

Arts / Entertainment	Akon || Johannes Anyuru || Michael Blackson || Chiwetel Ejiofor || Idris Elba || Safi Faye || Edi Gathegi || Haile Gerima || Namugenyi Kiwanuka || Boris Kodjoe || Sal Masekela || Peter Mensah || Tom Morello || Ntare Mwine || Thandi Newton       Photo: Thandi Newton, English actress born to Zimbabwean mother and British father. Photo Credit: gdcgraphics”
Education	Ilesanmi Adesida || Kwame Anthony Appiah || Patricia McFadden
Fashion	Amsale Aberra || Ozwald Boateng || Iman || Kiara Kabukuru || Liya Kebede
Financial Services	Mo Ibrahim || Dambisa Moyo || Adebayo Ogunlesi
Journalism	Sade Baderinwa || Ron Mwangaguhunga || Hoda Kotb || Dinaw Mengestu || Adaora Udoji
Politics	Peter Bossman || David Soares
Hospitality Management/Travel	Dorinda Hafner || Marcus Samuelsson         Photo: Marcus Samuelsson, Ethiopian-born Swedish chef and co-owner of Aquavit and Red Rooster restaurants in New York City and C-House Restaurant, located in the Affinia Hotel in Chicago. Photo Credit: Tduk Alex Lozupone”
Religion	Rev. Peter Gomes* || Archbishop John Sentamu
Science & Technology	Kwatsi Alubaruho || Cheick Modibo Diarra || Chinedu Echeruo || Gebisa Ejeta || Ave Kludze || Noah Samara || Window Snyder
Sports	John Amaechi || Kelenna Azubuike || Yinka Dare || Obinna Ekezie || James Ihedigbo || Ruth Kasirye || Mathias Kiwanuka || Dikembe Mutombo || Emeka Okafor || Hakeem Olajuwon || Betty Okino       Photo: Dikembe Mutombo, retired Congolese American professional basketball player, who last played for the Houston Rockets of the NBA. Photo Credit: Keith Allison”

In conclusion, while Wikipedia is a great tool for cataloguing a part of Africa’s reality through its Africa and African Diaspora pages, they need to project the other side of the story.  The basis for this is currently available as individual dots on the Wikipedia site.  What’s needed is for these dots to be connected and given a little bit of context to make it easy for a kid anywhere in the world to access a more inclusive picture about Africa.  I am pleased to note that individual Africans including: Mo Ibrahim, G. Kofi Annan, Sophie Bekele, Ida Horner, Mariéme Jamme, Sheila Ochugboju, Emeka Okafor, Alex Okosi and Joshua Wanyama , are some of the many already working towards the rebranding of the continent.

My hope is that this post will inspire others to join this vital effort.  I welcome any feedback or suggestions for other Diasporans or Diaspora-related items to feature.

Please feel free to connect with me:
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*Rev. Peter Gomes passed away on February 28, 2011

Well, right now it is sexy to be worked up about malaria. It is a problem that the developed world has beaten and the developing world still struggles with it everyday. The solution to malaria seems to be so simple, when in fact it is fairly complex. All this talk about malaria and malaria nets got me to thinking about the less sexy, more practical and simple problem of water and sanitation… That’s right there is nothing less sexy than poo. Who would the celebrity spokesperson be? Johhny Knoxville?

Water, the most abundant natural resource on the planet and one which more than 1.1 billion people cannot count on accessing safely. Not only that but 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation.

What does having reliable access to safe water mean?
How near is the water source to your home
How protected from pollution and human (or animal) excreta is it?
How private is it?

When water does not come flowing out of all the faucets in your house what are the consequences?
Well, for the 1.1 billion I mentioned above it means, huge portions of the day spent traveling back and forth from the communal well/borehole/stream/waterhole what have you to their homes so they can drink, cook, bath, water their gardens or crops, and animals. Often carrying a bucket on their head that weighs the equivalent of a checked bag at the airport or about 44lbs (20kg). Ever tried to carry your suitcase on your head? In Africa the amount of time spent transporting water is estimated to be 40 billion hours. That’s billion with a “b” per person about 26% of people’s time is spent carrying water… and those people are mostly female. If the time spent going back to get water exceeds 30 minutes, studies have shown that the amount of water transported is not adequate to their needs. Which means that using water for washing often is sacrificed as the lowest priority need behind drinking and cooking. Additionally, the more time is spent transporting water, the less time there is available for other critical tasks. Girls are also affected in other unexpected ways. Many girls do not have access to schooling because the schools lack adequate toilet facilities. Often dropping out of school after puberty when privacy becomes a critical issue.

Time and dignity is the least of the concerns associated with unimproved water and sanitation. When water comes from an unprotected source it becomes a health-risk. Not just any health-risk mind you. Water related diseases are the leading cause of death in the world, with 2 billion people affected per year. Ahead of HIV (35 million affected) and Malaria (251 million affected)… not only that, unsafe water is a leading contributor to the spread of malaria and is a factor in decreasing life expectancy in people living with HIV/AIDs.

Water borne disease include:
Diarrhea: About 4 billion cases of diarrhea per year cause 1.8 million deaths, over 90 per cent of them (1.6 million) among children under five.

Arsenicosis: Long-term exposure to low concentrations of arsenic in drinking-water causes painful skin lesions and can result in cancers of the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney. There is no reliable estimate of the extent of the problem worldwide. WHO is presently collecting information in order to make such an estimate.

Cholera: In 2002, over 120,000 cholera cases were reported worldwide. It is estimated that 450,000 children per year die from Cholera and it accounts for 30 – 50% of hospitalizations in children under 2 years.

Fluorosis: Essentially fouride poisoning which effects the bones caused by high concentrations of fluoride found in groundwater. The total number of people affected is not known, but a conservative estimate would number in the tens of millions.

Guinea worm disease: These parasites cause debilitating ulcers when the mature larve leave the body. In 2002 there were 50,000 cases reported 13 African countries.

Intestinal worms: This infestation leads to malnutrition, anaemia or retarded growth. About 400 million school-age children are infected by roundworm, whipworm and/or hookworm. In fact, roundworm and whipworm alone are estimated to affect one-quarter of the world’s population

Malaria: There are 300-500 million annual cases of malaria throughout the world and about 1 million child deaths. Improving drainage and eliminating uncovered water tanks is an important factor in reducing malaria cases.

Schistosomiasis: Parasitic worms penetrate the skin of people swimming, bathing or washing in contaminated water, These worms lead to the Schistisomiasis infection which can damage the liver, intestines, lungs and bladder. About 200 million people are infected with schistosomiasis, 20 million of whom suffer severe consequences

Trachoma: An eye infection that can lead to blindness; currently approximately 6 million people are blind due to trachoma infections.

Typhoid: Characterized by headaches, nausea and loss of appetite. About 12 million people suffer from typhoid every year

So what are the solutions?
Here is where the lack of sexiness of the issue really shows. I don’t see many people getting excited about drilling a borehole, covering a well, soap, hand washing, latrines, water pipes and faucets. Which is a shame, because this is a problem we know how to solve, no fancy technology needs to be developed. We don’t need to tap the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for research money to cure all the diseases listed. We know how to fix it… the will needs to be there to do it.

What is the cost?
In Uganda a new borehole costs between $7500 and $10,000 US dollars (source: Uganda Water Board). One borehole can serve the water needs of over 4000 people. That is $2.50 per person! Cheaper than a malaria net, and a multi-tasker… What a deal!

Hygiene education is inexpensive and does not require tremendous skill or technology to provide. Letting people to know what carries germs and how to avoiding contaminating the water they worked so hard to transport home goes a long way toward reducing the incidence of disease.

Relative costs of Sanitation projects

Granted its not as easy to sell sewer pipes as it is malaria nets. It’s not as easy to spin or hang a viral campaign on. Nobody’s bragging about how many toilets or feet or water pipe they are buying in Africa… Never mind a latrine. So yeah a full on construction project that includes water treatment, recirculation, pipes, adding toilets to homes, bringing in water to a village center is complicated… but here is the thing. This complicated project creates jobs, a skilled labor force, opens up time for children and adults to get an education, take on additional income generating projects and more… along with the health and wellness benefits. PLUS, if it is built, run and maintained by local labor the project does not require on-going external support. Unlike a malaria net that at best needs to be replaced in 5 years. Let’s work at getting to the root of a problem rather than slapping a band-aid on it. So if all this attention on malaria and malaria nets protects a large portion of the population for 5 years, why not take that time to address some of the fundamental issues that lead to malaria infestations including water and sanitation?

Statistics and Charts Courtesy of The World Health Organization

When I met first Siena Anstis this summer at Cafe Pap in Kampala, I was a rock star. No really, she really thought I was a musician, Bobby Wine to be exact. Here, she tell’s it much better than I do. Besides sharing a love for photography and a lust for really expensive camera lenses, we also shared a passion for grassroots economic development projects.

Fast forward to last week when she launched the Women of Kireka web site. The blog is the end result of her encounter with 13 women in the Kireka stone quarry, just outside Kampala, Uganda.

The inhabitants of the Acholi quarter, and most of the women working at the quarry, fled the war in Northern Uganda 6-10 years ago. As a friend working for Refugee Law Project (RLP) pointed out, they are now living on the same salary as back home, $1 a day, except in a different surrounding alien to them. Most, if not all, used to be peasant farmers: toiling in fields of cassava and beans morning to evening. RLP calls them urban Internally Displaced Persons. 

Siena launched The Women of Kireka web site in partnership with Northern Uganda Women and Children Initiatives (NUWECHI) as an effort to get these women involved in a sustainable, income-generating business. The project has set a goal to raise US$23,000 to buy equipment for the women to start a sewing business so they can earn enough money to start a new way of life. Here’s how that money will be spent.

Project Diaspora would like to announce that we’ll be throwing our full support behind this initiative as it parallel’s our efforts to “engage and motive” the African Diaspora to take a greater collective role in as many development projects as possible. We invite the Ugandan Diaspora to offer their knowledge and financial support behind this project. Even donating $1 or an email or a word of support will go a long way in helping these women become economically independent. We’ll be posting regular updates on the efforts, as well as how much has been raised, how it’s spent, along with the results.

WAYS TO HELP:

Paypal
We’ve added a Paypal ‘Donate’ button to our sidebar. Feel free to donate as little of as much as you want. If you are already a Paypal member, simply send your donation to [ siena.anstis@gmail.com ].

The Point
You can also donate and lend your support for this initiative directly via The Point.

SUPPORT
You can show your support for these women by joining the Facebook group, where we’ll be posting regular updates. Search for “Women of Kireka”, leave comments on Siena’s blog here, or contact her directly at siena.anstis@gmail.com.

As of late I have spent a tremendous amount of time in hospitals and nursing homes. I very quickly discovered that almost all of the caregivers… Please not the intentional use of “almost all”… Are African. RNs CNAs, techs, aids, flabodimists, breathing specialists, and on and on…. African. These highly skilled, friendly beautiful people are here taking care of people who are arguably much better off than their family and friends back home, at least financially. As I sat in the hospital trying to ensure that my 94 year old grandfather got the kind of care he deserves, I had to wonder what these ladies and gentlemen were thinking. The truth is that no matter how much money you have at one time or another your body will betray you and no amount of money will save you from what all of us must face. However, knowing as I do that there are many people in Africa lucky to survive ailments that we don’t even think about here in the US, I wonder what kind of internal battle these caregivers go through. Clearly, working here in the US offers immigrant workers more financial reimbursement than they will get in their home countries, but at the same time they are as aware as I am; if not more aware; of the value of their skills back at home. When the needs are so great, and the decision to go back home and serve that need means such a tremendous sacrifice… How can they balance their needs versus the needs of their homeland? How can this sector of the African diaspora serve their homeland and still be compensated for their particular skills? How can they give back and keep what they have worked so hard to earn?

Today on my daily blog troll I discovered a link to Paradox Uganda… So firstly thanks to the Ugandan Insomniac for posting it. Anyway, I was reading about the Ebola outbreak and all the fear and misinformation that is swirling around. The Blogren is doing a good job talking about this by the way. To me, all the way over hear in the US, Ebola has been a big scary monster… reason A#1 to avoid Africa. Every movie, news report designed to make you petrified to set foot in Africa for fear of hemorrhaging to death. This from a gal that spent her childhood in Central America… not exactly a germ-free zone ya know? So, Paradox Uganda… whose “about” reads as follows…

We are a pair of docs in working in Africa … Paradox: “A seemingly absurd proposition which when explained may prove to be true”– Oxford English Dictionary. Dying that we might live. Becoming poor that we might be rich. Strong in our weakness. Joyful despite our suffering. Sinners, yet saints. Apparent contradictions, but core truths. 

… are in the heart of the epidemic. Doctors who just happen to be in the center of the storm. They count the dead, report the well, comment on their community and what is happening to it. The Doctors’ reports make the outreak real; all the more tragic; bring it into perspective and bring it to life in a way that news reports can’t and don’t. Dr. Jennifer Myhre is particularly eloquent when it comes to the death of personal friend Dr. Jonah Kule. The tears flow, but how else can one honor the dead? Well today, she brought him to life for me so I could mourn him with her… Thank you Doctors’ Myhre for what you are doing now, what you have been doing quietly for some time now, and everything you will do in the future. Thank you.