Just a friendly response I gave to someone a few months back, sad part about this note is that my friends and I never really took our planning to the next level makes me feel almost like a talking head which is something I don’t like but any way on to my note…

So I wanted to reply to your comment about “what places need the most help?” and to tell you the truth as an African who does not want to help but rather be an active force in the resurgence of not only my nation but my neighboring nations (as a student of the ideas of Kwame Nkrumah I understand the well being of Ghana means nothing if my brothers in Sudan, Congo or Ivory Coast are not prospering) I could not help but find your question thoroughly disturbing.

You see, we do not see ourselves as charity cases in anyway, so “help” the way you see it could be more patronizing to an African at home than anything. The type of help we really need is for one to invest in our small to midsized businesses so that they can offer people jobs so that they can help people educate and feed their families. The key word is invest and not lend. Lending is a one time thing, but an investment is rather active— a regular paycheck means more than a one time loan. We need to expel our nations of these vampire leaders that either hoard the wealth from our vast natural resources, or freely give access to multinationals that bring pollution to our surroundings and don’t even hire our own people.

Above are 2 things Africans need “help” with. But those are tall orders, but since you want to do humanitarian work, I guess you could join the thousands of Africans and the foreigners that help them in the refugee camps in Chad and the other nations that border nations that are going through wartime—but you will join only a sea of noble faces. If you really want to make a difference go tell your governments to make sure our leaders are accountable, the real war on terror is the war by the rich AGAINST the poor back home, and the story is true from South Africa to Egypt, the wealth distribution is so disjointed, we could write books and books ON this very matter. We need “help” building a larger middle class, because in today’s world the middle class is vital to the growth of a nation.

Be innovative in your approach and study up on where are going. For example, malaria is the number one killer of Africans, and most African governments can spend upwards to 45% of their nation’s GDP passively fighting this disease. I say passively in the sense they are not really trying to fight it and for that reason they end up doing a pitch patch job. If they sat down to create an effective system, excess monies could be used to improve roads, hospitals, schools etc etc. This is where the private sector can step in (you and I) . For example some friends and I are working on a project to create an organic “movement” in Ghana where the fight against malaria starts with the children in schools and the street vendors who everyone in Ghana buys from. Africans should be invested in their own well being, it should not be the person that they can’t see, but rather the face they pass everyday.

Handouts and hugs are nice, but this is 2008 and tangible things need to done. The cry by most is Trade not Aid, but only you can “help” us with that one. It is the foreign governments that need to open up their doors a bit so that some of our products make their way on to your market shelves and I am not just talking about coffee lol, which seems to be the only success so far. Maybe you could join the fair trade movement or something to that effect…

But to make a long story short, “where are the places that need help the most?” I will always tell you right here in your own back yard my sister. Watts, CA or Camden, NJ or Newark, NJ or BedStuy, NY and the list is long, America needs your help. Africans for once would like the opportunity to ask for your help went we want it rather than it be dumped on us. You see the history of Western help is dripped with the stench of only making things worse back home, and I would hate for you to dance around the 54 countries in Africa for people to smile in your face but wonder “what is it she wants from me?” or “when will she leave…”

Look it is Africans who have failed Africans, now let us for once try to make amends, when we beckon for an extra hand trust me you will be the first person we call

Enjoy the weekend and forgive me if I was rambling I wanted to be honest, they say it is the best policy right…