Economic Barriers to Education

South Africa is a relevant topic of interest given our recent discussion of it in class. We have learned of the events leading up to the Apartheid, but have not spoken much about the Apartheid period itself. It's important to note, that it was a long struggle for South African to break the barriers created by the Apartheid, and despite defeating the archaic and barbaric practice, many of the effects of it still linger today. Unfortunately for South Africa, despite the African National Congress leading the country for the better part of two decades, a major economic disparity exists between the wealthy, the poor, and the ever decreasing middle class.

I mentioned in a previous blog more about this economic issue, and we're now seeing it flood into other sectors within the South African infrastructure. One of these sectors is that of Education. Many South African individuals who are more than qualified to attend a university are being turned away because they cannot afford the fee increases. South Africa wants to, "raise university fees by between 10.5% and 12% in 2016." One may argue that this is a discrimination against people of color, and while it may be, I believe it is a discrimination against humanity. Education leads to forward thinking, it educates us about prior events in history for which we can do our best to prevent (Apartheid for example), and it aids not just individuals with prosperity, but it brings innovation and advancement to countries and our planet as a whole.

This issue doesn't exist just in South Africa, but all over the world and especially America. University should not be a privilege for the wealthy, or well off, but rather a right for those who desire to pursue the fruits of labor that education brings with it. I commend what the people of South Africa are doing, and wish that the spirits of the protesting South African students could find its way to America.

Source:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34656160

Poisoned Elephants in Zimbabwe

Place holder for blog post.

Source:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/14/bodies-of-dozens-of-elephants-found-poisoned-in-zimbabwe?CMP=twt_b-gdnnews

Charities Holding Africa Back?

A quote that a famous US-based rapper stated caught my attention, he said, "Personally, I don't think that charities in Africa really work. I think that it just holds the people down longer than it should." The rapper in question is Akon (someone who I have never heard of me, forgive my cultural ignorance), and while some may argue what is his business commenting on such subjects, one has to take into account his upbringing in Senegal.

According to The Guardian article, "600 million Africa people still live without access to electricity, and 3.5 million people die each year from inhaling toxic fuels or house fires..." Bringing electricity to Africa will help facilitate growth within Africa, and quite frankly I can see the point that Akon is trying to make having some significance. Don't get me wrong, what the NGO's are doing is noble work, however we as a nation understand well enough that when we put our own people to work, that is when we grow the quickest. This was evident following the Great Depression under FDR's economic stimulation plan known as "The New Deal."

Africans need to be put to work, they need to be trained on utilizing new technology, most notably solar. NGO's may come and go, their workers while they may care are not as fully invested as someone who lives and breathes in Africa every day, who grew up in Africa and wants to see their own continent and individual country within that continent grow and prosper.

Africa was and still is a country of great natural resources, there is a reason that the continent was colonized after-all. Africa was significantly hindered in its own development as a region of the world due to colonialism, and is further stagnating due to its reliance on NGO's and donations when what it should really be doing is putting itself to work, understanding technology and growing to be the "new China."

Source(s):
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/oct/05/akon-charities-africa-lighting-energy-access
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/07/strategies-for-sustainable-energy-development-in-africa/
http://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/south-africa-lead-the-solar-energy.jpg