Africa, the misunderstood continent.

Africa, the misunderstood continent.

One of the most misunderstood concepts in Africa rotates around the whole idea of development. Billions of dollars have been poured into this continent meant for development but very little can be seen on the ground as far as development is concerned. The central goal for community development in Africa should and must be to fill the vacuum of moral, spiritual, political and economic leadership. There are several ways of accomplishing this goal that is crucial to the restoration of the dignity of the African people. One way is by developing indigenous leadership. Raising up Christian leaders from the community of need who will remain in the community. It is literally scouting for people who are committed to this continent. People who will not abandon it for the “American dream”. People who have been tested and proven to have a heart for this continent. These are the people that should be invested in. Equip them with skills and knowledge and tools to develop this continent.

The other way is for committed Christians and their families to live in communities of need, filling the leadership vacuum by modeling healthy life styles. This has been done by people like the late Dr. Geoffrey Griffin, who founded the Starehe schools in Nairobi Kenya and directed them for decades. Rev. John Alexander Green, the founder of the Testimony Faith homes and schools in Eldoret Kenya and Mr. Bob Munro who is the man behind the founding and development of Mathare United, a sports club of Nairobi Kenya, that has transformed hundreds of lives from the streets to become champions and heroes in their own right. One thing is common among all these three people that I have mentioned; they all believed and instilled worthy virtues in the young men that they developed. They gave them a sense of self-worth and pride for themselves, their communities and their country. They also instilled in them the importance of being disciplined in their lives, respecting other people and their properties and putting God at the center of everything that they do. Little wonder that men and women who have sat under the feet of these men are just unique in a special way. Their character, attitude and achievements in life speak volumes about the kind of mentoring that they have received. To believe in indigenous leadership development is to believe in the inherent dignity of the people who need developing. If you don’t believe that they can eventually lead themselves then you must believe that they are somehow inferior to you. This type of attitude manifests in relationships that are patronizing, self-gratifying, and dependent. If there is one thing that the developed world should have learned by now is that charity without development is unhealthy for both the giver and the receiver. Yes, Africa needs charity, but Africa needs development more than charity. For every dollar that comes to Africa for charity, two dollars should also be invested in leadership development. Otherwise, Africa will remain a lame duck for the rest of her life!