I try to look at CNN a few times a day, and I came across this article about musician John Legend and his organization, the Show Me Campaign, and it also touches on what the real people are like who live in poverty in Africa as opposed to generalizing them all as poor.
I think a lot of people just think of Africans and their countries as poor and overall helpless, and we rarely stop to think about how the individuals of each country have a desire to play a part in their country's development. People in modern countries tend to look at it all as helping a third-world country and making the world a better place, but I think organizations like Legend's that focus on the individual and small groups of people trying to make a difference are extremely beneficial as well.
I'm also impressed and inspired by how positive the people of Tanzania have stayed, even the children. It is also great to hear about how people are working to pull themselves out of poverty when the rest of the world is in such economic distress, and it also sheds light on how the people of Africa are excited to be able to even make and sell their own products, and to get an education about anything at all. I think that people, especially here in our country, need to pay more attention and stop taking so much for granted, even students here at Bradley who take their educations for granted, when people in Africa are working day in and day out just to be able to feed themselves and their children.
Do you think that outside countries should help Africa as much as they do, or do you think Africa should be trying to grow and progress on its own without much help? Are stories of individuals moving to people, or do you believe poverty is still a neglected issue? And how do stories like this help open your eyes to people who have nothing, compared to us, who are college students at a fairly prestigious private university?
I included the link to both the article and to the Show Me campaign wesbite.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/10/03/john.legend.mwadawa.ruziga/index.html
www.showmecampaign.org
6 comments:
It would be great to see smaller organizations like the Show Me Campaign to be helping African countries, rather than outside countries. I looked up some information about the Show Me Campaign, and it is called so after a John Legend song, "Show Me." The song is about "a conversation with God about the state of the world and the individual’s place in it."
The campaign it self focuses on "Mbola, a remote village in northwestern Tanzania, in its effort to permanently lift itself from extreme poverty." I wonder how the campaign came about choosing this exact location, compared to all the other impoverished parts of Africa?
I agree with the idea that it is always great to see organizations like the Show me Campaign helping the struggling parts of Africa in whatever ways they can, but I also think that it is still very beneficial for outside countries to help out if they can as well. I know it's corny, but we're all in this world together; and if one country has the ability to help another, to me it seems as if only good can come from that.
Also, I do think that celebrities contributing their time and efforts to those in need is a great way to use their celebrity status for something good. Although there are enormous amounts of "regular people" doing their part for the people of Africa as well, articles about people such as john legend sometimes seem to resonate more with the public, which hopefully opens their eyes to other countries in need.
It is really great to see small villages taking on poverty. In order for change to really be made, people must be willing to help themselves and learn how to better their lives. The fight must come from within each African country. It also is great to see women of Africa taking a stand against poverty in their countries.
I agree with John Legend when he said poverty can end if we start with the small villages. Eventually the knowledge about new technology will spread across Africa and to other continents to end world poverty.
To answer one of Rose's questions, I do believe individual countries should be doing more for their people. They cannot always rely on outside help. Every nation has issues at home that need to be fixed (example, our homeless and our economic crisis, etc.).
I agree, I think this campaign was a great idea. I think by targeting these small impoverished villages and showing them that there is support, could possibly help other local towns notice the success of Mbola, and make them want to follow these dedicated leaders. I agree with Alexis that “poverty can end if we start with small villages.” With the success of programs and new developments, the knowledge will slowly spread to other countries making them want to follow in the footprint of Mbola.
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