The barrier

College degree, college degree, the dream of every African parent to see their children become educated. Most African parents will give 100% support to their children to become successful, educationally! African parents' wildest taught are” education is the key to success” and “education is better than silver and gold”.

I went back home after 3 years of studying in the States. I wasn’t sure about what to expect. A part of me was excited to see my family and catch up with my friends and another part was a little scared. I have heard a lot of international students like myself say they feel like don’t fit anywhere- “too foreign for home and too foreign away from home”. That was scary to think about.  When I got home, I was quite impressed with the improvement in infrastructure. The main roads were good and there was 24-hour electricity for the full two months I was at home.

Peace is a state of wellness, a feeling of safety and a freedom from disturbance. Peace is felt in an environment of calmness, harmony and security. Security here can be expressed as a state of being free from danger or threat; to feel protected and safe. In this regard, peace and security are usually influential on each other and create the environmental space in which we all would like to exist in.

Gender discussions are mostly among heated topical issues not only in Sierra Leone but the world at large. For discussions like this, it is but imperative to unearth the meaning of Gender which stands as the centrality in this topic, and which also holds bearing to the economic, social, political, and cultural characteristics and opportunities related to both Women and Men. The social definitions of what it actually means to be a woman or a man vary among cultures and is constantly changing as time passes by.

Equality based on gender and female empowerment is a core development objective. This can be considered as a fundamental factor in the realization of human rights and effective and sustainable development outcomes. 

Africa which is the second largest continent on earth after Asia by size and population is also home to river Nile, the longest river in the world. A continent blessed with various human and natural resources such as copper, gold, natural gas, timber, cocoa, diamond, uranium, salt, tropical fruits among others. These resources make Africa ranked the number one when it comes to the abundance of natural resources. Africa’s vast arable lands and its great potential for hydroelectric power, solar energy and geothermal energy attract countries from other continents.

This article discusses 20 points summarizing the future vision of Sierra Leone as seen by students at the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation   The article was originally published in the Awoko Newspaper, Freetown, Sierra Leone in February 2012.

"At the closing ceremony of the Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation last Wednesday 1st February, the results of an essay competition for secondary children on the topic “How I will want to see Sierra Leone in the next 25 years” were read out.

Cameroon Association for the Protection and Education of the Child (CAPEC) is one of Develop Africa's Partner in Cameroon.  Below is an interview with Ajomuzu Collette Bekaku – Founder and Executive Director of CAPEC

 
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What was the original interest in the protection and education of children?

Although African nations do not have nearly as many factories, cars and farms as more industrially developed nations like the US and China, climate change impacts Africa potentially more than any other continent on Earth.