Africa in Doldrums: It’s Time for a Better Future – By Satmak Dapar

Entangled by chains for donkey years, can Africa still get any better?  What manner of hope remains for Africa? Who is that one person or group of people that can summon the greatest courage in history to liberate the future of Africa? If Africa’s future is liberated today, what next? One of the things I’m proud of is being an African. I have no single regret or mixed feelings about that. On the continent, I was born and bred. When I die at the right time after fulfilling my purpose in life, I’ll still be committed to mother earth and covered with the African soil. Amazing! Isn’t it? Now, the thrust of this article is not to heap questions on questions that have remained unanswered from time immemorial. It has dual motives. The first is to critically examine why the problems of Africa are persisting despite unending search for solutions and the second of course is to make a clarion call to the youths to seize this moment of promise and make the change we all yearn for. This article is an offshoot of a meeting I had with one of Africa’s most passionate and brilliant agents of change Amb. Finan Sabrina Petros from Eritrea. The focal point of the meeting on the 25^th November 2017 which lasted for about an hour was on the way forward in the light of the complex problems confronting Africa. I listened with profound interest to Amb. Finan as she shared her experiences, viewpoints, ideas and thoughts on what can be done by youths on an African-wide basis. It was particularly interesting and amazing. Here is a lady who is ultimately living her dream as a humanitarian having had the privilege and honour of working to add value to the lives of orphaned children and young vulnerable girls in rural Eritrea. Her work was done in partnership with International organizations like the UNICEF. This proves a point that somebody somewhere is responding to the ultimate call of God that “Whoever is generous to the poor, lends to the Lord and he will repay him for his deeds”. It is my belief that working with Amb. Finan in the world of philanthropy sooner or later could be the major hope that the paradigm could shift. 

The Birth of “Renewed Vision for Africa (RVA)”

My mind has always been troubled not because God has forsaken Africa, obviously not. God is very much interested in African affairs and its future. The good news is that he freely gave us boundless human and material resources we can harness and maximize for our greatest possible good. Unfortunately, these resources are plundered, our capacity is weakened, our people are dying namelessly each and every day to diseases, outbreak of bloody wars and chronic poverty, young kids growing up in rural Africa are uncertain of their futures because the ray of hope they could have seen by now has been broken by forces of retrogression. It is regrettable to note that the situation is getting messier each and every day. I’ve had the privilege of working as a humanitarian in rural Plateau state Nigeria under the auspices of DAPAR AID. My team mates and I saw first-hand how extreme poverty is ravaging rural dwellers and the poor response of government. The passion to work is incredible. Finan Petros and I can’t afford to bury it. This is a task that must be done for the sake of conscience and posterity. We are willing to pay the heaviest price and sow seeds that we can reap tomorrow for the betterment of Africa through the “Renewed Vision for Africa” as a platform. Our work would cut across the entire African continent as God provides the resources and the difference would be made. This is a clarion call to the youths to share our visions, key into the idea and quite interestingly, together we can make the change possible. We have more than a thousand reasons to do it and we must remember the words of Frantz Fanon which says that “each generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission, either to betray it or fulfill it.” What would you like to remembered for? Why can’t we bury our wild pleasures, unnecessary ventures and make sacrifices to save Africa? It’s truly time for a better future. Let’s build the wings and fly together. There we go.

Dapar Satmak Alexander is currently studying Communication and Media Studies (Master’s Degree) at Cyprus International University. He can be reached via +905488204483 or satmakdapar1@gmail.com