African Studies 2017

The British Monarchy has had a long history with Africa. While most of the relationship has not always been a great one, in the most recent century the Royals have had some of their best and worst moments while in Africa. Queen Elizabeth who was on a Commonwealth tour with her husband in Africa learned that her father had died and she was now the new Queen. While she was there she fell in love with the country and its culture.  Many Royals have also gone to do charity work and both William and Harry have been known to spend time down in Africa doing charity work. Harry says that while he is in Africa he feels most like himself. William proposed to Kate while in Africa and used his late mother's ring to propose with. Harry who proposed to Meghan Markle earlier this month used a diamond from Botswana and two small diamonds from his mother's personal collection. After the news that they were engaged broke many in Africa wrote to congratulate the couple.  Megan herself is no

On the back alleys in Ghana, you can find rows of tables, storage containers and benches full of people who are seeking legal advice. They type on old fashioned typewriters and printers that belong in museums because there is no electricity where they work. Many people seek their services because they can not afford to go to the legal offices near the court. Many of the legal aid there are commissioners for oaths, paralegals or letter writers. They are able to assist many people. The writer of the article said that in the 30 minutes it took to get their legal help they also helped 5 other clients. Many who work their feel their work is important because it helps the court register and gives aid to people who would not be able to afford it any other way. The Goro Boys who are the middlemen make it hard for some legal aid to get work because they talk over and give priority to those who paid their taxes. It is easy to mistake many of the lawyers who work there for ordinary people but

Reverend William Huges who lived in Congo from 1882-85 when his health started to fail wanted to do more for the people he meet during his time in the Congo. He wanted to give the kids who he meets there a better chance at life and to improve the lives of those after them. When he returned to Wales in 1885 he did just that. He brought with him KinKasa and Nkana and they were know as the Congo boys. Reverend Huges idea was to create a training institute that would teach the brights and more promising students from Africa in law and medicine. Then would they return back to Africa to teach more students what they had learned and better those students in the education they had received. He did not like the idea of white missionaries going to Africa to teach these young people especially since he believed that these students were just as bright but lacked the same opportunities given to him and fellow white man. His institute brought students from all over Africa including Cameroo

Often times when we see international students here in the US and even on our campus, we often ask why are they here? what brought them all this way just to go to school? Well after reading this article on the education system of Nigeria it is no wonder why more students are not seeking education outside of their country. The government posted a statement saying that the teachers who were given a test were expected to pass with a 75% score or better. Sadly they said that 66% of the teachers were unable to make these scores. Many officials vowed to make a change and redo the whole system and only hire qualified teachers. The teachers however and those who are working at these schools were not happy with these results. They said that this was the 3 test that year that they had to take and the government is not being fair with the results and are only posting only what makes the teachers look bad. There is the bigger issue with that many teachers do not want to be teachers and find it har

Mohamed who in his 30s tells how the past three years of his life has been a complete and total horror. When the Boko Haram entered into his town of Banki he fleed hundred of miles to Cameroon. His friend, however, who was a part of the Boko Haram, told him that he would be safe and there was no reason for him to fear anything. He had a small business selling and buying phones and was content with the life that he had. However, once he came back his friend forced him to join the army and he did out of fear for his life. For the next two years, they went raiding villages and kidnapping the women to sell them to be married. Eventually, they were forced out of their camp and forced into the Sambusa forest. There were 12 camps with 500 hundred people in each one all of them named after a different town. During the early years the soldiers were paid a small amount of money each week but towards the end after the Nigerian bombed the place where they held the money their paycheck went away an

Since 2015 Cameroon has been accused of forcibly returning 100,000 Nigerians back to their homeland. Many of these refugees have been fleeing Islamist violence. Ther are accused of beating people and sexually exploiting the women. Cameroon has claimed that many of the refugees that are coming in are actually part of Boko Haram. They blame the refugees for the attacks brought on by the Boko Haram and distrust any refugees that come in. The Boko Haram is a militant Islamic group that has been waiting for terror all over heavily populated town throughout Africa. Their goal is to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state. The UN has also commented on the situation and criticized the treatment the soldiers have treated the refugees. The Boko Haram is a big treat in Africa and many of these refugees are displaced because of their actions. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13809501 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41413312