Month: March 2010

Corruption in Africa will not end until civil society repairs itself In the 2002 Kenyan presidential campaign, Mwai Kibaki promised his countrymen an end to the corruption that had defined Kenyan leadership for decades. The messageresonated with voters and earned Kibaki an astonishing 62% of the vote. But after eight years, corruption in Kibaki’s Kenya … Read more

High expectations mask tough realities On May 15, 2004, Nelson Mandela wept on stage when South Africa was chosen to host the 2010 World Cup, and then-president Thabo Mbeki declared that “South Africa’s time has come.” Experts worldwide predicted that the World Cup would be a transformative and unifying moment in the country’s history and … Read more

A critical look at China’s investment in Africa. Despite China’s emergence as an economic powerhouse and political force, Western leaders still frequently decry China’s authoritarian regime, trade violations, and human rights abuses. But there is one region of the world that does not judge China by the same demanding standards: Africa. The partnership suits both … Read more

Lessons from a trip home during J-term This past winter, I returned to my home country of Ghana after over a year and a half away at school. I spent the month engaged in an anti-malaria project in some slum communities near Cape Coast, Ghana. This project was the brainchild of Ahoto Partnership for Ghana, … Read more

When I join in one of those omnipresent ice-breaking sessions, I am sometimes asked to share my most embarrassing moment. I always draw a blank. This is not because I have never been embarrassed in my life. Rather, I have too many stories of embarrassment. While many of my middle-class friends were having fun on … Read more