I had to share with you this video of Akon at the YouthConnekt in Kigali, Rwanda, this past July. I am not a fan of Akon, but what he says about rebranding Africa is so true. It is just the reason I started this blog, to talk about Africa, the part that we should know: our history, our lives, our realities! The fact that Africa is being represented by wars, when there is only war in maybe 4 countries out of 54, makes me mad. I remember talking to Americans, and they thought I lived on trees in the jungle; when I told them that we had real cities, and that their city in America looked worst than where I came from, they couldn’t believe me. Rebranding Africa is so important… we have to tell OUR own story, and stop letting others tell it! This is also similar to Chimamanda Adichie’s talk: The Danger of a Single Story.
African Heritage 
This is SO true! Here in America, we are bombarded with only horrible images of Africa. We are told by the media that Africa is a wild and lawless land and that we should be afraid to even visit. We are discouraged from visiting Africa. Even though here, we are now devolving into third world conditions, we are still being led to believe that America is the greatest country on the planet, when nothing could be further from the truth.
Thank you for blowing apart the myth that Africa is a warring cesspool of violence and guerilla warfare wrapped up in dangerous mines where children are being exploited and sold into prostitution and other sex trafficking schemes.
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You said it so well Shelby!
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Because, unfortunately, that is how it is. But thankfully, we’ve got people like you to shed a light on how things really are. Believe me, you are much appreciated for doing so!
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