Development lessons for persons of African descent
There are points
I want to bring to the minds of readers of this very important paper. The paper
is both a notice-board and a cultural manifestation by Africans in the
Diaspora.
There is a self evident belief and confidence we humans are capable
of. It is what makes us get aware of our surroundings and seek to utilize them
for our benefit.
We get exposed to human life and cognizance that we could have
made it better were we to be given a chance (second chance). This does not mean we were failures in a pre-Diaspora
life. True so much could have been destroyed but there are those who are in the
Diaspora knowing they came to pursue full life's meaning. A moving target.
There are also those who still look at life from a bitter angle. Persons who
are still bitter and angry at what they think is 'not' good in their eyes.
Amidst all this the Diaspora offers stimuli of vast characteristics ranging
from visual, aural, sensory to tactile that was not possible in Africa. We come
to learn skills to manipulate the stimuli for our good. This is what improves
our competences. As we gain and improve on our competences we are improving on
our resilience as Africans in the Diaspora. We are able to socialize, have
homes, have permanent addresses, engage in home-making, get children to
schools, engage in community services and contribute to the hosting Diaspora.
These are the soft milestones we should celebrate everyday!
Africans were
missing out in the Diaspora. Regime changes contributed to
this. Many countries have contributed increasing numbers of their people in the
Diaspora. Africans are part of the 20th Century Diaspora bloomer with a unique typography
in the various host nations. Whereas other countries may boast of learned,
professional, skilled and economic immigrants or visitors to host countries, Africans have only contributed such calibre much recently.
The Diaspora is a patch-work of communities with roots of countries of origin.
These communities have gone into a range of specialties which offset
dislocation issues and act as survival mechanisms in the Diaspora. A cursory
exploration of immigrants from Africa in Australia, UK, Canada, Germany,
France, Italy, Sweden and USA into who is working where will give you a picture
of what am arguing. Just ask yourself: Who are in the auto-parts garages? Who
are in the health-care services? Who are running worship centers? Who are
running refugee support centers? Who are running eating places (dunkin' donut
for instance)? Who are running hair salons? Who are running thrift shops? Who
are running small business centers (photocopiers, sending mail, fax and
stationery)? Who are in hotels? One will find an established network of who is
who and this will have a leaning towards countries of origin.
It is also makes
community networks a potential for establishing thriving businesses and
livelihoods. This brings me to two concluding points: Western medicine meeting
African medicine and the concepts of human development. In some African countries a child who was rather precocious,
inconsistent, in-disciplined and highly active was thought to be also 'very
stubborn' and the stick was never far away. In the Diaspora we have been
exposed to research and care for problem children (children with adjusting
problems is a friendlier term). We have now been taken through an understanding
of ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactive disease), we have also come across
information on effect of saturated sugars in sweets and puddings on under
fives. Many stories of children who are overly active after a high sugar intake
are rife. We can now relate tolerably and know how well to treat our ADHD
children. We have learnt this parent- filial tolerance and now have improved on
our ADHD awareness.
How have you improved on your connections in USA? How have you helped promote social development between yourself, other Africans, USA-based society and various entrepreneurs? What more investments have you engaged in? How have you promoted further understanding of issues around humanity? Have you contributed to globalization? Be part of the development wave please.
Some interesting links to get more insights into African business-Start-ups/ readiness in USA:
1.http://www.voanews.com/content/vietnamese-americans-tend-to-live-in-enclaves/1700747.html
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Ola-Ojewumi/post_4562_b_2960388.html
3. http://www.nairaland.com/1361875/african-americans-living-doing-business
4.http://www.southafrica-newyork.net/consulate/
5.http://www.statisticbrain.com/african-american-black-statistics/
6.http://www.africa-do-business.com
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