Welcome to AfricaForward!

On July 28th, 1999, this man, Liman Koita, lost his son. Fourteen-year-old Yaguine Koita, along with his best friend Fode Tounkara, froze to death while stowing away in the wheel bay of a plane bound for Europe from the West African nation of Guinea.

Among their possessions found with their bodies was a letter authored by the two boys and adressed to the "members and officials of Europe":

"[We] call out for your solidarity and your kindness for the relief of Africa. Do help us, we suffer enormously in Africa, we have problems and some shortcomings regarding the rights of the child.

In terms of problems, we have war, disease, malnutrition, etc. As for the rights of the child in Africa, and especially in Guinea, we have too many schools but a great lack of education and training. Only in the private schools can one have a good education and good training, but it takes a great sum of money. Now, our parents are poor and it is necessary for them to feed us. Furthermore, we have no sports schools where we could practice soccer, basketball or tennis.

This is the reason, we, African children and youth, ask you to create a big efficient organization for Africa to allow us to progress.

Therefore, if you see that we have sacrificed ourselves and risked our lives, this is because we suffer too in Africa and that we need you to fight against poverty and to put an end to the war in Africa. Nevertheless, we want to learn, and we ask you to help us in Africa learn to be like you."

The tragic story of Yaguine and Fode is a direct result of the lack of economic and political development in Africa. The boys, lacking opportunity for education and employment, and enamored with television images of the West, lost their lives in pursuit of what should have been their God-given right. Even more disheartening is that thousands more people have died in their pursuits of better lives in the West.

This blog is intended to contribute to the discourse on development in Africa so that the stories of Koita and Tounkara will not repeat themselves. I hope that through this blog I can inspire those who are interested in African development to discuss, critically evaluate, and most importantly find solutions to problems that face Africa. Although this may be a very bold venture, I hope you come along for the ride.

Welcome to AfricaForward!