African Studies 2019

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Abduction and Rescue in Uganda

April 11, 2019

A woman from California thought it would be the most amazing experience to go on an excursion to see gorillas; but that dream turned to nightmare in the blink of an eye. Kimberly Endicott and her tour guide, Jean Mirenge, were robbed and kidnapped at gunpoint and held as hostages for what I'm sure felt like it lasted a lifetime. On the positive side the the entire ordeal was over as quick as it happened, the Ugandan security forces were able to release them as well as 4 other people that had been taken as they were all in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The gang who kidnapped the California native and her guide used their cell phones to make ransom calls and ask for $500,000 but the police was never going to give it to them but in the end to end the entire situation a ransom was paid, there is little detail as to how it unfolded and how much was truly paid but the exchange was described as "quiet and peaceful". They were returned safe and are just trying to move past t

Kenyas Teacher

April 04, 2019

Peter Tabichi, the Kenyan teacher who gives 80% of his salary back to the community to help out the poor. He is a math and physics teacher in a small rural school in the Pwani Village that has a single computer with bad internet service and a student teacher ratio of 58 to 1; Comparing the fact that most if not all schools in the US have labs simply for computers and a max ratio of 30 to 1 if not to 2 due to teacher assistants its crazy because they have so much less to work with yet they make the most of everything and still come out with an education. The teacher Mr. Tabachi, has recently won the million dollar global teacher prize for going beyond to give the education that the kids in the class as he would find educational content while in cafes that supplied internet as well as leading the math department to an international competition.

Post Cyclone

March 28, 2019

After Mozambique was hit with the cyclone that destroyed everything in its path, a new problem has arrived for the people dealing with what is left of their homes. Cholera, a bacterial infection, has been confirmed in Beira and it is expected that there will be many more to come as the living situations for many people have become squalid as the access to clean water and proper shelter is in high demand with such little to no supply. The world health organization has stated that if the infection spreads throughout the region that it may be a "second disaster" to hit the people of Mozambique but with steps being taken to stop the problem before it may even start, it is expected that 900,000 oral cholera vaccinations arrive to the country to fight the issue before it gets out of hand. With the cyclone having killed roughly 468 in Mozambique, 259 in Zimbabwe and 51 in Malawi and leaving millions in urgent need of help there is no telling what a cholera outbreak can do to t

Cyclone Idai

March 21, 2019

Mozambique was hit with a cyclone earlier this week, after dealing with severe flooding, that may have a death toll of possibly over 1,000 people with 10,000 more in danger. The president made an announcement stating that 2 river banks broke which wiped out different communities and isolating them from one another with bodies of some deceased floating in the water. Parts of Malawi and Zimbabwe were affected as it went through Mozambique and all 3 countries having each over 150 accounted for deaths. There are reports from the IFRC that the damage is enormous with pretty much everything from roads to communication lines completely destroyed and some affected areas aren't even accessible. With so many people still missing the official number of those who are officially dead and those who are still just missing can rise as the days/search and rescue continues.

Building Collapse in Nigeria

March 21, 2019

In Lagos, Nigeria a 3-story building that not only housed residents but a nursery and primary school collapsed with 8 people not making it out alive. As rescuers worked through the night there was at least 37 of the 70 people inside pulled out from the rubles of what was left of the building. Construction in the city of 23.4 million people is not the best, with building coming down regularly enough for it to not be surprising to the people of Lagos but still devastating and worrisome. Lagos with the number of people it has living in its reported to have bad construction, terrible public access to water, and narrow access roads. The living conditions are not being improved as families are living in housing with tilted floors and cracked foundations. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/world/africa/lagos-nigeria-building-collapse-children-school.html

Ivory Queen

February 21, 2019

We all know about the ivory problem in Africa, the killings of Elephants for there tusks in order to make different kinds of material objects. The poaching of elephants has been a big problem, but in Tanzania there was an arrest and conviction made of a trafficker; going by the name the "Ivory Queen" was sentenced to 15 years for smuggling over 350 elephant tusks to Asia -- described as a "major victory against poaching". Dating back to around 2015, Yang Fen Glan has been in the trafficking business where it was reported that she smuggled $3.5 million worth of ivory. The demand for ivory in asian countries has since created a rise in poaching all across Africa decreasing the number of elephants from 110,000 to a mere 40,000 between the years of 2009-2014. She has not been the only arrest and conviction of a Chinese person on those counts as there were other men sentenced 35 years in prison and another for 20 for trafficking rhino horns. Our elephant numbers are dra

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