DISCUSSION: If you could make a positive change in Africa for $100, what will you do?

DISCUSSION: If you could make a positive change in Africa for $100, what will you do?
DISCUSSION: If you could make a positive change in Africa for $100, what will you do?
Photo by Joe Rodd from freeimages

We are continuing the discussion from our online digital edition’s . Join the discussion with your comments below.

Responses from our Digital Edition:

“I’m not sure if $100 can make much of any difference in Africa. When I think of Africa’s problems, it becomes overwhelming. What will $100 do to stop AIDS? How many children will it educate? Will it create good governance? A million dollars more can make a dent in some village but $100 is a joke.” —Joel

“I will donate my $100 to a microfinancing organization such as Kiva, Grameen, or any of the many organizations out there. This way, my $100 can help people over and over and over again.

I think this is the best way to give because personally, I attribute many of the problems in Africa to a lack of jobs and poor economies. If people had jobs, their kids will be educated, they will be able to afford healthcare, etc.

So with my $100, I will select women from the micro-financing organizations who need just a little I have to offer to boost their businesses. When they pay me back, I will find the next woman to help.” —Vana

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  1. Charity begins at home.
    The $100 would be directed towards creating Christmas gift bags to distribute at designated orphanges and prisons in the NWP of Cameroon.
    The gifts would be catered towards their needs … Toys, treats clothing, and learning material for orphan children; and toiletries, snacks and warm clothing for prisoners. I would aim at shpping smarter not harder …

  2. Cameroon’s problems today go far more than just the $100 donation you may make or not to either the economically geared industry or social aspect, etc. It is far-reaching than people just suffering. $100 would go a long ways but there is some form of innate complex in my dear brothers and sisters back home that I believe a total change of mentality is needed before our donations can start pouring their way. I have been on Kiva for a while and did see that they are doing great things but that too is flawed with the sereptitious and expedient manner in which people whom you place as managers of these trusts, would basically walk scott-free when the embezzle the money. Please note that I used the term when and not if to emphasize that they eventually will be faced with that question one day and would end up taking the money.

    My $250 in 2003, alongside some sweat equity, engineered a drive to ensure that some 400 computers from the Montgomery County School system don’t end up in recycling troughs but on a container to Cameroon. The person trusted and chosen by our group of 9 recent college graduates ended up with more than half of the computers listed under a subtitle: “miscelleanous” when giving us an account of how the computers were distributed to the various High schools, elementary schools, etc in my village. Imagine that. The same thing happened when it came time for another project we started to help school children who are orphans of AIDs and excelling in education. Principals started going around the town taking bribes, asking for people to buy them beer so that their children can be included in the scholarship list. Come on! We are just trying to help our people back home. When does this madness stop?

    Has corruption gone on too long that it has become our modus operandi? My group provided strict guidelines to be followed in selection processes. each scholarship is worth 15000 CFA and we try to make it in such a way that at least we have 5 pupils from each classroom in all schools in my village. This is to allow them money for school fees, (about 7500) and books, uniform, PTA.

    I mean, how do you continue to try championing development when you have this abject denial to change the way things have always been done? How do you get past losing 200 computers to “misc.” and how do you fathom doing anything else when you start up a scholarship project to help the younger unfortunate kids but the headmaster of the school, etc is starting to sell scholarship positions. Come on!

    I am still thinking about whether I would send anymore money home and I pray that God shows me what and how to go about doing it.

    Thank you for paying attention to my experiences with trying to do something big for Cameroon by starting in my village. Please note that the commentary above chronicles my frustration with the way things have gone with past projects I have been part of in the last five years. Please dont let this discourage you or anyone. You can do something. Even if it looks small. You can definitely still do something. The other 200 computers are being maintained properly, last I heard.

    And we started requesting that each name submitted for the scholarship program also be accompanied by a report card for our panel back home to examine. A panel that consists of my mother-English Department Chair of the second largest and most prestigious francophone high school in Cameroon; Dr. Kum, a GCE board supervisor, and three of their teaching peers.

    If you can, always give to the less fortunate. God bless you!

    Thank you.

  3. Yes I would. If every african in the USA only, contributes $1, every day or month, or year, or just once… how many african lives, futures would be saved back home?

  4. Mine will be used towards an orphanage in cameroon, it doesnt matter what town. I’m a strong advocate of adoption and making sure kids are not left in the system.

  5. I will clean up all the streets in Cameroon, invest in educatiing Cameroonians about littering and develop a new sewage disposal system. I believe this ultimately eradicate most of the diseases my people face today.

  6. What ever amount donated goes along way to help the needy. Even the money that is embezzled, the embezzlers wont put the notes into their mouths to chew. Through acquisition of goods and services, they will eventually release the money into circulation and it will eventually affect the economy positively.
    Because people embezzle money, it should not stop one from helping. The needy are always there and the embezzlers are always there even the crumbs that will fall off their tables will make a slight difference in the lives of the needy. If these slight differences are accumulated, then they become a big difference. Embezzlement is not the only vice in our society. Let us all make a self examination. Everyone should identity how he or she slowed down progress, and from there we may be moving forward. Let us stop pointing accusing fingers.
    Most people embezzle out of ignorance, they dont know that wealth comes with a multitude of problesms and we hardly remember that WE SHALL ONE DAY STAND INFRONT OF THE JUDGEMENT THRONE OF GOD to give account of everything that was entrusted to us be it our lives, our jobs and so on. A quick solution maybe to encourage churches to take the gospel to everyone, so that we all know the truth about how we lead our lives. If God blesses me, He makes me a channel of blessings for others, so God is not is not interested in greed.

    Remain blessed as we keep helping one another especially the need

    ADIJAH

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