Changing lives, One cash flow at a time!

Africa, a vast continent that is home to many different cultures, climates, traditions and it is home to some of the most beautiful species and kingdoms to walk the earth. It is a continent driven by hope, fuelled by persistence and young ambition and is a continent in which its diversity is its source of beauty and strength.

Unfortunately, when someone hears or thinks about Africa the first few things that come to mind are AIDS, poverty, female infanticide and most recently, the Middle East and North Africa unrest, The Libya crisis, the East African food crisis etc. Themajority of the world’s poorest countries today are found in Africa and it was observed that 22 out of 24 nations identified as having a low human developmenton the United Nations Development Index were found in the Sub Saharan African region. Additionally, only 11% of the world’s population lives in Africa, but 67% of those living with HIV/AIDS are in Africa. There are other problems as well, such as equality issues, and building and maintaining sustainable business practices, growth and development. It is a sad reality, but I firmly believe that a continent/country should not be known for all the problems it has but instead, how ituses its resources to solve them.

This is where my team and I come in- changing lives one cash flow at a time. By going to Africa we hope to give the future leaders and business men/women one of the most valuable gifts of all: Education. Although this may sound dramatic and overly optimistic on my part, I truly believe that small things such as this can really go a long way and change someone’s life for the better and will continue on from one person to the next. I believe that one person is capable of starting the ‘domino effect’ and with education, hard work, faith and a little bit of luck the possibilities are endless. With this I leave you on a more positive note:

5 things I bet you didn’t know about Africa:

1) While Africa makes up about 11% of the world’s population, fullyone quarter of the world’s languages are spoken only in Africa.

2) Eighteen people from Africa have been awarded aNobel prize. They come from Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

3) Lake Malawi has the largest number of fishspecies in the world – over 500.

4) About half of the world’s diamonds come fromsouthern and central Africa. The largest gem quality diamond ever found (the3106.75 carat Cullinan Diamond) came from the Premier Mine near Pretoria. Itwas found in 1905.

5) Almost 100 species of lemurs are found inMadagascar. (KING JULIAN :) )

Posted by Anoushka Patel