Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
We can always use someone to look us in the eyes and to tell us we can do it! This past May, one lucky group of college graduates listened to the incredible Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as their commencement speaker.
The author of three powerful novels and recipient of myriad awards, the Nigerian writer gave a speech detailing her life growing up, her struggles with sexism, her embrace of feminism, and, most recently, the kidnapping of her father.
Her advice? Take...
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Mothers wait in line for post-natal care at a clinic in Senegal. Photo credit: Jonathan Torgovnik/Images of Empowerment
Lack of access to modern forms of energy – or energy poverty – has both direct and indirect harmful effects on health and medical care facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, more than 30 percent of clinics and hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa, serving approximately 255 million people, are without electricity. Here are 6 surprising ways that energy poverty affects the health care system and puts lives...
Africa is a huge continent made up of 54 countries and over a billion people. But did you know that in Ethiopia, clocks are upside down with our 6:00 at their 12:00? This and 12 other incredible facts are sure to turn you into the captain at your next trivia tournament.
The view of Morocco from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar.
1. Africa and Europe are separated by less than 9 miles at the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Morocco....
This is a photo series from photographer, Darren Ornitz. He is based out of Brooklyn, NY and working as a freelancer for Reuters, his work has been published in the New York Times, Travel + Escape, Afar, and by various other publications and NGO’s.
116 million girls aged 15 to 24 in developing countries have never completed primary education, or have in some instances never attended school, which drastically hampers their chances of rising out of poverty. What Darren Orntiz does...
The craft of cheese-making has been thriving in one region of the Congo, dubbed the ‘Switzerland of Africa’.
David McNair is an award-winning reporter and editor based in Charlottesville, Va. He runs the hyper-local news site The DTM and his fiction has appeared inVirginia Quarterly Review. A version of this was published on Take Part.
In the lush hills of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, an unusual craft practiced in the Masisi Mountains is thriving despite decades of war: fine cheese-making.
Known in...
Contemporary art is a fast-growing field in Africa for young artists who want to make their voices heard. The following 8 artists use that voice to comment on social, economic, and political issues happening around them. Take a look at their art – do you recognize any pieces?
Aboudia – Cote d’Ivoire
Daloa 29 – 2014
Aboudia, born 1983 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, created this series of paintings based on his experience in 2011. He was forced to escape and take refuge in...
This is the second in a series of posts on a study abroad in South Africa by Juliet Schear. You can read the introduction to and part 1 of the series here.
Photo credit: Joel Burt-Miller
The Disability Project – Sandanezwe, KZN
Tucked away in the sprawling mountains and grassy hills of Sandanezwe lays a hidden gem: The Sandanezwe Disability Project. The importance of the Disability Project to this closely knit rural community is analogous to the importance of water to a seedling; the...
Five Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Nollywood.
1. Nollywood is the colloquial name given to the Nigerian film industry.
Photo credit: Talawa
Although the first Nigerian films were made in the 1960’s it wasn’t until the 1990’s and 2000’s that the industry blossomed as filmmakers took advantage of digital technology and internet distribution.
2. Nollywood is bigger than Hollywood.
What what? Yep, Nigeria produces on average around 1000 films a year, putting it second place behind the biggest film industry, Bollywood, but ahead...
140 characters doesn’t seem like a lot of space to make a statement. It sounds even smaller when nearly 6,000 tweets are sent on Twitter per second. But then there’s this fact: over 300 million active users exist on Twitter. That means every tweet has the potential to reach hundreds, thousands, even millions of people! And when you think of it this way, 140 characters really matter.
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be using Twitter to ask world...
A Seva Safari participant practicing yoga with members of the Maasai tribe in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. (Photo credit: Africa Yoga Project) By Melissa Catelli. A version of this post was originally published by Take Part. For most travelers, a Kenyan safari involves days of patiently waiting for a glimpse of lions, elephants, or an elusive leopard hiding in the bush. For native New Yorker Paige Elenson, a 2006 family safari yielded a far less conventional sighting: a group of young Kenyan...