The Future

I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Kampala. (Trust me, it's a rare
treat!) And I'm looking at the future of Africa. Right across from
me is a group of 5 twenty-somethings. They are well-dressed,
educated, modern. Probably university students from wealthy
backgrounds. And they aren't the only ones. All around me are young
professionals of the Kampala business community. They are here for
meetings, for lunch, or just taking a coffee break. It all seems very
much like home; if I didn't know better, if I didn't hear their
Ugandan-English accents, if I didn't know that the rest of Kampala was
right outside, I would think I was in an American Starbucks. All
around me are Uganda's upper class elite. The young and wealthy. The
top 1 % of the country- and really, it's more like ½ of 1%.

When I'm in Arua, I don't see this side of Africa. Everyone,
everywhere, is surrounded by poverty. The people I am closest to are
living hand-to-mouth. So it's easy to forget that there is wealth in
Uganda. There are people here with resources beyond what I have
access to. There are people here who are far better off than I am. I
look at this group of 5 young people in front of me, and I think,
there is hope. I see the couples who are enjoying their lunch
together, and I think, there is hope. I see the groups of friends
from 4 different countries and races laughing together, and I think,
there is hope. Africa is not a lost cause. Africa is not doomed.

But the change in Africa has to come from within Africa. The "Wealthy
West" can't come sweeping in and rescue the continent. We can't dump
planeloads of aid and subsidy and think that everything is fixed.
Because as soon as the aid dries up, the problems will start all over
again, only this time it will be assumed that the West will come to
the rescue again. We can come alongside, we can counsel, we can
share, and we can explain that even in the West, there are problems
that have to be managed and solved. But we have to allow Africa to
save itself. The continent has to stand on its own. As long as it is
dependent on the West, it is doomed to failure.

Africa can survive. Uganda can survive. I am looking at the
future. All it takes is for these 5, and thousands more, to choose
to take their place and save their country.