S.K Donald
09 Jun 2022
Introduction: Challenges from the African Past
Of all the things in this world that are both extremely challenging and exciting, growing up in Africa is right up there. Children by nature are very imaginative but there is a unique allure of this sense of hope and excitement of a better future that flirts with the young African mind. It might be the glorious weather with constant sunshine that gives that extra sparkle in the eyes of the African child...perhaps it may even be this mystical connection to the land where the first men roamed freely without boundaries and discovered the joys of life in its purest form. What ever the case may be, there is something magical about the raw feeling of Gods richest soil embracing ones bare young feet.
Fast forward at least two decades into most young African lives and you will find that not most of these previously exuberant and ambitious youths will turn out to be anywhere close to where their young selves may have imagined. The African sun will still be shinning just as bright, and the soil beneath their feet will still be as rich as God intended, but the hope and the enchantment of imagination and possibility will be all but gone.
The 'Challenges from the African Past' intends to tackle the obvious questions surrounding the stark dichotomy between the afore mentioned childlike utopia and the despairing reality of early Native African adulthood; the opportunities (or lack thereof) afforded to some, and the challenges faced by others.
As we endevour to march on in democracy and equality it is critical and just as relevent to acknowledge that the African past continuously shapes the African future. Amongst many others, most inbalances of contemporary economical advancement can still be attributed to concepts of race and racism. In particular, we will focus in depth on how Sports and Education can be the bright beacon of hope that provides both opportunities and greater advancements amongst the continuously marginalized in particular parts of the continent.
The intention is not only to understand and dissect the past and present, but to also come up with feasible and sustainable solutions for the future in these particular and somewhat politicized sectors which are by far the most influential in terms of social advancement in Africa.