Africa’s need for a sense of community and a change in mindset.

For a continent as rich in human capital and natural resources as Africa, it is quite disheartening when you realize that the majority of our people live in poverty. An estimated 383 million people live in extreme poverty in Africa, the highest of any other continent. When you take into account the transatlantic slave trade and colonization, which involved the stealing of our people, land and other natural resources, it might come as no surprise that most African countries are struggling to find their feet, even after so many years.

Despite that, our continent will struggle to escape the endless cycle of poverty if there are no attempts made to change the current mindset that lurks across our borders.

There exists a selfish mindset among some of the most influential government leaders across the continent. A system of continuous corruption is crippling Africa. Year after year, leaders strive to be in places of influence only so that they can fill up their pockets. Corruption is a disease that continues to plague the African land and ultimately limits our development.

There is the need for a communal mindset. The “every man for his own” mentality among not only our leaders but the everyday African needs to change. Each one of us needs to see ourselves as cogs in the machine striving for the greater good of our continent. Those in positions of power should see themselves as part of the process in Africa slowly gaining its financial independence.

The current mindset that exists will not facilitate any sort of sustainable impact. Year after year, Africans on the continent and in the diaspora try to come out with creative solutions with the goal of helping their respective countries in one way or another. Unfortunately, the foundations in place limit the impact of their solutions. Without the adoption of a mindset that fosters community and collaboration, our countries will continue to be corrupt. Policies that will help to steadily take our continent to the next level will never see the light of day because they are shoved under the desk by greedy politicians.

The lack of a solid foundation is impacting developmental projects and causing our brightest minds to escape our continent in search of better opportunities. Some of these Africans never return. This brain drain continues to have a long lasting effect on the continent.

There is hope though. Our generation exists in a unique time. We are able to access information with relative ease. This access to information across the borders of our own country has opened our eyes. We have been able to see first hand the impacts corruption is having on our societies. There is hope though. The change in mindset begins with us. We have resources and tools that our parents and their parents never had. Africans across the world can come together in person or even online, and start conversations that will not only create that sense of community, but also help to be the building blocks of creative solutions for our people.

The future of our continent rests in our hands. Let us come together and create the small steps that will lead to the eventual big changes that our beloved continent deserves. There is strength in community, there is strength in collaboration, there is strength in you.