Skills Trade to Alleviate Poverty in

Africa
MULTIMODAL ESSAY

Jacqueline Yongo-Malcolm | English 101 Composition | 4/24/2007

 Seventy-five percent of the worlds poorest countries are located in Africa. This

population manages without the most basic human needs that we sometimes take for granted.

Imagine a life without food, water, clothing or shelter. If nothing is done to address the grave

situation, the African continent runs a risk of losing its future promising generation to poverty.

The continent is rich in manpower and natural resources, which could be tapped into and for this

reason skilled trades should be taught to help families self-sustain and alleviate poverty in the

continent.

Africa has several attributes that contribute to the

plight of poverty in the region.A study shows these

attributes have proven to be the ones that stand out

the most as the significant leading causes of poverty

in Continent. Statistics show that of the 789 million

people globally who lack access to clean water,37

percent are living in the Sub-Saharan Africa.

Poverty in Africa results in 500 million people suffering from waterborne diseases. According to

the United Nations, 50 percent of Africans have water-related illnesses such as cholera. People

spend a lot of time in search of the most sort of commodity that is water. In the process they

recruit their own children who would otherwise be in school. In addition to this, the time spent

on travelling long distances in search of water eats into time that would otherwise be spent on

working to improve their livelihoods. The clean water is paramount in improving the health and

well-being of humans.

According to Gallup, in the year 2013 ,414 million people were living in extreme poverty

across the Sub-Sahara. According to the World Bank, those living on less than $1.25-a-day
accounted for 48.5 percent in that region in 2010. In America $ 1.25 does not even buy a loaf of

bread. It gets interesting as well as ironical that $1.25 can sustain a whole family of three for a

full day-probably missing meals in between. Study shows, approximately one in three people in

Africa are undernourished. It is estimated forty percent of African families are unable to

regularly obtain sufficient food. Most families do not have access to three meals a day. In fact,

they are lucky to get meals in two consecutive days. (Pactor)

Africa is currently fighting a poverty and hunger war. The population of the region is

growing rapidly by millions. Latest numbers show Africas population has increased from 221

million in 1950 to 1 billion in 2009. Women in Africa average 5.2 children in her lifetime. If we

thought the situation was good, its only going to get worse if no measures are taken to improve

the situation. Since families are unable to care for their children due to poverty, the region is

losing its future generation to rebel armies, child slavery and tropical diseases that are so

common in most parts of the second largest continent in the world. Measles, malaria and

diarrhoea are among the biggest killer of children. Despite the three diseases being curable,

poverty has made it impossible to let the occupants afford the realistic preventive measures.

Furthermore, the child mortality rate in Africa plays a distinctive role in the African poverty.

Skilled trade is proving to be one of the solutions that is working to ease the strain on extreme

poverty and assist families self-sustain themselves in the long run. A Chinese proverb asserts,

give a man fish and feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime

Multiple Non-Government Organizations have taken the initiative of helping families become

independent and better their lives by training them in various disciplines among them agriculture

and financial management techniques. In addition to this, they empower them with new skills

that are practical and viable for the region that looks so promising in the future. One such
 initiatives is the bomaproject that can be seen here

http://bomaproject.org/. (Boma Project)

When the parents are empowered with skills

and their time occupied with profitable trade, the

money they make can be used to purchase clean

water and hence make time for the children go to school. This value addition will not only

improve their livelihoods but also help in providing a lasting solution to the poverty rate that is

kicking the African continent in the stomach. Not to mention, parents can now feed their children

nourishing meals, purchase mosquito nets to help curb preventable diseases like malaria, and in

case of illness they can access secure and healthy medical treatment and finally grow to be our

productive future generation. After all, without growing children, there is no growth for the

future.

Additionally, most African families have vast land. Livestock and land is considered a sign of

wealth in the region which is absolutely ironic because most families are poor. These families

still struggle to provide basic needs for their families. Granted they have land, however that does

not mean anything. Reason being that they still need to purchase farm products to cultivate their

lands, buy food for their animals and day to day running of a farm requires money. The money

can hence be used to fuel the farm machines and pay for labour. With this in mind, land that

would otherwise be fertile becomes bare and sequentially lose its fertility for lack of utilization.

Livestock die because they lack pasture brought about by unpredictable weather conditions. As a

result, foreign aid organizations are helping families to improve their agricultural production by

providing better farming techniques and infinite training. The situation has gotten better for they

have even started organizations and SACCOs to help improve and champion for their farming
 interests. Money made from renting land can be used to

buy livestock, raise other animals for sale. This has helped

families with big lands that would otherwise go to waste to

collect revenues as well as ensure the land stays fertile.

Moreover, another way skilled training has helped

improve quality of life in poor regions is training

individuals in skills that are lacking in one particular geographical area such as member of a

community to be an electrician in order to repair electrical misfits in a village as can be seen in

the following attachment

Karamogo Sangara, the only electrician in his village,

trains four apprentices in how to repair a television.
For those youth without the privilege of education,
learning different skilled trades is one way to reduce
poverty and increase opportunity. Peace Corps
volunteers work in Feed the Future countries to
support economic development and agriculture
activities, helping communities reduce poverty and
improve their food security. Photo by Lisa Bacon,
Peace Corps Mali

Moreover, another way skilled training has helped

improve quality of life in poor regions is training individuals in skills that are lacking in one

particular geographical area such as member of a community to be an electrician in order to

repair electrical misfits in a village as can be seen in

While some may argue that academic education if far more enriching than gaining trade

skills, we cannot discredit that but on the flip side of the coin, necessary technical skills are far

more practical in the region, in fact almost equally useful. Unfortunately, with the current

generation of the millennials equally very well educated like other millennials in developing

countries in the world, there are no enough jobs up for grabs for all the millennials who are very

educated. Not to mention, with the corrupt culture in Africa, rich individuals can easily secure
the limited jobs for their kids and relatives through such questionable ways. How does a kid from

a poor family stand a chance of securing a job that they very well are qualified for?

It is a common phenomenon in Africa to see an old man,

walking but naked with a flock of animals. Hungry, helpless.

with a vast family land in his name. You might ask yourself

what bars him from selling the flock and to upgrade his

familys living standards. Traditionally they pride

themselves in keeping the land in their families and passing

it on to future generation just like their forefathers did to them. Therefore, instead of trying to

strip families of the tradition they do take pride in, it is only right to try help keep the tradition

going by informing them on ways to make use of what they have. To enhance them with the

skills and rich knowledge that can help them generate income. Africa can reclaim, as well as earn

her sanctity by engaging in projects that make its individuals to be self-reliant. Her leaders have

proven to lead the wrong way by clinging onto power. The lack of democracy and praise for

dictatorship. With the perennial assistance from the NGOs and micro finance, poor families can

change their situations.

 Works Cited

Bacon, Lisa. FEED THE FUTURE. Digital image. Reducing Poverty through Skills Training.
N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.

Boma Project. BOMA Overview. 2013. Web. 9 April 2017.

http://bomaproject.org/
Chigzoe, Emeka. 10 Shocking Facts about Child Soldiers in Africa. n.d. Web. 8 April 2017.
http://answersafrica.com/child-soldiers-in-africa.html
Pactor, Jordanna. Top "10 Poverty in Africa Facts". THE BORGEN PROJECT.7 November
2015. Web. 10 April 2017.
https://borgenproject.org/10-quick-facts-about-poverty-in-africa/
UNICEF. Facts on Children in the Horn of Africa. July 2011. Web. 10 April 2017.
https://www.unicef.org/media/media_59326.html
World Hunger. "Africa Hunger Facts"United nations Children Education Fund . 16 August 2016.
Web. 10 April 2017.
http://www.worldhunger.org/africa-hunger-poverty-facts/