- NYTimes: Winning the Worm War (4/28/10) - This Kristof Op-Ed hits on topics related to my post Polio Eradication and General Development Questions. Can a development project succeed without full buy-in and participation from those it is meant to affect?
- NYTimes: More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship (4/25/10) - Americans are tired of paying taxes to the U.S. when they haven't lived there in 20 years. And the Patriot Act has caused banks to close bank accounts that do not have a verified U.S. mailing address. So people are increasingly handing over their U.S. passports.
- NYTimes: Pardon My French (4/21/10) - The French continue to worry about their language becoming extinct...and seem to have forgotten about all the people in Africa that have their own francophone culture (like Rwanda!).
- NYTimes: With Flights Grounded, Kenya's Produce Wilts (4/19/10) - The volcano in Iceland caused the Kenyan horticulture industry (the country's top foreign exchange earner) to come to a halt as none of the produce and flowers were able to be flown to Europe.
- NYTimes: Africa Reboots (4/17/10) - Bono kind of rambles on about the side of Africa he sees when he is here. Overly optimistic from where I sit but still the same theme as my post Polio Eradication and General Development Question.
- NYTimes: Zimbabwe's Accidental Triumph (4/14/10) - Somehow the people of Zimbabwe seem to be overcoming the racial divide that is encouraged by their government. While certainly not in the same ballpark, I am often reminded of the political/racial climate in some parts of the U.S. (including Memphis) when reading about what has happened in Zimbabwe.
- WSJ: Bushmeat Presents Latest Food Scare (4/14/10) - Health dangers in the rise of bushmeat (bats, monkeys, rodents, wildebeests,etc.) imported to the United States from Africa. Delicious! I once asked one of the park rangers if you could eat the baboons since they look quite meaty, and after thinking about it for a minute he said: "No I don't think so. Too close to us."
- NYTimes: Banks Making Big Profits From Tiny Loans (4/13/10) - Microfinance has revolutionized the lending environment for the world's most impoverished but has also been adopted by organizations that may lack the social benefit goals of traditional microcredit programs. When implemented appropriately, microfinance initiatives can have an amazing effect on peoples' lives since they address many of the challenges involved with accessing capital in the developing world (Issuing a lot of small loans to people who live and work in volatile environments and industries with few/no assets and bad/no credit history in the developing world is very expensive, risky, and not very profitable for traditional financial institutions). Unfortunately, it seems some microfinance entities do not always have the best interests of the borrower in mind.
- WSJ: On This Safari, the Exotic Lure Is the American Black Panther (4/13/10) - An exiled leader of the Black Panther Party hosts visitors at his home near Arusha, Tanzania.
- NYTimes: Young Superheroes in a Hut (4/10/10) - Kristof Op-Ed (he loves the developing world!) on Africa having initiative and a desire to work hard but lacking honest leadership
- NYTimes: Uganda Enlists Former Rebels to End War (4/10/10) - Africa has more than its fair share of roaming militia groups, and Congo is perennially the hub supporting a good bit of the conflict in our neighborhood. Well apparently the Ugandan Army has permission to go hunting for the Lord's Resistance Army across the region.
- NYTimes: Postcard from Zimbabwe (4/7/10) - Kristof Op-Ed on the downfall of a once prosperous post-colonial Zimbabwe.
- NYTimes: Africa's Drug Problem (4/5/10) - As the U.S. and Europe have cracked down on drug trafficking from South America, West Africa has become a hub for the industry (despite there being few users). Hits home again that the support of the developed can only go so far to fix some of the issues in Africa. It requires the commitment of local people and an honest government too.
- WSJ: Airlines Swoop In on Growing African Market (3/23/10) - Airline travel in Africa is extremely expensive since it seems to cater exclusively to C-level business travelers, tourists, and aid workers. Pricing seems to have limited science behind it as most flight are between 20% and 60% full yet you can't fly anywhere for less than $300. For example, any day of the week, no matter the actual demand, Kigali-Naroibi is ~$450, Kigali-Addis Ababa is ~820, and Kigali-Dar es Salaam is $700. You can fly to Cape Town for the World Cup this summer from New York for about the same price I would pay from Kigali.
- WSJ: As Stamps Lose Hold on Hobbyists, These Philatelists Push the Envelope (4/22/10) - As the son of a philatelist and attendee of the 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition in Washington D.C., I enjoyed this article on stamp collecting.
And here is a picture of Lucy's new quilt that she had made at our favorite craft cooperative in Kigali. Let us know if there are any crafts in particular that you would like us to bring back.
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