Welcome to Litsy!

A book about some of the good things happening in modern Africa. I‘m glad I read this one! #ReadingAfrica2022

We so often hear awful things about Africa. But what about the good? The innovation driven by need. The strong family structures. The embrace of cellular technology to improve lives. Olopade looks at all these things and more in this positive look at Africa. I enjoyed the read and learned a ton (plus that cover! 😍). Could be used for many countries, but I choose #Cameroon.

#ReadingAfrica2022

This is a 1959 map of Africa based on ethnicity and language. Wow! This really puts things in an interesting perspective.

Edit: 73% of African households don‘t speak the official language of their country!

Another one on my #TBR. #bright #BoundTogetherJune
@OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Informative & detailed but still readable, & a fascinating look at what countries across Africa are really about, often in contrast to outside misconceptions & stereotypes. I liked her framework of the five “maps” to tell these stories. It did get a bit too into some parts & not enough into others for me, & I was put off by her labeling email scammers as just being “naughty” when they‘ve at times ruined lives. But overall a worthwhile read. 3/5 ⭐️

Emanuel Feruzi...explained the generational divide: “I think for many of us there are two teams — one that says no, no, no, this is too risky, you‘re not ready. The other says go for it.“ According to him, African youth are ready to go. “The uneducated of the 21st-century are not those that can‘t read and write. The uneducated of this century are those that cannot unlearn their old lessons and learn the new ones to adapt to this age.“

Aid money can have a chilling effect on private capital. “There‘s a lot of donor money, NGO money, and, less so, African government money. [...] And sometimes these types of financing do not come and support what‘s already happening in Africa. They come and crowd it out.”

[Good intentions don‘t always have good outcomes.]

Lean economies — however challenged they might appear — are an invitation to innovate. If necessity is the mother of invention, Africa‘s adversities are the mother of necessity.

Time for some nonfiction! I‘m really interested in anything that challenges and upends white Western notions about other parts of the world, since we‘re typically way fucking wrong about...like, everything. Lolsob #nowreading