Africa
is the one continent in our world which is generally thought of as constantly in need of help from outsiders.
Going back in history (from around the 15th century), and continuing into the present day,
individuals and institutions (statutory, voluntary or
non-governmental), have made the spiritual, social, technical and
economic responsibility of Africans their lifetime occupation.
In
this instalment of writings, the objective is to start an ongoing discussion, asking searching questions about what it means when one talks
about 'helping Africa'.
We might start with the size of the continent: thanks to The
Times Atlas
for the (entirely self-explanatory) Africa
in Perspective
map above.
From
the most northerly point, Ras ben Sakka (37°21′ N) in Tunisia, to
the most southerly point, Cape Agulhas (34°51′15″ S) in South
Africa, is a distance of approximately 8,000 kilometres (5,000
miles).
From
the Cap Vert Peninsula (17°33′22″ W) in Senegal, the westernmost
point, to Ras Hafun (Raas Xaafuun, Cape Guardafui headland, 51°27′52″ E) in Somalia, the
most easterly projection, is a distance (also approximately) of 7,400
kilometres (4,600 miles).
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| Image Source / Credit: https://africathistime.wordpress.com/ |
There are 54 recognised independent countries on the continent; forty-eight of
these are located on the main landmass while the island nations are
located off the coasts of West and Central Africa in the Atlantic
Ocean, and off the East and Southern African coasts in the Indian
Ocean.
Africa has an area of 30,368,609 square kilometres (11,725,385 square
miles), including the island nations.
The
largest country is Algeria, while Gambia is the smallest country on
the continent's mainland.
A little
exercise to test our knowledge of the continent might help to find out how many of the
countries one can identify and name from the map below.
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| Map of Africa Exercise |
Info Box
Cradle
of Humankind
Lucy
(Dinkenesh)
In
1974, archaeologists working at Hadar in the Awash Valley of
Ethiopia's Afar Depression came across a human skeleton which they
named Lucy because the Beatles song, "Lucy
in the Sky with Diamonds"
was playing in the background. Her real name, however, is Dinkenesh,
meaning 'you are blessed'.
This
discovery has led to Ethiopia being referred to as the 'Cradle of
Humankind'.
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