Africa is not a country, its a Continent.

byRoseblogger

2K followers

Updated 5 years ago

Since I can't find inspiration to create content on my website today, I thought I'd give WA a try and talk about something that has been bothering me for a while.

Recently I visited my family and friends in Kenya (that is where I am from)

I had such a lovely time, so as I was sharing my stories about my trip, someone asked me, so how is the weather in Africa this time of the year? I answered, I won't know because I have only been to Kenya.

Kenya is a big Country

This reminds me of a time I had a very interesting conversation with a couple who found it interesting that I was from Kenya because they had always wanted to go to Kenya for a Safari. So anyway, they told me that they had an African friend and they think he was From Kenya, they shared his first name with me and asked me if I knew him.

So let's see, Kenya's population is over 40 million people, the chances of me knowing someone just because they are from Kenya are very slim.

Going back to the tittle of my post, Africa is not a country, it's a Continent with many countries all together 54 countries with different governments, and different languages. Most west African countries and some central African Countries speak French as a result of being colonized by the French, and East African Countries like Kenya and Tanzania speak English as a result of being colonized by the British.

There some African countries that speak Portuguese, these include Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau as well as Equatorial Guinea.

Apart from these European Languages, which are taught in schools, there are many native Languages, for example in my country we have 43 tribes which means each tribe has it's own language, so the common language that joins us is Swahili.

This means if I meet someone From Kenya who doesn't speak Swahili or English, we can't communicate at all unless we use sign language.

Almost 12 hours Flight from Cairo to Cape Town

And also I would like to mention, just because I am an African, does not mean I have been to all countries in Africa, the flight From Nairobi to Lagos (Nigeria) is 5 hours 20 minutes direct flight, I have never been To Nigeria even though I would like to go there one day.

The Flight From Cairo(Egypt) to Cape Town(South Africa) is 11 hours 30 minutes direct Flight,

So what I am I trying to say? I am trying to show you that Africa is not a small place, and I would also want to add that we don't live on top of trees, and we don't live with wild animals either.

To be honest with you, I do take offense when someone expects me to know a friend they have, who they are not even sure which country in Africa they are from, I also take offense when someone acts surprised when they hear that I have been to school and that I speak 3 languages.

Just because I am an African, does not mean my brain is slow, the color of my skin or where I am from does not take away my abilities as a human being. I can learn anything, if I put my mind to it.

Africa is not a dark Continent, Africa is beautiful, is full of color, full of life. Africa is music Africa is fruitful. I think the western media paints such a horrible picture of Africa, they neglect to show the positive things that Africa offers to the world.

And no Africa is not a crime infested Continet, sure there is crime but then again there is crime all over the world, Africa is not a hot bed of terrorism, there ve been terror attacks in different places in the world but when it happens in Africa, its annouced how un safe it is to travel to Africa.

Why there are no travel advisories to France or other non African countries that have experienced terror attacks? Its only when a terror attack happens in Africa, within hours travel advisories are issued.

Africa has more to offer the world than poverty and diseases.

We don't just offer poverty and diseases, and famine did you know that Africa is the world largest producer of diamonds? Africa also has gold and many other precious stones, Africa gives the world beauty and sparkle.

In my country we grow coffee, we have tea and flowers that we export to Europe and to other Continents in the world, that is just one country in Africa, so think how many other things the world is getting from Africa.

The only thing that keeps Africa from reaching it's full potential, is corruption, and greed of few leaders who don't see the bigger picture, if things were run properly, Africa would not need financial help from World bank or European union or other organizations.

It's my hope and prayer that Africa will arise and realize how great she can be, and work toward achieving the prosperity and prestige of her people.

I also hope that people from other countries will visit African countries to see for themselves and learn our history and also see the beautiful sites that we have to offer, don't believe what you see on TV.

Yes we do have our struggles but, we do have our victories too. The world need to see both sides of the coin.

As much as the media wants to show our hardships and struggles, I think they should also make documentaries about beautiful places in Africa, beautiful beaches, magnificent mountains, majestic animals and beautiful birds as well as creativity of the African people.

Anyway, those are just some of my thoughts. I didn't think I would go that deep into things but, the more I wrote, the more I realized just how deep into things I was, if that make sense.

Thank you for your time.

Rose.