Brown concerns turn to Africa

[rov1200]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7936752.st m
What is the best way to help poor Africans through this credit crunch?

Some say aid is the only solution. Others say this is a never ending cycle and they should be given tools to make a living. The callous say that some form of birth control is necessary.
It is expected that the �50m from comic relief will go to Africa. How much do you think Brown should commit to maintain their present poor standards?

[Booldawg]

The fact that comic relief has been running for near on 20 years is some indictation that the money raised from comic relief is simply 'pi55ing in the wind'. Education and Industry is the only way to make it in todays society.

[Prudentia]

The yanks have made it clear they want nothing to do with the loser Brown, the europeans have made the same sensible decision (for once) so now the 'arch scottish loony ' targets the poor africans, sureley they have enough problems without captain clueless offering his services!!!!

[sandbach99]

I thought the money from Comic relief was split between the UK and Africa more evenly than �50 million to Africa �8 to the UK.

An African woman along with some friends had a cottage industry making nets to help stop malaria, along came an American film star who donated enough nets for the town. End of the cottage industry and people now unable to make a living, and when these nets wear out no-one to replace them.

No matter how much money is sent to Africa the situation never seems to improve.

I believe a different way of using the donated money is needed, maybe a groups of experts should be sent to several different areas, preferably small villages, to provide clean safe water and a drainage and irrigation systems, a power supply, enough basic housing, a clinic [ with contraceptives], enough plants, seeds and animals to feed them with some to sell to other African Aid agencies, Equipment and aid to start cottage industries to make money, to improve the standard of their area.
As they become confident others from the next area could learn from them and start improving their area and so it snowballs.

The experts could be recruited from the people on dole queues around the world. Families of anyone who goes to Africa receive the same dole allowance plus �20 and the chance of visits to the workers using unfilled plane seats.

[lynbrown]

Why does the white man have to go to Africa to teach them how to make a living? The Africans have existed for centuries without us. Let them sort themselves out. Their problem is that many leaders become despots. Also, have you ever seen any starving soldiers in Africa? I know that there are starving children and shocking poverty. But here in UK, there are also hungry children living terrible lives because their parents are drunks/junkies. Agitate about these social conditions before we start looking to other countries.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question72 1409.html

One I posted previously.

[rov1200]

Sandbach your idea of sending people to Africa to sort out clean water was one of the tasks those millionairre entreprenaurs made some time ago with some success. Didn't they also provide mud hut lodges for people who wanted to see their problems first hand? Seems a good idea if used more widespread.

[rov1200]

lynbrown your comment about never seeing starving Africans reminds me of the pictures you see of Zimbabwe where many of the population seem overweight.