Well, here it is: my brain child. As I started my college career, I thought about how I can impact the world. My conclusion was that the current solutions to world problems focus too much on unsustainable solutions. I am a pre-med student who hopes to be able to devote time to those less fortunate by serving in developing countries from time to time. When I was thinking about programs such as Doctors Without Borders, I thought about how, unfortunately, this program falls into the category of unsustainable solutions.
Many believe that the future of Africa depends on private funding to give the elite in Africa a chance to experience a Western education. However, this creates a brain drain. The students who have the opportunity to attend college, medical school, or graduate school often do not come home to their native land. The investment in education is ideologically sound because education is the most practical solution to poverty and political strife around the world. However, the investment does not improve the situation in these developing countries.
After watching Joseph Lekuton's account of his return to Kenya, it became evident that the most sustainable solution to Africa's problem is strong leadership. Strong leadership does not necessarily come from taking Africans into Western institutions, but rather from Western institutions working in collaboration with Africans. Oprah understood this concept when she decided to make a leadership academy, but what happens next. My idea is that a partnership between Western education systems, specifically medical schools, establish a program which gives Africa a world-class education without creating brain drain.
