The Gambia

Africa (Webb 1991; Ngigi 2000 and Groenfeldt 2005). Several case studies have shown irrigation project failures are related to lack of post construction assistance to the local people. For example, Webb (1991, p. 346) points out that the project in the Gambia was unsuccessful due to the fact that there was no training or extension programme set up to educate the farmers about the maintenance of the irrigation pump when it frequently broke-down in the early years of the project despite its…

Historically, the current Nigeria used to have a number of kingdoms, empires, caliphates and chiefdoms, local land lord, among others before the arrival of European colonialism in western Africa. Those kingdoms and empires had traded with outside the world independently particularly with Europe. This extreme diversity in terms of culture, tradition, norm and religion resulted to have a complex system of governance (Musa and Hassan, 2014). The Kanem-Borno Empire (with known history of more than a…

My Cultural Fashion Fashion has always been a major trend going on around the world. Everyone has their own sense of style and appearance that they choose to look each and everyday. As basic as you may think you are, your sense of fashion can be pointed out by another individual. For me, my sense of fashion appears accordingly to my cultures. Living in two different cultures American as well as African, I managed to dress accordingly to each one. The American culture, my fashion is more of a…

The Culture of Senegal The culture of Senegal is shaped by its people. The geographical location of the country and key historical moments have led to a firm belief in religion, social norms, ethnic ties and ancestral rituals that are still practiced in Senegal today. The meaning of culture cannot be underestimated for any country. All these factors have both direct and indirect roles in the development of a country's’ culture. Senegal once was part of the West African Empire of Ghana, Tekur,…

first African American woman to publish a book. Phillis Wheatley positively impacted American society by, being a successful young poet, that used her poems as a way to inspire others and to voice her opinions. Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal/Gambia in about 1753. At the age of eight, she was kidnapped from her home, and brought to Boston, Massachusetts on a slave ship in 1761. She was then purchased by John Wheatley as a servant for his wife. She received the name Phillis from the slave…

Portugal. France conquered much of northwest part of Africa; Italy had taken control of Libya and Eritrea; Great Britain conquered Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, Bechuanaland, South Africa, Somaliland, Nigeria, Gold Coast, Gambia, and Sierra Leone; Spain took control of Riode Oro, Morocco, and French Equatorial Africa; Germany had Togoland, German East Africa, and German Southwest Africa; Portugal had Angola and Mozambique; Belgium gained control of Belgian Congo;…

During the 18th century, one of the most acclaimed and controversial African American poets emerged, Phillis Wheatley. Stolen from her homeland, “pleasing Gambia…with native grace in spring”, by slave-traders and sold to the Wheatley Family in Boston, Massachusetts (Levernier), Wheatley became the first African American woman to publish a book of poems. Judged and criticized for neglecting her own state of slavery and becoming a Christianized slave, her work led to the embarrassment of future…

One of the major effects of democracy in Africa is division. Because Africa is one of the most diverse continents if not the most in the world in terms of ethnicity, and religion, western democracy takes this opportunity to tear it apart. One of the tools that it uses to achieve this is the multiparty system. Hence, it focusses more on elections in Africa than on most of the pressing needs of the continent, such as food, shelter, medical care and education (Mountain, 2012). Most political…

Recently, I have experienced the pleasure of reading The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz. Jacqueline Novogratz is the CEO and founder the Acumen Fund, a non-profit impact investment fund that primarily focuses on serving low-income communities in developing countries primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In her book, she writes about her journey as a young woman as she attempts to use the power of markets to…

Africa have a democratic government were certain. To other African rulers, his want for freedom and justice were the biggest dreams of the world. Before the 1990's, there were two multi-party democracies in Africa. These countries were Botswana and Gambia. Many countries within the continent were ruled by dictators. With Mandela, he gave hope to the rest of Africa. Crowds of cheering people followed him everywhere he…