Africans Are Still Developing The Art of Storytelling and Blogging During the Pandemic
William Jackson, M.Ed. My Quest to Teach Teacher for Let The Bible Speak TV, Jos, Nigeria
https://www.facebook.com/LET-the-BIBLE-SPEAK-TV-109526513806972/
African Continent
As a teacher of over 30 years, advocate for STREAM, and investor in African programs like Sunflower Trust and Let The Bible Speak TV, the goal is to reach African youth,
teens and young adults to make learning relevant and real.
Mentally engaging and helping youth and young adults to apply to life skills beyond academic lessons. Working increasingly with African youth, teens and young adults it is clear they have a passion for technology and applying tech to create digital
careers to support themselves, their families and communities.
Writing, blogging and storytelling is why engagement, exposure, hands-on projects and youth lead instruction is vital anywhere in the world particularly in Africa because of its rich history and the
Art of Storytelling.
Before digital tech arrived communication was verbal, sharing stories to build knowledge and understanding so that history can be passed down from generation to generation. Now there is
content development, writing of literature and blogging.
African youth in many cases even more that American youth understand the reasons for being a good reader, why reading and comprehension are important, the value of proper grammar selection and the engagement of networking and
collaboration.
Over years I have accessed videos from YouTube that contain lessons shared from Chinua Achebe a poet, and writer he serves and provides a foundation why education is valuable in all of Africa. Writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o share stories that empower the mind and
excite the spirit.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o shares that there are good and bad storytellers, the good ones could tell the same story over and over again and it would always be fresh to the listeners because they (the storytellers) used inflection in their words with image descriptions, using different tones and making the story come alive. He is building active listeners,
as they journey through the story.
Mary Job – Nigeria
The growth of African technology activist like Mary Job Twitter
https://twitter.com/maryojob across the diaspora to share their thoughts, dreams, and challenges of a united and progressive Africa. It is important to go beyond just interpretation, understanding and application of speaking, it is important to know how to put these pieces of education, technology, and building a knowledge based society to use in growing African communities and empower African children for generations to come. “African children need to be taught how to be producers of intellectual content at all levels,
to build them into future creators and innovators.
Stated in the TEDx, Africa Post-Colonial Development: Fatoumata Waggeh at TEDxGallatin,
https://youtu.be/s7lmz4UL4wE ”Africa must invest in
herself and not allow foreign countries dictate the priorities of her people especially in education. No foreign country can understand the vision for another country and make the necessary changes to create generational wealth, progress and build all around stability. Similar statements have been made by Chinua Achebe concerning Africans being responsible for educating African. Learning opportunities like Sunflower Trust
Twitter https://twitter.com/sunflower_trust and Uchenna Bekee
of Great Hidden Treasure Christian Schools
https://www.facebook.com/hiddentreasureschristianschools/
are teaching potential future leaders in Africa. Victor Owuor @victoravikobits – Twitter – Sunflower Trust and World Literacy Ambassador
African youth, teens and young adults need to be able to create, develop and advocate for educational and technological growth using digital tools. Even during a pandemic there can be continuous progress in learning. African nations that do not invest in the growth of their children generationally run the risk of not developing into productive nations with thriving economies, they rely on foreign investors and fall back into colonized ideologies and economic slavery. The educational levels of citizens is one of the important factors that plays into if a nation will be able to be involved in global trade, technological innovation, the education of its people and even influence
the political stability of that nation.
Africans have a unique vision for change that can be applied to many African communities across respective nations. Listening to writers and activists on YouTube that have influenced not just thousands, but millions in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and across the continent of Africa. There are important thought leaders and entrepreneurs with progressive ideas and skills. These can be shared generationally to build
the next level of writers, bloggers and content developers.
Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe shared their passions to improving their nation’s strength in areas of national educational accessibility, applying technology to best serve the poor and under-served. To effectively engage and empower with education is a key priority as each generation moves towards entrepreneurship, youth and teens are developing into smart creatives and technological innovators. Then grow into business
owners that infuse finances into their communities.
The careers of African societies are no longer just agriculture in nature and industrial careers they have progressed into knowledge application, thought leadership, tech innovation and research and development. Technology has the potential to reach millions to provide resources and new opportunities of learning and workings to provide the necessary things families need. The discussion of stopping colonization by foreign
rule can never stop because the consequences are still seen today.
Sunflower Trust students
Africans are developing the art of writing and blogging during the pandemic to share their unique stories. They are sharing their successes, triumphs, challenges, ideologies, passions and fears. Africans are the best story tellers in the world. It does not matter what platform, tool or App that is being used. African are using the Internet to build wealth and stability. Africans must continue their passion for education to build their abilities and talents to help communities growth through education to make transformative changes using literature, writing, and the integration of
technical resources.
Words of encouragement and power are always helpful to inspire generations in Africa to strive for better…. “Getting things done is better than having things perfect. Done is better than perfect. Whatever you have in your hands, get going with it. Just do it.”
Charles Igwe, Nollywood Global Media Group, Nigeria
William is the digital innovator for his brand My Quest To Teach using the hashtag #MyQuestToTeach sharing his journey teaching, mentoring,
community activism and community collaborations.