AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION

The African Wildlife Foundation has three main goals. They want to conserve wildlife. They want to protect land and they want to empower people. This website talks about each of these goals in great detail. Today, wildlife in Africa does not exist in isolation. Most wildlife populations live outside of protected areas, where they live alongside humans. Effective wildlife conservation means recognizing this complex human-wildlife dynamic and implementing programs to address the needs of both humans and animals. AWF believes that loss and fragmentation of habitat is the single largest threat to most African wildlife. AWF invests heavily in education and sustainable development so that Africans can lead in conserving their natural heritage.

This website was interesting because of all the great pictures of African wildlife. The wildlife gallery was so fun to look at. It's amazing all the many varieties of animals that live in Africa. When you click on a picture of an animal it also gave vital statistics of that creature. It gave it's average size, weight, lifespan, habitat, diet, gestation and even predators. African wildlife is one of the positive things Africa is known for and this website does a wonderful job exploring the topic.

AIDS in Africa

Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 22.4 MILLION people are living with HIV in Africa. This website gives a wealth of information on this serious disease. The website talks about the history of AIDS in the continent. It breaks down AIDS in each country and it discusses the overall impact on Africa. It gives a historical timeline and even has a question and answer section.

I thought this was an extremely educational website. I knew that it was an epidemic in Africa but I didn't realize to what extent. In Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland, more than one in five adults are infected. AIDS has caused immense human suffering in the continent. The most obvious effect of this crisis has been illness and death, but the impact of the epidemic has certainly not been confined to the health sector; households, schools, workplaces and economies have also been badly affected. It is a sad situation that needs to be more aggressively addressed.

African Food

This website discusses African cuisine. There is a variety of different ingredients that are used as well as many different ways to prepare the food and techniques to cook the food. The traditional African diet consists of very little meat and focuses more on whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Eating habits of the different African regions very greatly. This website discusses foods in the different regions.

I thought this website was great because while it talked about food in general it went a step further and discussed each region separately. In East African they eat Matoke. It is a dish of steamed, green bananas, provide the filling base in many of the Ugandan meals. In Central Africa meat is hunted in the forest adding an exotic touch when crocodile, monkey, antelope and warthog make it occasionally to the menu instead of beef or chicken. Southern Africans are known to eat game meats like antelope and ostrich. I think the food in West Africa is more like what we are used to eating.

FASHION

This website is devoted to African Fashion. It has a wealth of information on it. There is information on designers, cosmetics, trends, hair, hats and accessories. There is also a place where you can look up fashion from a specific country.

I loved this website. I spent a lot of time looking over the site and all it had to offer. Africa is definitely a place that embraces color and texture. All the pictures were beautiful. I especially liked the look of the traditional wear. I was surprised to learn that Africa has it's own fashion week.

Swahili

This website is all about Swahili. It talks about the origin, spread and international presence of the language. The word "Swahili" was used by early Arab visitors to the coast and it means "the coast". Swahili is a Bantu language. It is the most widely spoken language of eastern Africa.
According to the website, Swahili is one of the easiest languages to learn.

I thought this website was cool because it not only talked about the history of the language but it gave examples of how to learn the language. There was a section that had common phrases in both English and Swahili. They also had listed days of the week, times, numbers, animals and other general words and phrases. This website is one that makes learning fun!

Funerals in Africa

This website discusses funerals in Africa. In Africa death is thought of as a rite of passage that prepares the spirit of the deceased to journey on to the next realm. The website talks about burial practices and thoughts on the after life. There are also pictures of objects that Africans deem an important part of the funeral. They are used to nurture, protect and remember the deceased.

The above picture is a pottery vessel called abusua kuruwa, which means "family pot." The snake that is wrapped around the pot symbolizes that death will come to us all. The lid is a human head that symbolizes a portrait of the deceased. Family members put hair and nail clippings into the pot and then they take it to the cemetery with food and wine. This is done so that the deceased can continue to grow and live.

I thought this was a very interesting website. I found it odd that the family members would cut pieces of their hair and fingernails as a way to honor the deceased. It makes sense though since these are two parts of the body that continuously grow.

Conflict Diamonds

BLOOD DIAMONDS

The above image is a powerful statement referring to illegal mining and exporting of diamonds out of Africa. I was searching for pictures of diamond mines using google image search when I found this picture and felt I had to use it. The link is to a website that discusses the issue of blood diamonds or otherwise called conflict diamonds. The website covers information such as the definition of a conflict diamond, how to tell if a diamond is a conflict one or a legitimate one and what is being done to stop the illegal practice.

"Diamonds are forever" it is often said. But lives are not.
We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilations and death for the sake of conflict diamonds."

This quote was taken off of the website. Martin Chungong Ayafor, Chairman of the Sierra Leone Panel of Experts is the man who said it. It brings to light the reality of the issue.

I found this website interesting because I myself am a fan of diamond jewelry. I had heard of conflict diamonds before but never really thought about it in much depth. Rough diamond caches have often been used by rebel forces to finance arms purchases and other illegal activities. The pictures on the website were heartbreaking. Seeing the people dig in the dirt with their bare hands searching for diamonds was awful. There was also a picture of a teenage boy who had lost both of his hands to rebels' machetes.

We have learned from our text, Understanding Contemporary Africa, that Africa is highly "mineralized" and the map on page 19 shows the countries that have Diamond resources. Although a lot has been done to stop the illegal mining and exporting of diamonds, according to this website updated THIS MONTH, it is still occurring.