Last Monday's Visitor!
Posted
on Oct 26, 2015
Topic: Africa—A Different Perspective
This week, members of the Rotary Club of Sierra Vista were introduced to the October Student of the Month, Allie Kang. Allie is a senior at Buena high School with ambitions to obtain a degree in anthropology.Rotarians were then privileged to hear from Rev. Fred Otto, who presented - Africa, a Different Perspective. Rev. Otto and his wife, Donna, served as missionaries in Africa from 1985 to 2013. They began their servicein Swaziland and after a couple of years, moved to
Kenya. While in Kenya their ministry extended throughout the Eastern part of the African continent.
After spending several years in East Africa, Rev. Otto moved west, where he and his wife served in Liberia during that nation’s bloody civil war. Rev. Otto finished his ministry in South Africa and spent the last couple of years telecommuting from Sierra Vista. Rev. Otto shared some of the culture and significant historical locations with Rotarians, including Elmina Castle, located in Ghana. The castle, built in 1482, began as a commerce castle but later became a slaving center. He pointed out that an interesting aspect of the castle was that a church was built near the castle’s center, very close to the slave yards. Modern day Africa was divided by the Berlin Conference in 1884, when the various European countries claiming rights to the continent drew the boundary lines between colonies.
One major environmental cause for concern is that in the sub-Saharan regionof Africa, the Sahara desert is moving south, encroaching on the transitionzone to the south. This has led to crop shortage and the need to purchase crop seed each year. In fact, in some areas the situation is so dire that children are occasionally sold for the price of a bag of seed. Despite such poverty, many large cities look much like those in the US, with malls, supermarkets and fast food restaurants. A middle class has developed where there has historically been none. One obvious indicator of a middle class community is the presence of privately owned cars.
This week, members of the Rotary Club of Sierra Vista were introduced to the October Student of the Month, Allie Kang. Allie is a senior at Buena high School with ambitions to obtain a degree in anthropology.Rotarians were then privileged to hear from Rev. Fred Otto, who presented - Africa, a Different Perspective. Rev. Otto and his wife, Donna, served as missionaries in Africa from 1985 to 2013. They began their servicein Swaziland and after a couple of years, moved to
Kenya. While in Kenya their ministry extended throughout the Eastern part of the African continent.
After spending several years in East Africa, Rev. Otto moved west, where he and his wife served in Liberia during that nation’s bloody civil war. Rev. Otto finished his ministry in South Africa and spent the last couple of years telecommuting from Sierra Vista. Rev. Otto shared some of the culture and significant historical locations with Rotarians, including Elmina Castle, located in Ghana. The castle, built in 1482, began as a commerce castle but later became a slaving center. He pointed out that an interesting aspect of the castle was that a church was built near the castle’s center, very close to the slave yards. Modern day Africa was divided by the Berlin Conference in 1884, when the various European countries claiming rights to the continent drew the boundary lines between colonies.
One major environmental cause for concern is that in the sub-Saharan regionof Africa, the Sahara desert is moving south, encroaching on the transitionzone to the south. This has led to crop shortage and the need to purchase crop seed each year. In fact, in some areas the situation is so dire that children are occasionally sold for the price of a bag of seed. Despite such poverty, many large cities look much like those in the US, with malls, supermarkets and fast food restaurants. A middle class has developed where there has historically been none. One obvious indicator of a middle class community is the presence of privately owned cars.