Constellations

Constellations

most

don’t like you,

Night Sky. they fear

to be engulfed in your vast beauty. how obscure you are! while others

love to dance under the big hot sun, i love to lay under you

countless twinkling stars, each one a bright sun of its

own, somewhere far away. i love to connect the

scattered stars, and with just a few lines,

i can make your chaotic collection of humble mere stars

turn into my kismet, whatever it may be. i am not aware of the

insomnia any longer. my eyes, already encircled in purple, only see you,

your moon, so damaged, yet so bold. i see where men have stepped on it,

each individual crater a story that i        want to be a part of. i know it needs

the sun to be able to be                             seen, but you do not need

     it to be                                                               beautiful.

Andrea Africa Issue

Andrea Rodriguez

Ms. Tompkins

WLH 1

March 13, 2015

Teenage Dream: Africa’s Youth and the Job Hunt

A license. A car. A job. These are the desires of a sixteen year-old teenager in the US. It’s easy to acquire these things, however, it is not so for other countries, mainly jobs. For example, in Africa, the youth struggle greatly to find a job. In South Africa, almost half of the unemployed population is made up of young citizens (SABC), earning a position as one of the highest rates in the world (IndexMundi). This affects the economy, families, and society, but what are the causes of youth unemployment in Africa?

Education is one major factor for this issue. According to The Guardian news, “Levels of education in Africa are comparatively low creating a considerable skills gap among youth at working age” (Amare). Many young African citizens are not able to get a job because they are not eligible for it, meaning that they do not have the required education to meet the standards of the job. The majority, 50%, of the youth population is illiterate (AEO), and this is a significant skill needed to be obtained for any job in any part of the world. Without a basic education, a young individual is not able to get a job as easily as one who has the experience and networks.

A second factor is that the programs designed to reach out to aid youth unemployment are uncoordinated. An article by Brookings on Sub-Saharan Africa youth unemployment states that in Nigeria, “[The policies] are administered by a multitude of government agencies and actors that are often unaware of each other’s work” (Routman and McArthur). Despite the fact that there are programs out there to help the cause, the workers in the program are not adequately meeting the needs of their own program in order for the youth to tackle their issue. Consequently, the young citizens are not getting much out through these programs.

While there are more causes to this problem, the results are also many. Without a strong generation of youth employees, can Africa move forward as well?

Bibliography

Amare, Tighisiti. "Africa's High Youth Unemployment." Theguardian.com. The Guardian, 11 July 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development-professionals-network%2F2014%2Fjul%2F11%2Fafrica-youth-unemployment-population-growth>.

"Country Comparison Unemployment, Youth Ages 15-24." Unemployment, Youth Ages 15-24. Index Mundi, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. <http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=2229>.

Oosthuizen, Morné, and Aalia Cassim. "The State of Youth Unemployment in South Africa." The Brookings Institution. Brookings, 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2014/08/15-youth-unemployment-south-africa-oosthuizen>.

SABC. "Youth Unemployment Soars: Stats SA." Http://www.sabc.co.za/news. SABC, 5 June 201. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sabc.co.za%2Fnews%2Fa%2F64e44a004442321b82c88651e2c8725a%2FYouth-unemployment-soars%3A-Stats-SA-20140506>.

Brandon Routman, and John McArthur. "Youth Unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Varying Solutions to Complex Challenges." The Brookings Institution. Brookings, 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2014/08/12-youth-unemployment-africa-mcarthur>.

Gertrude

Gertrude: A submissive woman, Kumalo’s younger sister who fled to Johannesburg with her little son in search of her lost husband lost in the mines.”

She is the reason that Stephen comes into Johannesburg and is exposed to this new modern way of life. She is also the first introduction of conflict. She also shows that religion has caused her to be ashamed of her life and lose touch with her family, giving the reader an idea of how religion will contribute to the story. She is one of the few women in the story, and her character is presented as a very submissive person, which correlates to the time period in which this book is written. Her character represents the sexism happening at the time along with the segregation between the blacks and whites of South Africa

• “There is laughter in the house, the kind of laughter of which one is afraid. Perhaps because one is afraid already, perhaps because it is in truth bad laughter” (29).

• “She gets up and goes to the yard. She calls, but the voice that was once so sweet has a new quality in it, the quality of laughter that he heard in the house” (31).
• “I do not like Johannesburg”... she looks at him with eyes of distress… “I am a bad woman, my brother. I am no woman to go back” (31).

Time to Fiddle

First symbol: Alarm clock

• Quotes:
• 1: “In the end we had changed the position of the hands so many times that we had no idea what the time really was” (15).
• 2: “I was convinced that the real reason behind his liberal attitude was the irresistible attraction of our alarm clock, with its proud peacock-feathered rooster...The only way he could have it all to himself, was to dispatch us to Yong Qing. During the four days it took us to get there, he would be lord and master of the clock” (80).
• Thesis: The protagonists’ manipulation
• n of the alarm clock represents the fact that although their circumstances are desperate, they find ways to exercise control over their lives, even if it’s only the small things.
• Relation to coming of age: The alarm clock represents the two boys asserting increasing control over their lives. Especially in the repressive environment of the cultural revolution, they have lived their whole lives possessing little control over their decisions. Changing the hands on their alarm clock allows them to truly have control something for the first time, helping them to mature and grow as individuals.

Second symbol: Violin [or Wy-o-lin]

• Quotes:
• 1: “Some day, perhaps, once I was an accomplished violinist, some modest local or regional propaganda committee- in the district of Yong Jing, for instance- might open their doors to me, and might even hire me to perform Red violin concertos. But Luo couldn’t play the violin, I reflected, and he wasn’t much good at basketball or football either. In fact, he didn’t  possess a single skill that might help him to become one of the three in a thousand. He couldn’t even dream of it” (18).
• 2: “One peasant took the ‘toy’ from the headman’s hands, drummed with his fists on its back, then passed it to the next person…

‘A stupid toy,’ a woman commented hoarsely.

    ‘No,’ the village headman corrected her, ‘a bourgeois toy’” (4).

• Thesis: While the narrator had originally stored his hopes in the violin, believing that it could be his key to escaping his circumstances, he increasingly finds that his hopes are exaggerated and that he needs to rely on himself to get ahead.
• Connection:  Earlier on in the story, the narrator believes that the violin will be the key to his success. However, as part of growing up and maturing, he realizes over time that he will need to rely on himself, instead of counting on his talents or possessions to solve all his problems.

Lluvia

Walk through life

With closed eyes

Eyes are only for seeing

They do not feel

Let your hands feel

Let them feel the rain

Others are scared of getting wet

But fear destroys opportunity

Which life is abundant in

Be like the rain

It detaches from above

It lets go without question

It can be part of a sprinkle in spring

Or it can be part of a storm in the winter

There is a time for everything

Patience and open mindedness is the master

Open spaces complete all things

Different Shoes and Different Views.

Picture of the Brain
Picture of the Mouth
Picture of the Heart
Picture of the Hand
Picture of the Shoes