Nicole McCreedy used to have 9 to 9 job as a Media Analyst at a Customer Publishing company in Cape Town. Pitching, pitching and pitching fabulous ideas for brand new magazines to the corporate a-list.
On Mondays she did Pilates, Wednesdays she went to drawing class and Fridays she drank wine at trendy bars with her girlfriends. Life was fine. Well almost, but it lacked adventure. And she desperately wanted to write stories, not sales proposals and marketing strategies. So she quit her job, gave up her flat and waved good-bye to her friends. Hitched a lift with an environmental journalist heading north and went off to discover Africa.
Learn, write and explore was the mandate. One English Honours degree cum lauded, five countries visited, nine months malaria free and thirteen articles published. No flat tyres, it's been a good year.
What has she learnt?
As Shakira sang for the World Cup in South Africa, "Waka Waka, This time for Africa". You can feel it. Africa is poised for the next step.
The free trade East African community, with the inclusion of Sudan/SouthSudan, could soon be a market of 180 million people. There's a culture of entrepreneurship and small business ownership. Watch out for Kenya's vibrant IT market. Cellphones, motorbikes and second hand clothes imports are plentiful. There is still an old-fashioned propriety in terms of dress, men wear shirts and trousers. People go to Church on Sundays.
But on other fronts it is progress versus the environment. Governments are chipping away at conservation areas to mine or build roads to exploit natural resource and corruption is seriously impeding important development projects. Nature appears to be losing the battle against poaching and deforestation, despite the bravery of individuals. Foreign aid is both friend and foe. Communities are looking for sustainable solutions. Urban sprawl, population control and non-communicable diseases are some of the challenges of the next ten years. Somehow people still smile and things still get done despite the fact that Government cannot keep the electricity connected, food inflation is sky-rocketing and the price of petrol goes up.
But hakuna matata even on a rough day there is always chicken, fries and beer.
Contact:
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Skype: nicole.mccreedy
