When U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (Hawai’i), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, listens to testimony and asks tough questions about our country’s interactions with African nations, he does so with first-hand experience.
That’s because he studied abroad with our School for International Training program in Kenya as a college student over 30 years ago.
Unfortunately, even as Africa is becoming even more vital geopolitically, similar opportunities are disappearing. The U.S. State Department’s annual Open Doors report showed only 2.4% of all U.S. study abroad students were in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, while Europe commands 66% of the total.
Elizabeth Clay Roy
At a time of growing rivalry in Africa between the U.S. and China, students are losing a front row seat to understand what’s at stake. Indeed, as some analysts say China is lessening its lending to African nations because of economic headwinds, America’s future leaders could be missing out on seeing the possibilities. Dynamic innovation and leadership is happening all over the continent, in public health, climate and sustainability, history and culture and urban development; there’s much for American students to learn.
My own study abroad experiences in Africa many years ago were critical for my understanding of the world and my own purpose-filled path. My rich experiences erased the limited narrative about Africa that I had been exposed to from American media.
