Question: What is Yes! Africa! Project?

Grant: Yes! Africa! Project is about creating awareness of the beauty, dignity, and plight of the African people. It's amazing what is going on at this time in history on the African continent and so few people are truly aware of the needless suffering taking place. The YAP (Yes! Africa! Project) started out on a local level to build awareness of my own church about the needs of our African affiliates, but soon I was moved to see that the needs were a lot greater than some local efforts. The more aware people are, that is, people who can make a difference, the more possibility for real change.  Our mission in Yes! Africa! is to move people from indifferene to making a difference.

Question: What is going on in Africa?

Grant:It's nothing new that lots of people are dying, but the rate of needless deaths has gone way up with the emergence of several factors, including AIDS, famine, war, corruption, and a basic lack of meaningful response from the greater world community. Africa is a big place, and the various countries in Africa are even more diverse, say, than the countries of Europe. People who have never been to Africa tend to lump all Africans together. But they are different. Some countries have done better than others in establishing economies, education, health, communication, and so on. I have many friends in Ghana, for instance, who are doing quite well compared to many people in neighboring countries. However, according to George Ayittey, a Ghanaian born economist and outspoken author on the economic and social plight of Africa, countries such as Ghana and some others who have been successful since the end of the days of colonialism are now faltering in several areas of economics. Some of this is due to government policies, and some of this has to do with blocks toward free trade, especially in textile goods and the like. Also, even though the people of Ghana are not starving, or at war, or facing great health risks such as the Aids Epidemic in South Africa, they are still one of the poorest peoples in the world. That's the good news. The bad news is that many places in Africa are seeing thousands of people starve to death, or die of diseases easily prevented and/or treated, such as Malaria, or thousands who are dying of AIDS who could be receiving more education, and medicines that give people a second chance at life even with HIV. Between five and ten thousand people are said to by dying a day of AIDS alone. A child dies of poverty in Africa every three seconds.

Question: What can we do about it?

Grant: Well, we can start by waking up to what is going on there, and caring. I've actually heard people say that the people over there are probably better off dying off than living in those conditions. They say that there has always been suffering in parts of Africa. When I hear that I ask these folks what if it were happening here, in the U.S.? What if it were happening to you or to your child? You wouldn't stand for it. You'd demand help. If this were happening in any part of our country we'd be emptying our bank accounts to help people, to end the hunger, stop the disease, make the bigger changes necessary to ensure this never happens again. The people in Africa are the same as you and me. They have as much dignity as we do. They love their children as much as we do. They have a right to live just as we have that right. What separates us is we have the means, and they do not. We have the wealth, the power, the ability. Beyond that, I believe it's our God-given duty to reach out where there is suffering, no matter what. Isn't that why we are here? To love and care for one another? Regardless of whether we can wipe out poverty,AIDS,disease and corruption, we can do our best to try. I think that's all we're asking for. First of all, go to www.yesafricaproject.org, and learn about what we are doing to raise awareness. We're basically selling T-shirts right now, but down the road we can be preaching from the multi-media house tops if we can get the backing. You can also learn about what others are doing by going to the links section of our site. The ONE CAMPAIGN is something everyone can get involved with, but there are many organizations who have sifted through the corruption, skirted around the barriers, and are on the ground doing things that are making a difference. You can get involved in many organization. With the YAP, right now ten percent of what we raise goes to a little orphanage in Kissi Kenya. We are in contact with people right now in South Africa and West Africa to see what else is possible for us to do in local efforts. Some day we will projects in many countries, and opportunities for people to serve. We need help, and we need funds. Two days after alerting my friends and associates about this new YAP two people from literally two corners of the globe volunteered to go to Africa and live there for a year if we had something tangible for them to do. I referred them to others, but I look forward to the day we have people on the ground there, making a difference, as well as becoming a strong influence in waking people up to this crisis.

 Question: How did you get involved with Africa?

Grant: My first contact was with a fellow theological student, Ankra Badu. We had a lot of fun together in school, and stayed friends ever since. He became regional director for the church in West Africa, and I became in charge of development in new countries, such as Ghana. When I finally got over the Ghana I was immediately taken by the incredible warmth of the people there. Also, Ghanaians have a lot of spirit, and family heritage and pride. Even though they are very poor there is relatively little crime compared to other places in a similar situation. It's because of the family connections, and honor, and a desire to live with integrity. In the rural region of Asakraka I visited another friend, Gyamfi, and had the privilege of meeting the local chief and toasting the warriors who had gone before, very moving. I spoke to a crowd of hundreds who just embraced me with literally open arms and smiles and even cheers. They don't often see a white man up there, and I suppose I was a novelty, but what a reception! I found the same type of reception among my friends in South Africa.

Question:What was South Africa like?

Grant: I stayed with several people both in the white areas and also in Soweto. In fact, I had the privilege? of touring Soweto at midnight, something I was told by my guides, "Even we who live in this township don't do this." I will never forget the shanty towns, makeshift homes out of tin and cardboard, and broken pieces of fiberglass,which stretched out as far as the eye could see. The fires burning in the night kept a haze over the place, but the smell of the burning wood, and earth, and humanity and all, is actually something beautiful I will never forget. Where I stayed in Soweto was in a modern development. There people had most of the comforts we enjoy and of course, television. What I remember the most was the Truth Commission. People would gather and watch televised confessions of both the blacks and the whites of murders and other atrocities committed during the time of Apartheid. The rule was if you confessed before a certain deadline you would gain amnesty. So night after night the most horrific deeds were confessed for all to hear.

Question: What was that like for the people?

Grant: It was so disturbing I thought for sure that people would be up in arms, especially at what the government had done. I asked my host about it, Jacob Maseko, and he said that first of all, the government had denied so much for so long that it was a relief to hear the truth. Secondly, he said, the Africans by their very nature are a forgiving people, and a brave people, who need not focus on the past but move toward the possibilities of the future. I thought that was noble, and also realized how noble it was for the whites to give up control, and basically turn the country back to the indigenous people. The fact that there was no civil war or massive genocide shows the character of the Zulu's and the whites there.

Question: How did you get interested in helping Africa?

Grant: It started out on a local level. I wanted to raise money to buy a paper copier for Ankra Badu in Ghana. In fact, there were several congregations established in Ghana in need of materials. I met with a group of local businessmen and just before this I watched them allocate over $10,000 to a small congregation in California, so I was hopeful. When it came to asking about the copier for Ghana they just looked at me as if I were crazy for asking. They had one question: "How do we know what these people are going to do with a copy machine?" I answered, "I think they plan on making copies." It went downhill from there. They voted it down. That's when I gathered the ministers together who made up the band Connected Clergy so that we could raise money in for Ghana via a benefit concert. I remember the Ghanaian ministers happened to be in the USA when we put on the concert. In fact, we invited them up on stage to sing the chorus to Johnny B. Goode. It was great! The show was such a success that the Ghanaian ministers told us afterwards with their great sense of humor, "Forget the copiers. We want to buy guitars and take a show like this on the road back in our country!" They got their copier. To be fair, and to show how things change, the same businessmen who had turned down my original request later gave thousands to the development of several congregations in Ghana. The reason they didn't the first time is because they weren't familiar with Ghana, or feeling any kind of kinship with Africa. It took work and vision casting, and a lot of sharing of cultures to open eyes and hearts, and wallets. But that's just the way it is. People are reluctant to help people they don't know and don't relate to. That's why it is important to focus on this cultural barrier in the Yes! Africa! campaign. If we can create awareness of what is going on in Africa and also help people to see that the folks across the Atlantic and south of the Equator are a lot like us, our brothers and sisters, then people will automatically want to help. And so to focus on creating the awareness of the beauty, dignity, and plight of the Africa people is a worth-while cause all on it's own. From there the help will flow.

Question: How can people help with this?

Grant: Come to the concert! Bring your friends and celebrate with us. Buy a T-shirt or several and give them to others. Tell them about our cause. If you want to volunteer to help Email me at yesafrica@comcast.net.