Akon gives back

Akon goes from singer to volunteer

Akon gives back

A sad, but yet truthful reality in our society is that our exposure to the world is covered by the very biased media. It’s almost hard to have our own opinion as we are being fed bull squat by the spoon full.

Regardless from what the media is telling us about the Kardashians, Kanye,  and Donald Trump, there is someone who wasn’t in the brightest spotlight, but has stepped away to do some good. That man is R&B singer Akon.

Akon was a popular singer five plus years ago, but has not necessarily done much performing as of late. In 2o15, Akon got rid of all his wealth, left everything behind, and launched a mega-solar project aimed at providing electricity to some 600 million Africans all through out the continent.

Logo for Lighting Africa. http://solektra-international.com/wp-content/uploads/AKON-LOGO1.jpg

“Love him or hate him you have to love what he is doing,” says Senior Josh Powell. “Whether you are rich or poor, leaving it all behind to help others is something people rarely do.”

At this point, Akon has raised a billion dollars to finance projects for Africa (most from Chinese investors). The initiative primarily targets rural communities that are not connected to the electricity and also seeks to find ways to bring costs down to make power supply more affordable.

Akon says his desire for luxury reduced when he noticed the poor development in Africa.

“When I saw myself with lamborghinis, and fancy clothes it made me wonder what I was doing,” said Akon. “Many people don’t even have basic housing or access to clean water right now, and I knew that I could make a difference so I decided to act.”

The goal of 600 million Africans is currently on its way. Akon hopes to reach an outstanding goal of 48 countries by 2020 (currently at 15 countries).

Ribbon cutting for the first electrified village, Tolomadi with village chief Samake Bakary
(Photo by Huffington Post)

The point of the matter is, hardly ant big news show (CNN, CBS, NBC, etc) has said a word about the good that Akon has been doing for the past year or so. Watch any news show or scroll through any website and you will see nothing that says a word of typically anything that is good.

No question that a vast majority of what is said by media outlets is either negative, or political.” says Senior Ryan Ruehl. “Something with the media coverage has to change.”

This is not about whether the media is politically biased or if its agenda is even accurate, but it would be nice to show some positivity to the public for a change. I understand that tragedy does occur, that terrorism is real (most recently the shooting at Fort Lauderdale airport), and that millions of people are suffering, but show some brightness.

With all the bad that is happening, there is still just as much good. Akon is just one of the many people out there in this world making a difference in the world. It gives us a standard that we can all feed off from. Generosity is contagious.

To read more on Akon’s involvement in Africa.