Annotation # 3. Assignment 11.

        ProQuest LLC. "Chapter 20:Africa." What Citizens Need to Know About World Affairs. 2009: n.p. SIRS Interactive Citizenship. Web. 12 Oct 2011.

       "A continent rich in natural resources, Africa is home to many of the world's poorest people. Africa possesses the world's largest deposit of gold and diamonds but is plagued by famine, drought, illiteracy, political violence and pervasive poverty." Africa has an abundant of natural resources but their lack of good health care, drought, illiteracy, political violence, geography, and pervasive poverty has caused them to have a hard time escaping "poverty". What is poverty really to them though, they have all these resources and most can provide for their families.  Most Africans are farmers, who only have enough food to provide for their families. Other Africans make goods to sell in a market place. The Africans will often times exchange a good for another good or they will use a type of currency. They have enough money or goods to provide for their families but often times they don't have extra money saved up to pay for food when their is a drought or if they need medical care.
        "Africa speaks more than a thousand different languages. They are members of hundreds of different ethnic groups and practice a variety of different religions, ranging from Islam in North Africa to Christianity in Central and South Africa to Hinduism in East Africa and various native animistic religions throughout the continent." When I was reading this I thought that maybe because they have some many languages they are not as united as America is or as united as other countries are. Language is an important way of communicating. Without a common way of communicating with each other that can cause conflicts. In america we have people who go to other countries who know how to speak that language and can help translate for the person in the government position for example. Translators are important in any society that has a communication barrier. Even in a relationship communication is or at least should be the number one thing. If a couple is having trouble communicating they may seek help from a counselor and help them form a healthier way of communicating with each other. Like in Africa there is so many languages and there is also so many wars going on as well. When I was reading this it made me question the reasons behind the wars which is something that I would like to include in my paper. Religions are just as important in uniting a country or in this case a continent but not sharing similar morals and ethics can cause conflict among the government and people. With the conflicts that it creates it may cause people to have wars. I would like ti find out more information on the wars that are going on in Africa currently.
        The treatment of AIDS in Africa is expensive and the cost of  "an AIDS test alone...(is) more than the average American pays for annual health care." I don't understand why a simple test would have to be so much money when most of the people in Africa need that test in order to survive and they can't afford it. The average american wouldn't even be able to afford that one test. To me this is just insane. Why do people consider Africa to be so poor when we couldn't even afford the things that they need.
        In my next few annotations I would like to research the effects of drought, illiteracy, political violence, and colonialism in Africa. As I was reading this article I discovered where I really saw myself going with this research paper. I want to figure out why Africa became the way it is and why they are so poor or at least why are they considered poor in the eyes of the world. I see this as a good connection to the rest of what I want to look up. After reading this article it gave me a better understanding of the direction I would like to take with my paper. It made me question more on why Africa is the way it is and that is something I would like to look into further. I believe this source to be reliable and credible. I found it on SIRS research database which is much like the one that Concordia University of Wisconsin has. My friend showed me this research site and it has been more helpful with finding information on Africa. In school we never really learned about Africa and what we did learn about it, it related back to America so it has been hard finding quality information.