The Displaced African

In the first article in this series, I made the case for African immigrants recording and sharing in mass all their successes so that future immigrants have a shorter learning curve than those who came before them.

Today we’ll expand on just how we might be able to go about this

Mwangi What’s In It For Me

I wish I could tell you that your doing this will somehow make you a millionaire or the King of the World, but it won’t.

In doing so, you give back to the community from which you came and help raise up  future generations-or rather a future boat load of immigrants -“to your level” quicker so that all our boats can rise together and we can become the economic and social powerhouse that we know we can be.

I don’t know about you, but personally, I know I would not be as far along as I am in my life had people not taken the time out of their busy day to invest in me and my future.

Mwangi I Have No Expertise

That’s the wash of a hog, that is. If you are in a foreign country and you have a roof over your head, then you have a skill a future African immigrant needs to know about. If you have any form of hard earned income coming in, you have something to share.

If you have a rock-solid relationship in this Western world where everyone is a commodity, you have something to share. If you have had trials and tribulations and overcome, you have something to share. If you have been abroad and the culture shock has not driven you mad, you have something to share.

Alright, Alright, Alright, I Accept, I Have a Tip or Two to Share: How Do I Do It?

I think the primary principle we should remember is:

The information and the intention are most important. The Internet, blogs, telephone, letters, newspapers, radio etc etc are all just distribution tools.

The tools are not the ends in and of themselves.

These tools are used to disseminate information guided by a particular intention – e.g. the intention to see future immigrants do better. (Please tell me in the comments section if this idea is too abstract and I will describe it in another way that will make it clearer)

Here are a couple of ideas on how to do it:

a) Share on a blog: You knew I had to give this tip. Blogs are free to start up and if you want to host it yourself, it’s so cheap there really is no reason not to.

Speaking from personal experience, the greatest advantage that blogging provides, if you choose to follow in my footsteps or the footsteps of people like Thinkers Room, is that it strengthens and proliferates your brand and your name within a particular community both online and offline. Not a bad side effect for doing something positive.

b) Community Forums: Almost every African country, and in many places we as a continent have an online community. Whether its a forum, social bookmarking site, blog aggregator or just a blog where many people gather. Head on over there and assist anyone who might be making the move to a new country or is a newbie immigrant that needs some tips.

c) Get some penpals: If you know that someone in your community is about to immigrate over, start talking by phone, email or letter. Let him know how he can do things that you did. Give him some tips, some shortcuts, some ways to go around, under, above or through obstacles.

d) Give lectures at immigration organizations: If you are visiting your home country, go to the institution that helps people immigrate and just offer yourself up to give a talk during their lunch break about the pitfalls to avoid and the opprtunities to be seized abroad.

e) Write free reports: This is a tactic from the world of Internet marketing. You sit down and right everything you know about a particular topic that can be of use to other people and compile it into a free pdf report. Help that report circulate online.

I intend on doing this in the very near future so if you have no idea how to do this, check back in a couple of months and hopefully we’ll have a succesful model.

f) If You Know People from Mass Media Centres: Then go on the radio, tv or newspapers and just talk to the journalist about what future boat-crossers need to know.

For examples of this check out the Displaced African Press and Media Appearances page, and also check out SARFM radio every 2nd Saturday of every month where as of yesterday, I will be doing just that.

g) Youtube: It’s the 3rd most popular website on Earth, according to Alexa, and all you need to do to join in the frenzy is buy a cheap web cam. Check out the Displaced African Youtube page here. For examples of succesful African Youtube pages check out:

i) Ikahara

ii) AfricanRemix

Quick tip: If you can find a way to mix in music into your Youtube page that is a sure recipe for success. Poll after poll, article after article and simple observation will reveal that music is hands down the most popular thing on Youtube.

h) Podcasting: Again, an incredibly cheap and easy to implement endeavor. Put your podcasts on Itunes and they are accessible to millions.

Some Examples of What This Would Look Like

Not all these examples are specific to African immigrants:

1) Kelly’s article on Interview tips: Now picture this, tips for interviewing for a job in the States.

2) How to immigrate to Australia within a week guide.

3) Tips from an African Woman Who Started and Sold a Business for Six Figures.

4) Acolyte’s guide to apartment hunting.

5) Mwangi interviews Tabitha Togoi from the African Leadership Academy

6) Gal africana talks a bit about holiday visas

7) Nelson Mandela’s autobiography

8) Mwalimu.com

9) Dan Kennedy’s Google Videos

In the final part of this series, I will talk a bit about the areas that I feel we most need to record and share our successes so we can take this concept and talk about where we can immediately apply it.

The Newsletter

If you are a fan of this article or blog, I encourage you to join and give me feedback ( 🙂 ) on my Immigrant Survivor Guide Newsletter by putting your first name and email address in the boxes below.

I Hate Spam, So I Won’t Share Your Email With Anyone.

In newsletter, once a week I send you short emails that give you actionable tips that you can immediately apply to make your immigrant experience better including tips on:

i) Making friends

ii) Finding employment

iii) How to stay healthy on the run

iv) Things to prepare before you immigrate

v) Staying in touch with people from your home country

vi) Tips on how to transition from a student to a permanent resident and/or citizen in Australia etc etc.

So please join, and give me feedback, by putting your first name and email in the boxes below:

I Hate Spam, So I Won’t Share Your Email With Anyone.

Tags: African leadership, leadership, leadership psychology, Success psychology

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 7:03 pm and is filed under The Psychology of an African Leader. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.