Akon from Artist to Lighting Africa – Smack that all the floor Mr Lonely

Akon from Artist to Lighting Africa – Smack that all the floor Mr Lonely

Image Courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/akon/

Many people will know and remember the artist Akon as Mr. Lonely. I have to say when I was 12 I found his music cool and when he did a collaboration with Eminem (Smack that) I was over the moon. However, now when I listen to his album I can safely say I am no longer a fan of his music. Akon who is 43 year old has produced four albums (Trouble, Konvicted, Freedom and Stadium) and 3 movies, (Black November, American Heist, Popstar: never stop stopping,) one of which, Black November is about his life. As you can see there really isn’t much Akon hasn’t done during his career, but the previous hype surrounding him must have faded as I have not heard anyone talk about him in a very long time, have you?

However, about a year ago I came across a video on You Tube which really grabbed my attention and, until now, never thought to write about it so alas: Did you know there is 600 million Africans that don’t have access to electricity? Akon did. 

What I think should be the highlight of Akon’s life is that similar to ‘Jenny from the block’, Akon hasn’t forgot where he come from. Despite being born in Missouri, USA, he spent most of his childhood in Senegal, West Africa. He had a childhood knowing the struggles of poverty and when he had made his money he went back to Africa to help the continents needs. His main focus is a project called “Lighting Africa” in which he is a co-founder of the project which creates solar powered foundations for electricity, aspiring to make it affordable for all citizens in each African country.

Image courtesy of: DAGENCY @ www.akonlightingafrica.com

Here are the African countries that will have received the projects help by the end of the year:

1. Mali
2. Niger
3. Senegal
4. Guinea (Conakry)
5. Burkina Faso
6. Sierra Leone
7. Benin
8. Guinea Equatorial
9. Gabon
10. Republic of Congo
11. Namibia
12. Madagascar
13. Kenya
14. Nigeria
15. South Africa
16. Angola
17. Mozambique
18. Tanzania
19. Togo
20. Chad
21. Ivory Coast
22. Democratic Republic of Congo
23. Rwanda
24. Uganda
25. Botswana

WOW – What an incredible man. By doing all of this he has created jobs and training for the facilitated evening time activities can begin for all the family, and by providing streetlights at night drastically reducing the number of sexual assaults. As a part of “Vision for Africa” he has gained partners with many different companies/organisations all over the world, uniting as one to help in the fight against poverty.

Akon had less than half the wealth of artists like Jay-Z or Kayne West and, yet, he he has been successful in establishing this great charity/humanitarian venture. Therefore, it is worth considering that if the individuals featured on the ‘Forbes rich lists’ wealth were combined, how great the reduction in global poverty would be and thus the enrichment and advancement of humanity as a whole.

Image courtesy of DAGENCY @ http://akonlightingafrica.com/co-founders/akon/

For further information on Akon and the Lighting Africa Project please visit www.akonlightingafrica.com; http://www.akon.com; https://www.instagram.com/akon/