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Fiona Mungai addresses the audience

My new path has led me to realize that the vision of a new society in Africa will need to be developed in Africa, born out of the Africa historical experience and the sense of continuity of African history. The African is not yet the master of his own fate, but neither is he completely at the mercy of fate. As you leave LSE, my wish for you is that we keep looking for Africa’s solutions. Don’t settle!

With these words Fiona Mungai, a PfAL4 scholar from Kenya, gave a smile to the applause of the PfAL4 group and headed back to her seat. Isabelle Umugwaneza, from Rwanda, took the podium.

Good afternoon. Distinguished guests, Mr & Mrs Lalji, Fellow Colleagues, it has been a pleasure spending the day with you all, yet again hours spent receiving much needed food for thought, and encouragement…

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Written by Fiona Imbali, 2013-14, MSc Development Management

26.02.2014-cumberlandlodge-1-revisedSince arriving in bustling Heathrow Airport, I’ve been through one academic term, read through hundreds of pages of reading assignments and submitted three essays. Michaelmas Term has flown by, but the thought of Cumberland Lodge, the 17th century house to which a group of Development Management students visited in November, still kindles splendid memories.

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The fighting that broke out in South Sudan this past December sparked much discussion among 2013-14 PfAL scholars.  To bring the situation into the spotlight, our scholars organised a series of talks, hosted by LSE’s Department of International Development (ID) and supported by PfAL, focusing on the reasons for South Sudan’s current situation and what its future holds.

The series kicked off on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 at the Wolfson Theatre on LSE’s campus with “What went wrong and what can be done about it? A South Sudanese perspective for post-war state building in South Sudan.”  The audience filled the entire theatre for talks by Foreign Minister of South Sudan Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin and Dr. Edward Thomas of the Rift Valley Institute for the public. Continue reading