Third World Baseball
I beleive I've made it rather obvious over the months and years that I'm no rocket scientist. However, from time to time I come up with a decent idea or two. Usually I just ask a lot of questions and the result is a decent idea.
During the late fall and into the winter months I have a lot of time on my hands. I usually watch a lot of news and drink a lot of coffee while wearing sweatpants until the late morning. Lately I've noticed a lot of stories coming out of Africa regarding substandard living conditions. Poverty and strife in Africa isn't a new story but they do go in cycles. My question is simple, why don't professional clubs invest in development academies in Africa?
You have a lot of poor people who need something to do and a place to live. The weather is warm, cost of living is relatively low, and I would imagine they would be willing to work hard if they felt it was a chance to get out. This is the idea in the Dominican as far as I could tell. Kids don't go to school they just practice all day under the watch of the local agents and hope a scout comes along and signs them.
Right now a bunch of you are thinking how I'm such a jerk for wanting to exploit poverty...yes that's what I'm suggesting. In my own defense however it has become rather obvious that simply being altruistic isn't enough to change the face major issues. Poverty won't end just because we all feel bad that people are poor. Poverty will end when someone finds a way to make it economically viable to end poverty. The same argument holds with the environment.
If I were poor I would rather have a reason to wake up every day that extended beyond finding a meal. What if instead the meals were provided, you could sleep in a dorm, and practice your sport the other half of the day. I may be missing something here and am open to suggestions but it seems like a pretty good idea to me.
During the late fall and into the winter months I have a lot of time on my hands. I usually watch a lot of news and drink a lot of coffee while wearing sweatpants until the late morning. Lately I've noticed a lot of stories coming out of Africa regarding substandard living conditions. Poverty and strife in Africa isn't a new story but they do go in cycles. My question is simple, why don't professional clubs invest in development academies in Africa?
You have a lot of poor people who need something to do and a place to live. The weather is warm, cost of living is relatively low, and I would imagine they would be willing to work hard if they felt it was a chance to get out. This is the idea in the Dominican as far as I could tell. Kids don't go to school they just practice all day under the watch of the local agents and hope a scout comes along and signs them.
Right now a bunch of you are thinking how I'm such a jerk for wanting to exploit poverty...yes that's what I'm suggesting. In my own defense however it has become rather obvious that simply being altruistic isn't enough to change the face major issues. Poverty won't end just because we all feel bad that people are poor. Poverty will end when someone finds a way to make it economically viable to end poverty. The same argument holds with the environment.
If I were poor I would rather have a reason to wake up every day that extended beyond finding a meal. What if instead the meals were provided, you could sleep in a dorm, and practice your sport the other half of the day. I may be missing something here and am open to suggestions but it seems like a pretty good idea to me.
posted by Andy Johnson at 9:48 AM
2 comments
