To Americans, Africa seems like one enormous place—and it is. But it is also many different places, peoples, climates, cultures, countries, faiths and languages. Africa is like an incredible mosaic, a beautiful work of art as a whole, but equally beautiful in each of its pieces.

How big is Africa?
Africa is the second largest of the earth’s seven continents and makes up 22 percent of the world’s total land area. The United States could fit into Africa more than two and half times!

What does Africa look like?
Africa’s largest country is the Republic of Sudan in the northeast (almost 967.5 thousand square miles—bigger than Alaska and Texas combined!), and its smallest is the Seychelles (less than 193 square miles), off the east coast in the Indian Ocean. Its highest point is Mt. Kilimanjaro (Uhuru Point) in Tanzania, 19,340 feet above sea level, and its lowest is Lake Assal in Djibouti, 502 feet below sea level.

Is everyone Christian?
No, but Christianity has more than 356 million believers on the African continent. Along with Islam (over 300 million believers), they are the two largest faith groupings in Africa. 72 million people practice traditional religions. The religious pieces of the African mosaic also include Hindus, Baha’is, Jews and a variety of other practices and beliefs.

Where are the Lutherans?
Together, there are more Lutherans in Tanzania (2.5 million) and Ethiopia (2.7 million) than in the United States (5.1 million in the ELCA) and Canada (a little less than 200,000 in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada).

What language is spoken in Africa?
There are as many 2,000 languages spoken on the continent of Africa. While the United States has many immigrants who speak different languages, and some places are using Spanish more often, English is the one language that is used in all the states. By contrast, South Africa has 11 official languages, from Afrikaans to Zulu! On the other hand, Somalia is the only country in the world where the whole population speaks only one language—Somali.

Where do the animals live?
The animals live all over Africa in grasslands, rainforests, desert, sea shores and lakes. A unique place is the island country of Madagascar. This special place has only 2 percent of Africa’s land mass, but 10,000 species of plants, and is home to all of the world’s lemurs (except perhaps for Zoboomafoo, whom you can meet at www.pbskids.org).

If Africa is so beautiful, why do we need to help?
Africa is a great place, but many of the people there live without proper homes and do not have enough to eat. In the United States, people have more money and can buy enough to eat and a safe place to sleep. In some of Africa's poorest countries, people earn only $1 for a whole day's work! Just think, $1 is only two candy bars, one can of soda pop or one loaf of bread in the United States. That $1 would have to feed a whole family for an entire day! Many times there is not enough to eat.

What does this mean for the children in Africa?
Many children go to primary school, but middle and high school are expensive. Many times, uniforms and books must be purchased along with a big payment for tuition. Because many people are poor, not everyone can afford school. This means many people are not able to read, and it is tough to communicate. Even if you do go to school, class sizes could be big, up to 120 students in a class!

Are there other problems?
Yes. Southern Africa often gets very dry so that crops can't grow. Even if crops do survive, there could be a flood the next day that washes away everything people have planted. Since many African people are very poor and can't afford to buy their own food, they have to grow it themselves. So crops and plants are important. Think about it--aren't you happier when you've eaten some food? Can you imagine going to bed hungry?

Do people get sick?
Yes, just like in the United States! There are different diseases in Africa such as malaria. Because the weather is hot and it rains a lot, malaria is a problem. Imagine if someone you know got the flu and died from it. In Africa, malaria is as common as the flu. But, unlike the flu, malaria often kills people if they do not get medicine soon enough. Many of the roads are bad, which makes it tough to get to the hospital. Not only this, but cars are expensive, and so most people must walk. Sometimes the hospital is as far as three hours by foot!

Have you heard of HIV/AIDS?
You've probably heard about AIDS in school or at home and how bad it is. In Africa, 12.5 million children have become AIDS orphans. This means their parents died of AIDS. That's the same number of people that live in Illinois--a whole state! Thankfully there are many people who help the orphans and people who are sick. They also give their time and money to teach people about preventing these diseases. And the churches help to take care of AIDS orphans.

Is there hope?
Yes there is! The people of Africa are working to make their lives better. They can count on God and the church to help them. We share our money with them so they can buy the food and medicine they need. Our church helps them find more ways to earn money. The picture below shows fish farming in Tanzania. This is something the church has helped these people learn how to do. In turn, they will teach others how to start fish farms. We can start by praying for them--just like they pray for us!