The Plight & Promise of Africa

Alizza Punzalan-Hall is co-chair of The Plight & Promise of Africa, an Eckerd College initiative that shines a local spotlight on the troubled continent that seems worlds away from us in the U.S.

As part of the program, What is the What author Dave Eggers and Lost Boy Gabriel Bol Deng came to the campus last week to discuss Sudan and the good that has come out of, and recently returned to, the war-ravaged country.

It was exciting to see a huge crowd for this event (by no means Kenny Chesney huge, but at the very least Lyle Lovett large).

Alizza introduced author Dave Eggers with one of his own quotes:

“When you’re walking down the street holding a ladder, and someone needs a ladder, you hand over that ladder. It’s almost a relief to have a tool in hand, and meet someone who needs that very tool."

You can listen to the story I did in the WMNF news archives.

An extended version of the Eggers/Deng lecture will air toward the end of the year as part of my non-fiction author interviews special.