During the weeks of May 7-22, 2005, an exciting series of events took place in The Gambia, West Africa: the All-Africa Under-17 Football (soccer) championships. We covered it -with wonderful photos of the spectators, the teams, all the people involved in preparing for such an important event.

But you would never have known there was anything happening in The Gambia, if you lived in the United States. To the best of my knowledge, the games were not available on any of the commonly-watched or easily available channels in the United States. Nor was there much, if any, mention of these events in America's news media.

The same is true regarding the recent football (soccer) matches in the Congo. And we could go on and on, with more examples like these.

This is typical of American and much Western media news coverage of Africa and African people, their cultures, values, ideas, and ways of life. It is a sad comment on American interest in the rest of the world to see this wall of silence -literally - which blocks most Americans from ever viewing or experiencing the lives and events of Africans and their continent, unless something terrible is happening, as in Darfur. Then, American or European reporters rush to report the horrible news, further reinforcing world stereotypes that only bad news, and disastrous events, happen in Africa.

The presence of Africa in world news is virtually non-existent, except for the valiant reporting of the BBC and some French and European news media.

We want to help change that.

Americans for the most part know very little about Africa. Rarely can they point out a specific country on a map, if asked. Many persist in thinking of Africa as "the dark continent". Some Americans are familiar with great African singers and musicians, but the CDs of these performers are virtually impossible to find in most stores.

The result of this lack of awareness about Africa is that mostly negative stereotypes are perpetuated and believed about Africa by much of the world. How are we to know about the great diversity of languages, lifestyles, cultural traditions, music, art - and to learn and benefit from these, so that our own daily lives will be enriched by them?

As I mentioned earlier, one of the primary goals of our work in The Gambia, and hopefully elsewhere in Africa in the future, is to show the world what Africa and its people have to offer to all of us.

On this site, we will give you in-depth coverage of sports events, and the people and communities behind them. On other sites which we are developing, we will offer in-depth views of culture, daily life, schools, and special events throughout the year.

We are going to persist in our efforts to tear down the wall of silence between Africa and the rest of the world - one step at a time, contributing what we can towards world peace, which must have as its basis appreciation and understanding of one another.

We would like to have your support through your donations and volunteer help. If we have more funds to work with, we will eventually be able to work with young Africans on other parts of the continent as well, showcasing their talents, dreams, and everyday life experiences for the world to see and experience.

Lawrence Morgan

The Lawrence Morgan Foundation for Africa