As you may be aware I was a frequent visitor to Africa and understand what you are saying creeky, there is little doubt that they live a hard life and this is made worse by the distances involved as you have suggested and in the level of education available to its young people. Like many third world countries there is an insatiable desire on the part of the young to learn and progress and for years there have been missions throughout the continent helping with basic needs! Many of the young are not able to pursue meaningful careers without moving away to cities which can be very intimidating. I believe that we ought to be prepared to Channel foreign aid towards desalination schemes which could pump fresh water to a series of new reservoirs and enable crops to be grown not only to feed themselves but also for export, also we could invest in their educational needs and encourage practical family planning! Solar farms could provide essential energy needs and things can then really improve for all Africans!