The New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof is two things, 1) a brilliant, unsparing journalist and 2) a lover of Africa. If there’s a story in Africa that needs covering and which the world isn’t looking at – Rwanda, Darfur – Kristof is hammering at that door. Pay attention, he shouts, over and over. He recently held a competition among readers, the prize for which was to accompany him on a trip through Africa. A student and a teacher who had never been to Africa won. The story of the five ‘wretched’ countries they passed through is a story of incredible hope. Yes, hope. Read on…