"The more one looks at it, the more one sees that the question isn't whether the rich can afford to help the poor, but whether they can afford not to." -Jeffrey Sachs The world is growing and advancing so rapidly, with more and more people being pulled out of poverty and achieving true development wonders. However, there are over 1 billion people that are still being left out and millions die yearly from easily preventable and avoidable causes. Additionally, our world is more connected than ever, in which the actions of someone in Lagos, Nigeria, or Delhi, India, or Uganda truly impacts our own lives (and vice versa) more than we initially imagine. The course will look at the crossroads of the challenges, opportunities, and solutions. What are the common misconceptions of Africa? What are the demographics and size and scope of the problems? How did the world get to where it is now? What has been done in the past? What has worked and what were the mistakes? What are the poverty traps? What are the Millenium Development Goals? What are the best solutions? Poverty is not just having low income, but is a complex interplay of health, climate, topography, disease (malaria, HIV/AIDS, TB), education, roads, power, communication, sanitation, government, law, business, trade, and culture. The millions of lives saved today are not due to governments, but the actions of individuals and small groups, especially high school and university students. The is a course to help understand global issues and to help students "think big" and confidently guide state and federal government, as well as to come up with solutions by thinking uniquely, technically, openly, empathetically, and creatively. "We have exciting times ahead and no time to lose."