In many communities across Africa, you will find able-bodied men and even people who studied architecture or engineering, yet simple water crossings remain sticks or tree trunks pushed across the stream. During the rainy season, these become impassable and people cannot move freely. At the same time, these same communities successfully build stone churches. So the issue does not appear to be a complete lack of skill or strength. Too often, people fold their hands and wait for government. Basic infrastructure like footbridges does not always require heavy state projects. Bodies such as the African Union and its development partners can take clearer responsibility by training men in communities to build these simple, durable crossings using local materials. After such training, communities should be able to hold their own able men accountable if nothing changes. It is difficult to understand why we can organise ourselves to construct churches but struggle with basic bridges that improve daily life and movement.