First of all, Go to college, get a degree.
Reach 500 hours, then other opportunities open up for you in the US. Examples are skydive pilot, aerial surveying, pipeline patrol.
I've got a friend who reached 1000 hours before his 19th birthday, mostly instructing and towing gliders but also flying a piston twin for a part 91 owner/operator. Before his 19th birthday he got hired to fly a turboprop for a part 135 operator. Keep in mind, 1200TT is for part 135 PIC. If they are operating multicrew, you can get hired with less time as a SIC. My friend got hired to fly a metroliner as SIC with only 1000TT.
I know another guy who went up to Alaska with only 500TT and got hired to fly a B1900 as SIC for a part 135 operator, and another guy who got hired to do pipeline patrol in Texas with less than 300TT. I also heard that pictometry companies are hiring now for their upcoming season. You'll spend a lot of time on the road and learn a lot and they hire low time guys.
The thing about Africa is that I know a couple guys who went there and they said that there were dozens of pilots and not many jobs going around. Some came back home empty handed and a couple stayed for several months before they landed a job. I haven't been there so I can't say exactly what it is like, but in the US, there are jobs, you just have to be 1. Willing to move and find them and 2. Have the right experience level, and at under 500 hours