As 500graines said, it's extremely difficult for a foreigner to become a PH today. The first thing against you is that you're not a local. Second, you're not black (more countries are trying to get qualified black PHs), you don't speak two or three of the local languages, plus English, and perhaps one or two European languages. You also need to be a good bush mechanic. And lastly, not too many Americans I know would be happy with the pay an average PH earns in Africa.

That's the bad news.

Now, if someone were truely committed to becoming a PH, it may be possible to find a Safari company willing to take on an apprentice for several years and teach him the ropes, so to speak. But you better have a large bank account to tide you over.