African Youth Vibes

Are poor deals crippling your country?

2008-02-13T10:19:00.001Z

Almost every day governments in Africa sign trade and business deals with the private sector. But, many of these deals end up costing governments huge amounts of cash and do not deliver the goods.

Tanzania's former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa last week resigned after a parliamentary committee implicated him in an energy deal scandal with a US based company.The probe team questioned the cost and quality of the generators that the US Company delivered to help alleviate power shortages the country was experiencing in 2006.

In South Africa the ANC chairman Jacob Zuma is facing corruption charges in connection with a $4.8bn arms deal.

The list of dodgy expensive deals is endless. How can African governments avoid bad deals? Can tight procedures ensure better deals? Should the public be allowed to scrutinise deals before they are signed

Rape exceeding in Kenya's Political War

2008-02-01T09:45:00.000Z

Gang rape spirals in violent Kenya
By Stephanie Holmes
BBC News

Rape is on the rise in Kenya, troubled by violence which followed December's disputed elections.

Women and children are most at risk of sexual attack
Every day women turn up at the doors of Nairobi's hospitals and clinics telling the same story.
"I could not run away. They gagged my mouth and pinned me down," one woman remembers.
"After raping me they blindfolded me and led me to a nearby forest. That's where they left me."
Her experience - doctors, officials and the UN say - is echoed by hundreds of other women who have survived a spiralling number of sexual attacks.
Many are gang rapes, carried out by groups of armed men.
Staff in the Nairobi Women's Hospital - one of Kenya's leading centres for the treatment of rape and sexual violence - say they have seen double the number of cases affecting women, teenagers and girls since January.
"Since the beginning of the month, we have had 140 cases of rape and defilement," said Rahab Ngugi, patient services manager at the hospital.
"We were used to seeing an average of about four cases a day, now there is an average of between eight and 10."
Almost half of the cases at the hospital's specialised clinic are girls under the age of 18, Ms Ngugi said. One case was a two-year-old baby girl.
She knows that such a dramatic rise in numbers presenting at the clinic indicates that the reality beyond is far worse.

Tip of iceberg

Only a small percentage of women actually come to receive medical treatment and counselling in the immediate aftermath of a sexual attack, she said. It means they do not get access to the drugs which might prevent the onset of HIV.

Battles are fought on women's bodies as much as on battlefields
Kathleen Cravero, UNDP

In pictures: No safe haven
"It is the tip of the iceberg," Ms Ngugi said. "At any time of unrest, of violence, or rioting, women and children are targeted. It is revenge, it is war. People are fighting and the weakest ones get abused."
Clashes broke out across Kenya in late December after President Mwai Kibaki declared himself the winner of an election disputed by the opposition and labelled as flawed by the international community.
An estimated quarter of a million people have fled their homes to escape the unrest and some 85% of these are women and children.
Women's position of relative weakness in society is emphasised in times of conflict, Kathleen Cravero, Director of the UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery said.

It is not so much that women are targeted in some deliberate way but their vulnerability makes them easy targets for anger, for frustration, and for people wanting to cripple or paralyse other segments of the community in which they live."
She says there is no evidence as yet that Kenya's high levels of sexual violence are ethnically motivated rather than opportunistic and criminal.
But the doubling of rape cases, she says, is "a very, very strong indicator of a serious problem" adding that the actual numbers are without doubt far higher.

Impunity
Women often have other concerns that prevent them seeking help after an attack, said Hadley Muchela, a Nairobi-based rape counsellor with NGO Liverpool VCT.
The first priority for many women is food and shelter, not reporting rape
"If there is a woman who probably saw her relatives killed, she might push her own issues of violence to the periphery.

"There will be worries about property and the death of children. Their immediate needs are temporary shelter, safety and food."
He worries that although the gangs are not yet targeting makeshift, unregulated camps and shelters - in schools, churches and community centres - the women and their children sheltering there are increasingly vulnerable.
The UN says that in the capital alone some 12,000 people are living in public buildings after being driven from their homes.
Ms Cravero agrees that these shelters should be the focus of concern.
"Many of the internally displaced are not living in formal camps. They are just gathered around a school or church. Then you have the worst-case scenario - where you don't have that level of law and order and you have people living on top of each other."
The only way to prevent the almost inevitable spike in violence towards women in times of crisis, she said, is for governments to tackle the sense of impunity.
"Before violence breaks out, and during, and after, [governments must] really push the question of impunity, make sure that people know that rape visited upon innocent women and children will be treated for what it is - a crime."

Kenya On Fire

2008-01-31T11:13:00.000Z

Our neighbouring country Kenya, is on fire, literally due to the on going political and tribal conflicts going on since December. It is sad that it has come to this...just when you think it will never happen to you..it does!! When will PEACE be a word that is literally viewed in this world?

How do people find it so easy to kill without remorse or feelings

What about the children whose parents you've killed without second thought?

These are humans, burnt to charcoal...do they really have hearts to do this to fellow humans

PEACE IN AFRICA IS NEEDED!! How do we get it?...

Charity vs. Capitalism in Africa

2008-01-09T14:20:00.000Z

Africa's best hope to fight malaria is the wide distribution of mosquito-repelling bed nets. But who best serves that need: the public sector or private interests?

Jenifa John recently spent $1 on a billowy swath of gauze that could help keep her family alive. The 22-year-old mother of two in the village of Engutoto, Tanzania, bought a mosquito-repelling bed net that will keep parasite-bearing insects away from her young children while they sleep. It's a matter of utmost concern: Before she bought the net, one of John's children was hospitalized with malaria—and fortunately survived.
All across Africa, there's new hope in the long-running battle against malaria. In the last decade, funding to control the preventable, treatable disease has increased tenfold. And now, millions of insecticide-laced nets that keep mosquitoes away from sleeping men, women, and children are making their way into a growing number of homes, helping to defeat the spread of a disease that still kills up to 3 million people a year and 3,000 children a day. Experts say Africa could need upwards of 90 million bed nets to fight back against a disease that costs the continent an estimated $12 billion per year in lost economic potential.
Who Can Best Deliver?
But while the distribution of treated bed nets is a welcome development, many health-care advocates are troubled by how slowly it's happening. Indeed, the pace of progress raises profound ideological questions over the best way to disseminate the life-saving nets—and, indeed, all sorts of assistance. On one side are believers in the traditional aid model, who say that bed nets should be given away for free by governments and nonprofits to reach the maximum number of people as quickly as possible. On the other side are backers of so-called social marketing, who argue that bringing businesses into the mix improves efficiency and adds incentives and economic benefits to doing good. Harnessing the private sector, they say, creates self-reliance—not dependence.
Both sides make valid points. Advocates of free distribution worry that selling bed nets—even at heavily subsidized prices as low as $1—puts them out of reach of poor people and slows uptake. Indeed, a recent study in Kenya found that free distribution of bed nets raises their use to 66% of the population, compared with just 7% when they are sold commercially.
Such figures have prompted some advocates to call for the abandonment of social marketing in favor of free public distribution. Leading the charge is economics professor Jeffrey Sachs, who directs the Earth Institute at Columbia University and gained renown in the 1990s advising Eastern European governments on "shock therapy" transitions to free-market economies.
"Shock Therapist" Backs Giveaways
Sachs is outraged that after seven years of effort, the goals for distributing bed nets in Africa haven't been met via social marketing programs. Take Tanzania, which is known as the "epicenter" of malaria because of the high incidence of disease there. For years, its government has subsidized sales of nets to the most vulnerable populations for prices typically between $1.50 and $3.50 each. But even now, just one-third of adults and one-quarter of children are protected by nets while they sleep.
"Tanzania is not a success story, it's a debacle," says Sachs, who flew to the East African nation last July to persuade President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete to adopt a new plan for free distribution of nets in 103 rural districts.
Despite his long history as a free-marketeer, Sachs thinks business isn't working fast enough in this case to address an urgent human crisis. So he's pushing for more direct action. "We'll distribute free nets all over Africa, and we'll do it again and again," he says. "There's no reason why markets should be able to handle this problem."
Others think Sachs and his supporters are giving up too soon on the private sector. They admit that paying even $1 for a bed net can be a hardship for people living on less than a dollar a day. But people who buy nets tend to take better care of them and use them more regularly.

Youth Vibes: I for one I am very aware of these sort of things as my own sister died of Malaria so be aware. it can kill!!

Strong women...

2007-12-20T13:52:00.001Z

Do you know who these women are??

Fatuma Binti Baraka aka Bi Kidude

Asha Rose Migiro

Gertrude Mongella

Anna Tibaijuka

At an interesting State- Life of a...

2007-12-20T11:58:00.000Z

In the South, the earth blew water
drowning the masses with its tears
In the West, the wicked blew fire
burning treasures with their rage
One started by natureand a city's neglience
another started by studpidtiy
and mere aggresiveness
In the former, we lost more lives
from those who had no hope
in the latter, we lost more goods
while the hopeful hope to live on
The former are called refugees
immigrants in their own land
the latter are called misplaced
who will find a home again
in pain and sufferinga loss is a loss
but our view of the two
is what costs us
ignorance, inactionseparation, disunity lead to repetition of our trials
over and over again

Fears over Albino deaths-is this Justice

2007-12-18T13:09:00.000Z

Tanzania’s Albino Society has accused the government of turning a blind eye to the killing of albinos, after four deaths in the past three months.

An albino spokesman said there was a belief that the condition was the result of a curse put on the family. Some witch-doctors also say they can use albino body parts in a potion to make people rich. A teacher in the northern town of Arusha has been arrested for killing his own child, who was albino.

As well as the four killings, the body of an albino has also been exhumed. It was found with its limbs cut off. The BBC’s Vicky Ntetma in Dar es Salaam says there is now fear in the albino community there. Christopher Dadenekeye from the TAS said the witch-doctors must also be arrested. Some people in Tanzania think albinos are a kind of ghost-like creature. “We need to clear out all these beliefs,” Mr Dadenekeye said. There are some 270,000 albinos among Tanzania’s population of some 35 million.

Old women with red eyes have been killed in parts of Tanzania in the past, after being accused of witchcraft but our correspondent says this is the first time that albinos have been targeted in ritual killings. TAS also wants more help for albinos and says the condition should be treated as a disability.

Computers for Africa

2007-12-13T17:05:00.000Z

BBC: In late November I returned from Nigeria with a sample of the XO laptop.
The computer, made by the One Laptop per Child charity, is a robust little machine designed to entertain and educate children while allowing them to learn by themselves.
I knew there was only one person who could review it for me.
The Nine Year-old's View
Enter Rufus Cellan-Jones. He is nine, has far more experience of games consoles than computers, and has strong views on most matters.
"Looks fun," was his only comment when I handed over the small, green and white laptop, explaining that he was the only child in Britain to have one.

I use the calculator - that can be rather useful for sums. You can even browse onto the internet. You can watch and learn stuff.
Rufus Cellan-Jones
But very quickly he was up and running.
All I did was give him the security code for our home wireless network so he could take the XO online. The rest he figured out for himself, as he explains:
Lots of fun
"I just seemed to work it out. It was rather easy. I didn't even need help." Surprise, surprise, his first discovery was a game. "I found Block Party. It's like Tetris. I'm now up to Level 7."
I thought my young games fanatic might stick there but he moved on. "Then I discovered paint. You can use pencils, change the texture, use different sizes of brush."
Even better, there was an animation programme called Etoys.
"That's my favourite.You make things. You can see tutorials and demos. Then you can make a new project. I've made a crazy UFO which you can move."
But Rufus says it isn't just about play.
"I use the calculator - that can be rather useful for sums. You can even browse onto the internet. You can watch and learn stuff. You can write things and it can also remind you which is extremely useful."
What, I asked, does a nine year old need to remind himself about? "Christmas stuff," he said, with an air of mystery.
Social networking
But the real surprise came one evening, when Rufus asked me to explain what his friends were telling him on the laptop.
I thought those imaginary childhood friends from years back must have returned.
But I went and had a look - and it was true - he appeared to be chatting online.
So how had he managed that?
"You go on "neighbourhood", then you go to the chat thing.
You go on Nigeria and you chat to them."
But why, if he was online with the children at the Nigerian school I had visited, were they sending messages in Spanish?
I decided he must be linking up with one of the South American schools taking part in the OLPC project but we still aren't sure quite how that is happening.
Still, Rufus is widening his social circle. " I have three friends. It's nice to talk to them. They don't speak much English but I can understand them." The conversation is not exactly sparkling, but Rufus has learned to say "Hola".
Not a toy
So Rufus is using his laptop to write, paint, make music, explore the internet, and talk to children from other countries.
Because it looks rather like a simple plastic toy, I had thought it might suffer the same fate as the radio-controlled dinosaur or the roller-skates he got last Christmas - enjoyed for a day or two, then ignored.
Instead, it seems to provide enduring fascination.

I had returned from Nigeria not entirely convinced that the XO laptop was quite as wonderful an educational tool as its creators claimed.
I felt that a lot of effort would be needed by hard-pressed teachers before it became more than just a distracting toy for the children to mess around with in class.
But Rufus has changed my mind.
With no help from his Dad, he has learned far more about computers than he knew a couple of weeks ago, and the XO appears to be a more creative tool than the games consoles which occupy rather too much of his time.
The One Laptop Per Child project is struggling to convince developing countries providing computers for children is as important as giving them basic facilities like water or electricity.
Unusually, Rufus does not have an opinion about that controversy, but he does have a verdict on the laptop. "It's great," he says.

Tanzania Multiple Birth surprise

2007-12-13T17:03:00.000Z

Two sets of quads, two lots of triplets and twins were born at a Tanzanian hospital, while experts in the country discussed Africa's growing population.
"Five mothers delivering a total of 16 babies at a go is a big surprise to us," Muhimbili Hospital paediatrician Augustine Massawe told the BBC.
They were all born premature, but should be able to go home with their families in two weeks, he said.
Hundreds of experts are looking at how to reduce Africa's population growth.
By 2050, sub-Saharan Africa's population may double if growth trends are not reversed.
Some 700 experts from around the world have been meeting in Arusha to discuss how Africa - which the UN estimates has a population of 850m - can cope with the knock-on effects of high population growth.
Challenges
Twenty-six-year-old Ashura Athumani, who gave birth to quads, looked healthy but exhausted after the birth.
I remember once when a parent who had four children here - their husband ran away because he was so scared
Dr Augustine Massawe
She has three other children and expressed her concerns for the health of the newborn.
In the same ward, Mariam, 25, nursed her babies and said she was over the moon to have a set of triplets.
It was not until the later stages of her pregnancy that she found out that she was carrying three babies - as in Tanzania not every woman is given an early scan.
She added that there would be financial problems ahead as she and her husband had not been prepared for more than one baby in their first year of marriage.
Dr Massawe says the parents will have to face many challenges head on in their effort to raise their new children.
"It's like a crisis in the family - imagine you've got four babies in one go," he said.
"I remember once when a parent who had four children here - their husband ran away because he was so scared."
Recently Muhimbili Hospital came in for unwanted media attention after a man died in a surgical mix-up involving two people with the same first name. One needed brain surgery, the other a knee operation.
Patients are now tagged with their name when admitted.

Outcry at Tanzanian HIV beating

2007-11-30T13:13:00.000Z

There has been an outcry in Tanzania over a woman who was badly injured by her husband after she took an HIV test which is being encouraged nationwide.

Tumaini Mbogela said her husband beat her when she returned from a voluntary counselling centre in the town of Makete where she took the HIV test. Rights activists say the attack was “uncalled for” and women do not need permission to check their HIV status. Half of the 1.6m Tanzanians living with HIV are women, recent figures show. Reports from Makete say the husband is on the run from the police. Relatives claim that he is mentally confused after the realising that the law-enforcers were looking for him.

Nationwide testing
Women’s rights activist Jostina Katunzi said 34-year-old Tamali Mbogella was responding to a nationwide drive when she went for an HIV test in Makete. “Women are so concerned about their health and she was free to go for the test - I do not think she had to consult her husband,” Ms Katunzi said.

The BBC’s John Ngahyoma in Dar es Salaam says the Makete area is one of the worst-affected regions in Tanzania with a 24% HIV prevalence rate compared to 7% nationally. When the health ministry launched a nationwide testing campaign in July, Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete was one of the first to take the HIV test.

Following the Makete case, the head of Tanzania’s Commission for Aids, Taj Liundi, has advised married couples to consult each other before going for the test. “This is an isolated case of a violent man and does not represent all men in Tanzania,” Mr Liundi said. “But we shall intensify our efforts to raise awareness of the importance of going for a test.” Mrs Mbogela has now been discharged from hospital, our correspondent says.

Quote of the day

2007-11-30T12:34:00.000Z

"HIV does not make people dangerous to know,so you can shake their hands and give them a hug,Heaven knows they need it"
Diana Princess of Wales 1 July 1961-31 August 1997.

Its not a myth its real

2007-11-30T12:03:00.000Z

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in humans,[1] and similar viruses in other species (SIV, FIV, etc.). The late stage of the condition leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. Although treatments for AIDS and HIV exist to decelerate the virus' progression, there is currently no known cure. HIV, et al., are transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and breast milk.[2][3] This transmission can come in the form of anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids.

Most researchers believe that HIV originated in sub-Saharan Africa during the twentieth century;[4] it is now a pandemic, with an estimated 33.2 million people now living with the disease worldwide.[5] As of January 2006, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized on June 5, 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. In 2005 alone, AIDS claimed an estimated 2.4–3.3 million lives, of which more than 570,000 were children.[6] A third of these deaths are occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, retarding economic growth and destroying human capital. Antiretroviral treatment reduces both the mortality and the morbidity of HIV infection, but routine access to antiretroviral medication is not available in all countries.[7] HIV/AIDS stigma is more severe than that associated with other life-threatening conditions and extends beyond the disease itself to providers and even volunteers involved with the care of people living with HIV.
HIV/AIDS doesn't discriminate it affects people from all walks of life rich or poor,sportsmen,politicians, entertainers and mostly youths which leads to economic stagnation.So my fellow youngsters we have to change the globe and stay put in overcoming this tragic pandemic, abstain,be faithful,condomise or do go for test.
The latest figures shows that there 78000 people living with HIV in the UK

Lets stay together to eradicate the stigma, and together we shall find cure for HIV/AIDS
This is to commemorate world aids day 1st of December

Dear Mr President

2007-11-18T21:39:00.000Z

APARTHEID

2007-10-25T17:57:00.000+01:00

Apartheid flag of South African minority rule

The first recorded use of the term apartheid was in 1917 where Jan Christian Smuts was giving a speech,he went to become a prime minister two years later, Apartheid became the system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948,National Party's triupmh in 1948 election under Daniel Francois Malan culminated to implementation of apartheid policy,legislation was passed prohibiting miscegenetion(mixed-race marriege).

The rule of apartheid dictated that people could be separated racially the main ones were Blacks,White,Coloured and Indians were separated from each other on the basis of legal classification and unequal rights.Blacks legally became citizens of Bantustans that were nominally sovereign nations.

Blacks use to live in Bantustans like this

Also minority regime imposed pass law,this stemmed from the regulation of black movements from their regions to those of white and coloured minority,black were not allowed to walk on the white streets after dark and they were compelled to carry the passes all the time imposed by white regime.

Blacks forced to carry pass wherever they go

The Group Areas Act of 1950 and Separate Amenities Act of 1953 designed to separate racial group geographically in all areas such as universities,buses,beaches,schools and hospitals.

This is how separation was

Apartheid was dismantled in series of negotiations from 1990 to 1993,culminating in democratic election which saw Nelson Mandela winning landslide victory with ANC party,Apartheid is dismantled but the scars will remain in the hearts of South Africans forever too many people lost their lives.

Aftermath of Apartheid

Qoute of the day

2007-10-19T14:50:00.000+01:00

"always struggle is titanic but success is great"

H.E Thabo V Mbeki South African President

Lucky Dube the African Reggae Legend is no more

2007-10-19T14:20:00.000+01:00

Lucky Dube 1964-2007

Today the world of reggae woke up in shock after they learn the death of Lucky Dube, Dube was caught in attempted hijacking whilst dropping off his children in family member's house around 20.00 hrs, although he tried to escape he had been fatally wounded from hijacker's attempt to steal his motor vehicle and he died instantly. Lucky leaves a great void in reggae music industry.

South African born but globally revered, Lucky was one of the continent's toured and beloved artist ever,his music touched the hearts of millions in Africa and around the World. He made 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans-many of which become record breaker with phenomenal sales around the globe. His 25 years in music suddenly ends in tragedy.

May his soul rest in PEACE, amen

Always remebered

Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere (April 13, 1922 - October 14, 1999)

2007-10-14T18:59:00.000+01:00

In honour of the Greatest, our hero and the first president of Tanzania my home, the man who accomplished a lot than many would; Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere...I have decided to state some of his greates quotes!!

“Freedom to many means immediate betterment, as if by magic. Unless I can meet at least some of these aspirations, my support will wane and my head will roll just as surely as the tickbird follows the rhino.”

“Violence is unnecessary and costly. Peace is the only way.”

"That is what our educational system has to encourage. It has to foster the social goals of living together, and working together, for the common good."

When we were at school we were taught to sing the songs of the Europeans. How many of us were taught the songs of the Wanyamwezi or of the Wahehe? Many of us have learnt to dance the rumba, or the cha cha, to rock and roll and to twist and even to dance the waltz and foxtrot. But how many of us can dance, or have even heard of the gombe sugu, the mangala, nyang umumi, kiduo, or lele mama?

"Just as water from the driest regions of the earth flows into the ocean where already there is plenty, so wealth flows from the poorest… into the hands of those… who are already wealthy"

“Must we starve our children to pay our debts?”

Black History Month

2007-10-12T17:20:00.000+01:00

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.
-- Maya Angelou "Still I rise," And Still I Rise (1978)

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.
-- Booker T. Washington

We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.
-- Carter Woodson on founding Negro History Week, 1926

Sports Mundial

2007-10-12T16:45:00.000+01:00

Hi Everyone, we are extending our sites and just to let you all know that we now have a sports blog just click on the link Below...and enjoy!!

http://sportsmundial.blogspot.com/

Quote of the day

2007-10-11T11:31:00.000+01:00

"..its crazy they got money for wars but they cant beat poverty"

Tupac Shakur 1971-1996

ERNESTO GUEVARA DE LASERNA aka EL CHE 1928-1967

2007-10-10T14:47:00.000+01:00

Ernesto Guevara 14 June 1928-9 October 1967

Ernesto Guevara was Argentine -born, Marxist revolutionary, political figure, leader of cuban and international guerrillas, hero and turned to be a fashion icon.

As a young man he studied medicine, and travelled all over South America bringing him into direct contact with impoverished conditions in which many people lived. His experiences and obs ervation through these trips led him to the conclusion that region's socio-economic innequalities cuold only be remedied by socialism through revolution, prompting him to intensify his study of marxism and travelled to Guatemala to learn the implemented reform there by the President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.

In 1956 he joined Fidel Castro's revolutionary 26th of July movement which saw the end of dictator Fulgencio Batista's regime of Cuba in 1959, after a succesful revolution ha was appointed as"supreme prosecuter"overseeing the trials and executions of hundreds of suspects of war criminals in previous regime. After serving in various important posts in the new government,Guevara left Cuba in 1965 with intention of fomenting revolution in various sub saharan African nations first in Congo-Kinshasa,Algeria,Mozambique and Tanzania, he met the likes of Patrice Lumumba,Ahmed Ben Bella,Samaora Machel and Julius Nyerere, In 1967 Guevara left Dar es salaam for Bolivia he went to serve revolution there,where he was captured in a military operation supported by the CIA and U.S army special forces, Guevara was executed by Bolivian army in the town of La Higuera near Vallegrande on October 9 1967

The body of Che Guevara assessed by Bolivian Army personnel

After his death Guevara became an icon of socialist revolution movements and a cultural icon worldwide. The Alberto Korda's photo has received wide distribution and modification, appearing on t-shirt protest banners and in many other formats, The Maryland Institute College of Art called Alberto Korda's picture the most famous photo in the world and a symbol of 20th century

On the 9th of October 2007 people worldwide marked 40 years since his death, In London it was in Old Street and Walthamstow.

Hasta la victoria siempre

2007-10-09T00:26:00.000+01:00

It is a day to remember the great Arnesto Che Guevara, and I for one will not pass this opportunity to give a tribute to a man who likes not oppression of his people and the world!!

(Che by sigmund freuid)

"We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it.- Ernesto Che Guevara"
"Words that do not match deeds are unimportant. - Ernesto Che Guevara"
"Cruel leaders are replaced only to have new leaders turn cruel! - Ernesto Che Guevara"

"Our every action is a battle cry against imperialism, and a battle hymn for the people's unity against the great enemy of mankind: the United States of America. Wherever death may surprise us, let it be welcome, provided that this, our battle cry, may have reached some receptive ear, that another hand may be extended to wield our weapons, and that other men be ready to intone our funeral dirge with the staccato singing of the machine guns and new battle cries of war and victory. - Ernesto Che Guevara"
"I am not interested in dry economic socialism. We are fighting against misery, but we are also fighting against alienation. One of the fundamental objectives of Marxism is to remove interest, the factor of individual interest, and gain, from people's psychological motivations. Marx was preoccupied both with economic factors and with their repercussions on the spirit. If communism isn't interested in this too, it may be a method of distributing goods, but it will never be a revolutionary way of life. - Ernesto Che Guevara "

(Andy Warhol the greatest pop up artist representing Che the Guerilla)
"I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves. - Ernesto Che Guevara"
"There is no other definition of socialism valid for us than that of the abolition of the exploitation of man by man. - Ernesto Che Guevara"
"Each time a country is freed, we say, it is a defeat for the world imperialist system, but we must agree that real liberation or breaking away from the imperialist system is not achieved by the mere act of proclaiming independence or winning an armed victory in a revolution. Freedom is achieved when imperialist economic domination over a people is brought to an end. - Ernesto Che Guevara "

(Until victory always -- Struggle until victory forever!)
The great will always be great (June 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967

Change is coming our way

2007-10-05T21:26:00.000+01:00

There's so many things to say right now
I got so much on my mind
Look at what is going down
How much higher can we climb
The system that we're living in
Depends on poverty and greed
But people don't need charity
It's justice that we need

There's disrepair
It's surrounding you
And it's worse than it's ever been
We'll overcome
Overcome the things they do
We're halfway there
Cause we know the truth
But living is another thing
We'll overcome
Overcome the things they do
Lift your voice and sing

A change is coming our way
Step by step and day by day
We'll live by all that we say
Step by step now come what may

There's war all around the world
In the name of democracy
Can't tell the rouge from the just
When they bring hypocrisy
I see my sisters on the move
Making sure we all contend
Must've lost something on the way
We reduced ourselves again

Before we go forth
We gotta take 'em back, back
So we can know what we did
Cause if we never know what happened in de past
Then we can never know, that's what it is
If we don't do it for us
We gotta do it for our kids, kids
So they don't gotta relive
See, there's so much happening, it ain't gonna get fix
With singing and rapping and we gotta take action
And turn that preach into practising
Cause what happen back then, will be right back again
But each one teach one, cause we only as fast
As the last one straggling, so help 'em out

Step by step day by day
Said it won't be long, it won't be long
Step by step come what may
I feel it coming on strong
Step by step day by day
We gonna overcome
Step by step come what may
As long as we are one

Can't tell the rogue from the just

Make Change, Bring Change

2007-10-04T21:40:00.000+01:00

(The Ambassador)

Keep a Child Alive stays in the forefront of the AIDS movement by creating important and moving ad campaigns. Each year a new campaign is launched at our annual event, the Black Ball. Last year’s “Spirit of a Child” campaign photographed by Marc Baptiste featured such celebrities as Lorraine Bracco, Cynthia Nixon, Nas, Josh Groban and others.
Coming in the fall, will be the I AM AFRICAN campaign photographed by Michael Thompson, featuring such legends as Iman, David Bowie, Sting, and including celebrities as Liv Tyler, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Sarah Jessica Parker.
(Iman, Global Ambassador)
Each and every one of us contains DNA that can be traced back to our African ancestors.

Keep A Child Alive is dedicated to providing life-saving anti-retroviral treatment to children and their families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and the developing world by directly engaging the global public in the fight against AIDS.

"They say that time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself" - Andy Warhol

Unseen Aid: Africa

2007-10-02T13:58:00.000+01:00

African nations that bore the brunt of the continent’s worst floods in three decades face a new epidemic threat and on Friday stepped up appeals for international help.
At least 300 people in 20 countries have died in floods over the past two months, according to figures from governments, hospitals and humanitarian sources compiled by AFP. As the extent of the damage begins to emerge epidemic warnings are growing. In Rwanda, where at least 15 people died this month in flash floods, two cholera cases have been reported in flood districts, said Innocent Nyaruhirira, minister in charge of epidemics. Cholera outbreaks have already caused 68 deaths in Sudan, one of the countries worst hit by the flooding. The United Nations said up to 625,000 people could be in need of emergency aid in Sudan.
Neighbouring Uganda has also been heavily affected by the floods, with at least 400,000 people in need of assistance in eastern regions. The European Union has decided to donate some two million euros (2.8 million dollars) to Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso, EU officials said. Besides paying for supplies, the money is also to be used to help prevent the spread of malaria. The Togo government on Friday made its own urgent appeal for food and medical aid. Twenty three people have been reported dead in the West African nation and Cooperation Minister Gilbert Bawara told AFP: “We are launching an appeal for solidarity and international aid to relieve the people hit by the floods.”
“We need food, medicines and the means to rebuild infrastructure,” Bawara said. The flooding of key roads has paralysed the delivery of aid. Ugandan Minister of State for Refugees and Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru said the floods had affected cross-border traffic into southern Sudan and hundreds of trucks have been forced to take a longer route to the stricken region.
The non-government organisation ActionAid has criticised the relief effort in Uganda, where close to 20 people have died since the floods began and a massive food shortage looms. “There is still very slow response on the ground especially from government, though a lot has been promised since the floods in northern and eastern Uganda have now been declared a national disaster,” it said in a statement.

The organisation warned that the crisis had caused the prices of fuel and basic food supplies to soar.
Nigeria's Red Cross announced Thursday that 64 people had died in the country in the floods and that 22,000 people have been displaced in 10 northern states in Africa's most populous nation, as well as in the Lagos area in the southwest.
Burkina Faso, one of Africa's poorest nations, has reported 33 deaths and nearly 7,500 homes destroyed.
Countries as far north as Algeria were also affected. Algerian officials said Thursday there had been 21 million euros (30 million dollars) of damage in floods last weekend alone.
And there have been warnings about the future.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the number of floods in Africa where the movement has provided relief aid had jumped from five in 2004 to 32 in 2006, which was a "worrying" eightfold increase.
By mid-September, the number of floods on the continent that mobilised Red Cross aid so far this year stood at 42.

HIV (Virus) AIDs (Disease), when it gets you there is no difference

2007-10-01T21:13:00.000+01:00

we've come from far
every day is diferent from yesterday...
we live every day like the last
and you would do the things that only u knew
many times the end of the world has passed
so we live everyday like our last because we've come from far
when the times get hard we say "worst than our history, doesnt exist"
and when winter comes we simply say that the heat will return 2 us..

HIV AND AIDS HAS INCREASED TO 30% THIS YEAR ALONE AND GUESS WHAT, THE YEAR IS NOT OVER YET. YOU CAN IGNORE THIS, IT'S YOUR CHOICE OR YOU CAN READ AND PROTECT YOURSELF. PLEASE UNDERSTAND PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO TELL YOU THEY HAVE HIV OR AIDS.

It maybe helpful or not

2007-09-30T22:08:00.000+01:00

Im gonna share with you rules that we must keep especially if we want to interact well with others and succeed especially at work:

1. Take risks that are calculated not crazy
At times opportunity a rise and the fear that resides in you holds you back to taking that risk and take the opportunity. Ofcourse, there's only so much you can push to but don't let an opportunity go to waiste

2. The worst case scenario is rarely as bad as you think
You know when you feel like a change in place for example and you get scared again to take risk because of fear of the word 'new,' change is only change for a minute then you get used to it. Every risk is an experience well learned...ofcourse do remember rule one.

3. Don't personalise things that aren't personal
As human beings we tend to take things personal very easily. I have to admit, I did this at work just last week and sometimes, it's not an intention to say something that hurts you so try not to take things personal. (I am learning this myself, especially with taking criticism)

4. It's best in the long run to make your life a grudge free zone
Trust me, you'll live a much better and happier life

5. Be generous with praise- and careful with criticism
this means exactly what it says

6. Know the rules so you know which ones to break
Make sure in breaking that rule, it will benefit not hurt someone or your business

7. It's easy to ask forgivenes than it is to get permission
This relates to rule number 6.

Hope you've had a good weekend and I welcome your advice, challenge, discussion at anytime.

Breast Cancer Awareness

2007-09-30T21:28:00.000+01:00

There's one quote that resides in my mind when I think of life, it's by John Lennon and it goes a little something like this, "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans." It sometimes feels like life is spanning out of control, and most of us do not realise it until something happens to us.

When it comes to improving the quality of life, some think about sitting down with an excellent shrink , it might mean taking a trip to the self help clinic, or taking time out by your self to just think on improvements you could make. Have you ever thought, one of those improvements could be checking for breast cancer?? I guess not, most of us don't think it could ever happen, like AIDs.

The 'C,' word is never an easy thing to hear. For a moment it takes your breath away. Your heart begins to beat like a drum as your mind struggles to comprehend the reality. You don't choose breast cancer, it choses you. A lot of people die every single day from cancer, so don't ignore it. Make it one of your regular check ups. To help Breast Cancer awareness this October why not buy something that could help someone survive today:

a tshirt from M & S or Privacy wear for those in America

Jeans

A hooded top

This is from M & S

Or just a classy pin or a ribbon to represent.

United we cure!!

In UN Speech, Zimbabwe's Mugabe Lashes Into US, Britain

2007-09-27T14:53:00.000+01:00

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday delivered a particularly bitter denunciation of Western critics in the United Nations General Assembly, lashing out at U.S. President George Bush for what he called "hypocrisy" in describing his Harare government as "tyrannical," and denouncing U.S. policy in Iraq and elsewhere.
Mr. Mugabe accused the United States and Britain of seeking to maintain neo-colonial control over Zimbabwe and of attempting to engineer "regime change" there. "I am termed (a) dictator because I have rejected this supremacist view and frustrated the neo-colonialists in their endeavor to keep us as slaves in our own country."
Mr. Mugabe took exception to President Bush's reference to his government as a "tyrannical regime" in a speech Tuesday to the General Assembly.
President Bush said Mr. Mugabe's "tyrannical regime" was "an assault on its people and an affront to the principles of the (U.N.) Universal Declaration" of Human Rights.
Mr. Mugabe responded that Mr. Bush "has much to atone for and little to lecture us on (regarding) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. His hands drip with blood of many innocent nationalities, and today with the blood of the Iraqis."
Mr. Mugabe dwelt on the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for terror suspects. "At that concentration camp, international law does not apply...laws of the United States of America do not apply. Only Bush's law applies."
He accused Britain and the United States of pursuing "a relentless campaign of destabilizing and vilifying my country." He said the two nations "sponsored surrogate forces to challenge lawful authority in my country," this a reiteration of the charge, often lodged by Harare, that the opposition is Western-sponsored.
"They seek regime change," he said. "They seek regime change - not my people."
Mr. Mugabe said Zimbabwe "will not allow a regime change offered by outsiders. Mr. Bush and Mr. Brown have no role to play in our own national affairs. They are outsiders and mischievous outsiders and should therefore keep out."
Mr. Mugabe expressed "gratitude" toward South African President Thabo Mbeki for his mediation of talks between the ruling ZANU-PF party and opposition Movement for Democratic Change which in recent days has yielded a compromise constitutional amendment which President Mugabe said "paved the way" for 2008 elections.
"Consequently, we will be holding multiple democratic elections in March" next year, Mr. Mugabe told the General Assembly. "Indeed, we have always had timeous general and presidential elections since our independence."
Zimbabwean elections since 2000 have been marred by allegations of ballot-rigging and official intimidation of voters. Sanctions targeting Mr. Mugabe's inner circle were imposed by Western countries after the contested 2002 presidential election.
The Southern African Development Community asked Mr. Mbeki to mediate crisis talks between the ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in late March after Mr. Mugabe's government launched a crackdown on opponents in which an opposition activist was shot to death March 11.
Photographs of the badly beaten opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai emerging from police custody galvanized world opinion and led Southern African leaders to convene an extraordinary summit at which Mr. Mbeki was handed his mediation brief.
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Mugabe met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in an encounter sources said was less than cordial. Mr. Mugabe was said to have refused to accept U.N. humanitarian assistance offered by Ban, and to have expressed himself “forcefully” when humanitarian issues, democracy and human rights came up.

What do you all think of what Mugabe said!!

Quote of the day

2007-09-26T20:21:00.000+01:00

".....we are poor because they are rich, to us foreing aid is a matter of right, not of charity...."

parce qu'on vient de loin

2007-09-26T19:08:00.000+01:00

The woman I am
The links of courage
Made a chain
That cannot be broken
That hands that made
Each golden link
Left me a price less token

My Heritage has been the shield
That kept me strong and free
The woman that I am today
Now walks victoriously

Alors on vit chaque jour comme le dernier

Update on Part of my life burning down to ashes...

2007-09-25T21:00:00.000+01:00

Here is an update on another tragedy that has come to turn my mama's dreams and sweat into ashes...

Sea Cliff Before and below are pictures showing how burnt it is now!!

Ashes to ashes

Melting hearts

What used to be a swimming pool

burning hunger

Lost jobs

Lost hope

Once used to be abar and chill out place

My mama's dream was on the far left, once nominated top Salon in Tanzania, with professional hairdressers from South Africa and every year an opportunity to get styled by a celebrity hairdresser from abroad. She studied hard...but her dreams will not die..cuz we will rise!!

Still, I rise by Miss Maya Angelou

2007-09-22T22:44:00.000+01:00

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard

‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame

I riseUp from a past that’s rooted in pain

I riseI’m a black ocean,

leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

Quote of the day

2007-09-22T18:30:00.000+01:00

"The challenges of change are always hard. It is important that we begin to unpack those challenges that confront this nation and realize that we each have a role that requires us to change and become more responsible for shaping our own future. "

Breaking News

2007-09-22T18:14:00.000+01:00

I just received a call from my mama...that has made me sad.
Sea Cliff is Burning, the restaurant side and now it is going to our beauty palour which my mama's heart is in!!God Bless us...This is the second palour that has been affected by fire!First one was in Oysterbay Shopping centre!!Mourn for my heart and soul...May God give us courage to stand up and be number 1 again!!

The things people do for money

2007-09-22T18:03:00.000+01:00

My favourite place in london for spending the day, detoxing, guaranteed to leave with a fresh mind and full of inspiration is Covent Garden. I am always mesmorized when I see what people do for money. I love the creativity in people that allows them to think...uuunhha...why don't I stand like a statue for the whole day and see people will pay for it...!!

Still

Pay me and I do a trick...like this

And this..thank you ladies and gentlemen

A dog anyone...This man was fascinating...seriously what do y'all think about this!!

Giving isn't a burden

2007-09-22T17:40:00.000+01:00

"Giving ain't taking without the need. Giving is trying to be in the position to let others have what U created, and definately is realizing Ur position that distinguish U from others.Giving is if U are in the better position to let others get from Ur extra drops and bundles, and yet again, U part with some extra more." Simon (frequent visitor of this blog)

So remember when I posted and asked what is giving to you? Well as seen above one of my favourite Youth Vibes visitor wrote as stated. I said I would explore this a little more!! I found this on the net...

"a virtue, means to bestow, especially officially, confer; to accord or tender to another, to entrust to another. This is the Law of all creation: Give and you shall receive. "Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." "Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Lights. ..."

Giving to me is when you help those who haven't the ability to help themselves build up their lives, courage, strength, growth, with food, shelter, a shoulder to cry on or just to listen. You do not need to be wealthy to give, if you have strength give your strength, if you have wisdom give your wisdom. Like for example, I might be starting my PHD soon (I know what you are thinking 23 and burrying yourself in books, ooh well, just wanna be called a doctor really :P) On a serious note, I have been told by many why not become a teacher in rural areas? If I had the ability or the passion I definitely would. There is a company called CSV which allows you to give. I remember last year they wanted people to volunteer their services to go to Guatemala to build a village, why not if you can (I couldn't go as I went home for christmas). At times they need volunteers to just help paint someone's house in London because the person maybe disabled or in bad circumastances that do not allow them to do as they please. And they do this for all in need if they can reach you.

I always look at it like this, as young people volunteering gives you a nice CV. I remember when I was 16, me and my best friends then, decided we would volunteer at a disability charity every saturday. All we had to do was show up, and there would be planned activities, such as singing, dancing, learning, puzzles etcetera... We enjoyed it so much but we never realised that we were actually making our C.V. look good as well. Until recently, when I applied for a marketing assistant job in Computer Aid International, that's when I realised it would help later. At the time I felt good about giving and still feel good about it, at times sad because of the illnesses I saw that made me thank God for what he has given me.

If you have time, give
If you have money, you can give
If you have clothes that are wearable or new that you don't even wear, give
Giving is an option not an obligation but it does give you a guarantee of a fresh heart.
And remember te Phrase "Giving is receiving."

Quote of the day

2007-09-20T21:08:00.000+01:00

"Sometimes it is upon generation to be great, and you can be that generation."

This is the time for us to be that great generation!!

The question of national identity

2007-09-08T15:22:00.000+01:00

During my Masters studies last year, one of the topics I picked was, "Does Britain have a national identity?" Many people would find it easy to just say yes but when you think about it does national Identity really exist in this world today?

First, what is national identity?National identity is built on a foundation of fact and fiction that together form an account/story of origins. Myth, tradition and invented tradition are systematically employed towards the making of a common ancestry, the basis for shared belongings and a distinctive identity vis-à-vis the identity of other nation-states. In an ordinary sense, it can be taken to mean that quality or sense of belonging that makes a person quintessentially Vietnamese, Cambodian or any other nationality, i.e. that sense of belonging nurtured by a commonly shared history, cultural continuity and belief in a national destiny.

It is what binds all citizens to have a sense of belonging. Remember the days when England was for the English, Scotland for the Scottish, south Africa for black south Africans, and India for Indians. In my opinion this does not exist anymore, because there's been so much migration, colonization, globalization, cultural imperialism to appoint that there isn't such as a sense of belong.

You may ask what brought this discussion, well there recently came up in my home country a controversy brought by the chosen Miss Tanzania who has Indian Ancestry. so imagine if the country you were born and raised doesn't recognise you as belonging to that national identity? Well this is the same all around the world really, in London where I have been raised since the age of 13 (10 years ago) there are British Indians, Black British (which could be for example Jamaicans born in Britain etcetera etcetera) so does being born in that specific country make you apart of their national identity? Well to tell you the truth, most countries do not agree with it even though they may allow you to have the passport and call yourself British, American, or African but as long as you, your parents, do not look from that country you are not originally from that country despite all being born in that country.

I was born in Tanzania, I have arab ancestry as well as either kenyan or Rwandeese ancestry (can't remember) but we are all Tanzanians and do not recognise the other parts anymore, I know my tribes (in Tanzania) but have no idea how to even say hello in the languages but ofcourse I speak the national language which I was brought up speaking, swahili that is. If you look at me, with my dark brown features, long black African hair, if I tell you I am Tanzanian, you wouldn't have anything that could make you think otherwise. Richa Adhia (pictures), was crowned Miss Tanzania 2007 as well as Miss Earth 2006. The controversy came when she was crowned to represent Tanzania while she obviously looked , talked and was raised as an Indian. I trully understand my country's fear of loosing it's national identity if they send an Indian-Tanzanian to represent as a pure Tanzanian. This is apparent with so many countries that it does not surprise me. It even sounds a bit racist but I don't think it's about racism, I merely think that the fact that when you think of an African, you think black but this has changed and it cannot be avoided.

So we either agree with it, or continue to disagree with it, I don't know what you think. But do you agree with me that National Identity does not exist even in Africa anymore?

they took her daughters and sold her strongest sons

2007-09-01T15:55:00.000+01:00

Do you think by any chance if Mother Africa's daughters weren't taken, Africa would be more developed today??

Do you think if it's strongest sons weren't sold they would have been able to build Africa more than it's built now??

To tell you the truth, I don't know how different our mother Africa would have been without the colonization and slavery,

All I know is globalisation and interaction has helped as well as ruined africa,

How?

Through globalisation we learn what will help develop and through interaction we learn of differen't cultures, languages, trades, and more...

I feel sad for mother Africa's struggle for I would like to ask would Africa be like this today??

Africa by Maya Angelou

2007-08-24T20:30:00.000+01:00

"Africa"

Thus she had lain
sugercane sweet
deserts her hair
golden her feet
mountains her breasts
two Niles her tears.
Thus she has lain
Black through the years.

Over the white seas
rime white and cold
brigands ungentled
icicle bold
took her young daughters
sold her strong sons
churched her with Jesus
bled her with guns.
Thus she has lain.

Now she is rising
remember her pain
remember the losses
her screams loud and vain
remember her riches
her history slain
now she is striding
although she has lain.

What will you do to help development??

2007-08-24T20:20:00.000+01:00

I ask you, ooh my fellow youths,
what will you do to help develop our continent, our homes, our land, our Africa and our countries?

Have you started or are you fixated in your own while you watch others grieve without success.
I have started by helping bridge the digital divide in developing countries, I have started by donating each month, I have started by giving things that I know I dont need yet another definitely will have use for, I have started by working hard to get the my education so I can go and help my people!!Sometimes people take the word charity in a whole different meaning?? So Today I leave you wanting for you to give me a definition of giving??

What does giving mean to you??

Youths, do we have demons??

2007-08-24T19:50:00.000+01:00

I have been away from my favourite site for too long. I know some of you are probably thinking, i've given up. No, no, no not anytime soon!! I want to talk about the demons within us...now don't sit there and say you have none because we all do. The demon I am fighting is called 'LIFE,' you work hard, you plan, your mind is set, you love, you grow, but at the end of the day those you love the most are the ones that come to hurt you, do you feel me, do you get that, do you find it hard to trust? Have you lost one you love, have you lost your unborn? Do you feel me?Oooh demon, why wont you let us be? So tell me, What's you demon??

When Ure Hero Falls

when your hero falls from grace

all fairy tales r uncovered

myths exposed and pain magnified

the greatest pain discovered

u taught me 2 be strong

but im confused 2 c u so weak

u said never 2 give up

and it hurts 2 c u welcome defeat

when ure hero falls so do the stars

and so does the perception of tomorrow

without my hero there is only

me alone 2 deal with my sorrow

your heart ceases 2 work

and your soul is not happy at all

what r u expected 2 do

when ure only hero falls.

But as you sit there thinking of your calamities, do you ever think of those worse than you,

Those with no food, while you complain to not like what you have

Sometimes our preferences lead us to greediness and selfishness

So today I'm gonna leave you with a thought... let the images speak to you

Poverty

Starvation

Poor living

Watching myself die before my eyes, with nothing I can do about it

Conflict took my hands.

And 2Morrow
Today is filled with anger

fueled with hidden hate

scared of being outcast

afraid of common fate

Today is built on tragedies

which no one wants 2 face

nightmares 2 humanities

and morally disgraced

Tonight is filled with rage

violence in the air

children bred with ruthlessness

because no one at home cares

Tonight I lay my head down

but the pressure never stops

knawing at my sanity

content when I am dropped

But 2morrow I c change

a chance 2 build a new

Built on spirit intent of Heart and ideals

based on truth

and tomorrow I wake with second wind

and strong because of pride2 know I fought with all my heart 2 keep my dream alive.

So my advice to my fellow youth , whatever you might go through don't lose HOPE. I know what pain feels like and you may feel like you are alone but in life we all feel pain maybe at different levels but those who stick through the race are the ones who reach te finishing line.

Till next time, I wish you all a pleasant weekend, filled with laughter, and grace.

Your thoughts are mine

2007-07-11T20:54:00.000+01:00

I know what you are thinking this girl and her partner have done neglected us. No, Not really everything has been keeping us busy but I know what you are thinking but you've been updating finishing touches well this blog has our hearts and when I write a story I like to put my whole heart into it and my partner has to approve so that you feel what I am feeling as you have been I am sure of that. We are currently working on some stuff that I will be posting soon be patient with us and keep visiting African Youth Vibes.

Yours trully

S and R.

This isn't pretty but it's true

2007-06-14T12:17:00.000+01:00

I cry for the leaders who lead us to war,
for innocent ones who die on far shore.
I cry for the cities toppled by hate.
I cry for all nations,
little and great who fight for freedom and peace with a gun,
bury their children when the fighting is done.
Who gave us the power to govern all men?
How many wars do we have to win?
What price must we pay for the freedom of few?

Killing the Future before they've lived Today...

THINK!! THINK!! THINK!!

2007-06-12T16:15:00.000+01:00

These adverts speak for themselves so my fellow young people...Don't Die before you've lived...Think twice before you have sex, think twice before you smoke, think twice before you drive in the influence of drink...think twice before you decide to take drugs...think twice before it's too late!!

I think giving your kids knowledge from a young age is very important because they think twice about everything they do!!Knowledge is key...

Isn't this sooo sad...this is the most beautiful little girl ever and she wont be living too long because one of her parents gave her AIDs!!

Beware of AIDs...it's the killer of Africa!!

'Dear Leaders of the World
You have the chance of a lifetime!
At the 2005 World Summit on September 14–16,
we have a golden opportunity to make the world a better place by stepping up efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The process of halving poverty by 2015 has already begun. We urge you to continue the good work. It is time to speed up!'

Donate, so our fellow Africans can be treated!!

Every gun that is made,
Every warship made
Every rocket fired, signifies.
In the final sense.
A theft from those who hunger and are not fed.
those who are cold and not clothed.

Beware of drink driving, don't drive when you are tired, don't drive under the influence of drugs and don't drive too fast!! He could have lived, he was dreaming of becoming a president but now a driver who was driving too fast has taken his dreams away and most of all his life!!

That is what it's doing to your lungs, it's like a bullet shooting to your lungs and destroying it!!

Cancer survival

When you take the focus off yourself, you'll often find that you feel lighter. The burden of constantly seeking your own way and taking it upon yoursekf to fill the voids in your life is lifted. When you seek to be of service, others sense your pure motives. Don't forget to give, it can be anything...you don't have to be rich to give!! So today, I warn my fellow young people THINK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE TO REGRET!!

Sierra Leone Bans Child marriages not Female Genital Mutilation

2007-06-09T14:23:00.000+01:00

Sierra Leone’s parliament has passed a child rights bill, which bans under-age weddings but controversially dropped a clause to outlaw female circumcision. The BBC’s Umaru Fofana in Sierra Leone says girls as young as 11 are often married off to wealthy men but this is now banned until they are 18 years old.
However, the press and public were asked to leave parliament during the debate on female genital mutilation. When they were allowed back, the section on FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) had been removed.The local representative of UN children’s agency Unicef said the passing of the bill was the best day for Sierra Leone’s children since the end of the civil war. But campaigners are not happy that FGM was not banned.
Senior MP Alassan Fofana told the BBC that there was a general consensus in parliament not to outlaw FGM. He said that measures had been introduced to control it and pointed out that this was more than previous parliaments had done. “They were afraid to be tagged as calling for a ban on FGM. For a lot of people, this would have cost their political career,” he said.
Last year, a woman from Sierra Leone successfully claimed asylum in the UK on the basis that she feared being forcibly circumcised - a decision condemned by the Sierra Leone government. Up to 90% of women have faced the procedure in the West African country, which sees part or all of the clitoris surgically removed, often resulting in reduced or no sexual feeling.
FGM is practised in many West, North and East African countries. One Sierra Leone girl nevertheless told the BBC that the new law would improve her life.
“I’m more privileged than my mum - she was forced into marriage at an early age. At least I can decide for myself how to live my life without my parents interfering,” she said.

The digital divide in developing and developed countries

2007-06-08T17:55:00.000+01:00

The digital divide that currently exists between the developed and developing countries is enormous. Latest World Bank research shows that there are 5 or less computers per 1,000 people in the vast majority of Sub-Saharan African countries. This figure is also applicable to the South Asian sub-continent.

For all those that are in developed countries, imagine a day without a computer let a lone not having a computer at all. With the increase in global communication, you will see computers almost in every house in developed countries, in schools, Internet cafe or having a personal computer (laptop, tablet etc). The dependency in computers has increased compared throughout the years and it has become almost unlivable without them.

Well, this is quite different from developing countries where many people in the developing world have only limited access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
The gap between those who have access,and those who don ’t is known as the digital divide.
This divide is most pronounced between more and less developed economies and includes all aspects of ICT,including phone access,PC ownership and internet usage. Phone access has rapidly increased in the past decade with the spread of mobile phones;around a third of people in the developing world now have access to phones.But PC ownership and Internet usage has risen more slowly, with less than 4 percent of people in Africa using the Internet,compared with 63 percent in the UK.
"A computer can cost the equivalent of up to eight years ’ income for an average person in Bangladesh " It is easy to take access to computers and the internet for granted. We can
sometimes forget how useful email is, or how valuable the internet is as a learning or communication tool. Most office employees would find it difficult to imagine how laborious it would be to record and analyse data if they didn ’t have access to a computer,or how difficult it would be to get a job if they didn ’t know how to use a computer.

My fellow young people why not help with the digital divide by donating a computer that you no longer use to a company that like computer aid who work very hard to bit the digital divide by getting you and companies to donate computers that are sent to schools, companies that wnat to brigde the communication knowledge divide in developing country. Check out www.computeraid.org

YOUTH OF TODAY, IT IS ABOUT NEW VIGOUR, NEW ZEAL, AND NEW SPEED

2007-06-05T20:26:00.000+01:00

Boys and Girls today’s world is about youngsters, in terms of fresh energy, ideas and plans to make this world revolve towards brighter future, regardless your ethnic background or religious affiliation. For real it is about fresh focus, hunger to make the difference in life and we all have opportunity to do so.

Calling out the entire youth to set straight your priorities such as Education, insistence on Education because this is the key of today’s world door, so if you really want to get in better get hold of that key…
Embrace your talents because this is the Gods’ gift to you and every one of you have one so utilise it and make it effective.

The bottom line of today’s thought of the day is to encourage all you youngster to enjoy your era in a positive way and utilise all the support and opportunities you get. Remember today’s youngsters are tomorrows’ adults and if you really want to enjoy tomorrow in triumph. it is good to get prepared from today, be ready to share your ideas whenever opportunities arise without holding back, this will pave ways to your great and prosperous future.

“It is better to think through Sunday’s game on Saturday …”

Men who love to look good...

2007-06-03T15:36:00.000+01:00

I believe whatever you wear describes who you are. So today think, what do your clothes say about you??

The light hooded top, This is cool for summer too.

For our revolutionary brothers

I love what this says about whoever is wearing it. Build your foundation, stand for what you believe in!!

I like this classy but simple look, it's young and Fresh!!

What to wear this season...Women work it!!

2007-06-03T15:23:00.001+01:00

I am for embracing femininity...so girls be funky, don't be afraid to try something new but for this season work these. If you are far away from these shops and have a tailor go make it well I know mine can do wonders!!

Black is always in....This is just soo cute!!

I love the way this dress flaws, it's perfect for the summer and makes you look elegant and beautiful. It's best to work it with up do!!

Bee...is working those shorts. This season make sure you have some in your closet, there is some for everyone. For those with thin to thick legs, ones to enhance your thighs or make you look slim!!Work it, work it!!

Colours and flowers are in and this is a nice bubble dress, works best with the different types of colours for your shoes.

Cute and angelic

For all y'all that know me, know I'm a red fan...and will make you wear red for all my occassions..I think really is as hot as it is..it makes you feel the hotness too!!

NKOSI JOHNSON THE AIDS ACTIVIST 04/FEB/1989-01/JUN/2001

2007-06-03T11:27:00.000+01:00

He was born Xolani Nkosi in a slum east of Johannesburg, He never knew his father, His mother Monthlanthla Daphne was HIV positive so she passed the disease to unborn Nkosi, He was born HIV- positive and became a statistic-one of more than 70000 children born HIV-positive every year in South Africa. He survived beyond his second birthday which is unusual for affected babies, the disaease started to sap his mother they were admitted in the hospital,there were he was seen by Gail Johnson and became his foster mother, in 1997 his mother passed away he said in one of his speeches"i really miss my mother but i know she is in heaven".

Nkosi with his foster mother Gail Johnson Nkosi tree

Later that year he won a battle of enrollment in a primary school, the contrversy made him a national figure in the campaign to destigmatize AIDS, and his big moment came in Durban at AIDS international conference he made an imotional speech he said"please help people with AIDS, support them, love them, and care for them".He took the same message to Atlanta GA, he said"it's sad to see so many sick people",he added"i wish everybody in the world would be well"

Nkosi Johnson at the 13th International AIDS conference

At the 13 international Aids conference he made a remakarble speech, he said "Care for us, accept us we are all human beings, we are normal we have hands, we have feet, we can walk, we can talk, we have needs like everyone else,-dont be afraid of us we all the same" .Nelson Mandela described him as "an icon of struggle for life"

Nkosi with Nelson Mandela

Nkosi Johnson died in 01/Jun/2001 at age of 12, he will be remembered as an activist,struggle and survivor against aids, in his last days he said"i'm tired of taking medicine"

Dying Nkosi with his foster mother Gail Johson

RIP

Young people go round and enjoy

2007-06-02T12:45:00.000+01:00

I got a request...From a young person who would like to know what is there to do for young people in Tanzania!!

Most people know the famous Sea Cliff Hotel and Village where there are restaurants, saloons, swimming pool, shops, and a super market. Why not pass through and check it out...

How about the next time you visit Bagamoyo which is 30 minutes to 45 minutes away from Dar Es Salaam according to where you start your journey, visit the beautiful Lazy Lagoon:
Lazy Lagoons is the perfect Indian Ocean island retreat, lying in the Zanzibar channel offshore from mainland Bagamoyo.

How to get to Lazy Lagoon:By Road: Lazy Lagoon can be reached by road from Dar es Salaam, a trip of just under an hour. This is followed by a short motor boat trip across the 2km (1.2 miles) stretch of sea to reach the island. Traditional boarding methods and an element of shallow paddling may be required to get to the boat!

By Air: There is an airstrip at Bagamoyo town 7km (4.4 miles)away and you can be met and transferred from here by prior arrangement.

Enjoy swimming and snorkelling; kayaking to the lagoon and mangrove forest, sunset dhow safari to the coral reef, or visit the historical town of Bagamoyo. And this time why not learn a bit about where you are...there is plenty of history in Bagamoyo that will keep you busy for the whole day.

Another beautiful place that you can see from The Slipway the most visited spot by young people especially sundays, where there is music, you can have the best pizza and you can laugh with your friends and meet people. Ok, back to the beautiful island, Bongoyo Island, a wonderful place to relax and soak upthe sun on a weekend. It is only a 40 minute dhow ride from the slipway.

The next time you visit Tanga, why not pass by...Saadani National Park, the only national park i the world that is along the coast. This is where the Bush meets the Beach...

Apart from going round having fun why not go to any Charitable organisation and ask how can I help. You will find yourself busier than ever but at the same time, you will feel good about it.

Thought of the day

2007-06-01T19:59:00.000+01:00

This Thought of the day will be a window of opportunity and encouragement to the world of enriching lives. We firmly believe that God gave us different gifts and that everyone can make a difference in their community, nation or the world. This can be achieved if every one of us utilizes her/his gift to the fullest, and there is no doubt that we are all expected to be some where or someone one day but all that can not become if first we don’t picture it and second don’t believe in the picture we paint if one decided to do so. There fore let’s focus on our priorities and not let our selves get caught up in a cycle of negativity and potential destructions because it would only lead to losing. While hope is lighting our days, look forward to the best despite the adversity we face along the way because sunshine will come.

"Where there is hope there is life".

To those who see with loving eyes, life is beautiful.

To those who speak with tender voices, life is peaceful.

To those who help with gentle hands, life is full.

And to those who care with compassionate hearts,life is good beyond all measure.

African Fashion

2007-06-01T18:56:00.000+01:00

We young people always feel a bit old wearing our traditional clothes...so why not embrace our Africanhood with adapting that Westernised fashion we like to our african fabrics....

A beautiful Egyptian design by Faroukou of Tanzania, I must say my favourite African Designer
A Mustafa Hassan Ali creation
Western African designs
South African Fashion Week....and no I am not saying you should wear the hay too
Another Kanga creation by Mustafa Hassan Ali

Mustafa Hassan Ali

Faroukou's Masaai creation

African Beauties...Make the difference

2007-06-01T17:04:00.000+01:00

Let them inspire you...

Liya Kebede, an Ethiopian born Beauty who is an internationally known model as well as a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization her tireless efforts in raising awareness for the difficulties that women and children face in the developing world.
Alek Wek, Internationally known Super model, and the real Face of Africa. The Sudanese beauty says, "I believe that true beauty comes from inside you and that always shows through. I have no problem with whatever the next big look is, whether it's big blonde hair and blue eyes or green hair and dark eyes. That's fine so long as there isn't just one ideal image. Don't try and tell me that only one look is beautiful!" In her free time Alek tries to help the people of Africa and is a member of the US Committee For Refugees' Advisory Council. She also issued an aid program called Doctors Without Borders, to show the life after war in Sudan.

This is just so beautiful....The it's just interesting how the beauty of a woman can be portrayed!!
Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai Saying the planet is at risk from human activity, environmentalist Maathai urged democratic reforms and an end to corporate greed when she collected the Prize.The newly appointed Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro. Migiro commenced her education at Mnazi Mmoja Primary School in 1963. She later moved on to Korogwe Primary School, Weruweru Secondary School, and, finally, Korogwe Secondary School, where she graduated high school in 1975 She obtained her LL.B and LL.M from the University of Dar es Salaam and her Ph.D. in 1992 from the University of Konstanz in Germany. Before entering politics, she was a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).According to Ban -Kimmon the UN Secretary, "She is a highly respected leader who has championed the cause of developing countries over the years..." He also said that "Through her distinguished service in diverse areas, she has displayed outstanding management skills with wide experience and expertise in socio-economic affairs and development issues."Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella is the president of the Pan-African Parliament. The Honorable Gertrude Mongella has been on a lifelong mission to improve the quality of life for the women and children of Tanzania, “The fight for humanitarianism is a great one, but it is one to which I remain committed. Two key factors to moving people from despair to viability are education and economic development. I am focused on those priorities as well. "

Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF, is the current president of Liberia and Africa's first elected female head of state. She is the first elected black woman head of state in the world, and the third such head of government after Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Sylvie Kinigi of Burundi. She is often referred to as the "Iron Lady".The term describes a "strong willed" woman.

Mafia Island...the not so marketed beauty

2007-06-01T16:43:00.000+01:00

I always heard of an island called Mafia Island in Tanzania...so many stories so here it is....

Take a journey inspired by a new natural travel philosophy dedicated to people who want to experience the real thrill of exploration without giving up the pleasure and comfort of personalized service.

The archipelago is formed of a number of very large islands and small uninhabited coral atolls. Due to its position alongside the barrier, the island is the meeting place of large oceanic fish and the the vast variety of fish common to the Indian Ocean coral reefs. There are over 400 species of fish in the park. The Park is a paradise for both expert scuba divers as well as those wishing to snorkel or sail in the native local boats from island to island.

The Mafia archipelago forms part of the coral reef protecting the coast of Tanzania. It is situated about 130 km south of Dar es-Salaam and about 25 km from the mainland, looking towards the huge Rufiji river delta which shaped the island and influenced its ecosystem by supplying nutritional substances at the base of a complex food-chain. The archipelago's wildlife is extremely varied: monkeys, small antelopes, wild pigs, lemurs, as well as a small colony of dwarf hippopotamuses. There are countless types of birds undergoing significant seasonal variations according to the passing migrants. Falcons and fish eagles build their nests on both the small and larger islands.

So the next time you go to Tanzania...why not visit the island and let it take your breath away...not literally!!