[Mandela Washington] He left his job in 2012 after seeing “children who should be in school but were not” Apart from being cute, Otto Orondaam is young, passionate, and driven. You can’t take away his passion for education, especially for vulnerable and underprivileged children. In 2012, Otto was going across 3rd mainland bridge and the huge traffic made him notice the Makoko community sitting on the lagoon.
He visited the community later and discovered that reports of the humanitarian crises in Nigeria and other parts of Africa were true. “I saw thousands of innocent children without clothes littered everywhere; children who should be in school but were not. It was a sad reality and that day I made the decision to resign from the bank and try to solve some of their problems. And that was how Slum2School Africa started,” Otto said. Now that’s what we call passion! Today, less than 5 years later, Slum2School Africa has worked with over 5,000 volunteers across 25 countries and provided support for over 11,000 in Nigeria.
About BellaNaija.com Living & Celebrating the African Dream! [Mandela Washington] World dance champion, Paul Modjadji, in Nigeria with BDB Africa Tour — The Guardian Nigeria. To mark his 10th anniversary in the dance world, South African world dance champion, Paul Modjadji, is visiting various African countries including Nigeria with his Breaking Down Borders (BDB) Africa Tour. The initiative, a pan-African dance tour would see Modjadji make 10 stops on the continent, teaching dance and collaborating with young African civic leaders and artistes. Inspired by his work with the European Star Dance Union (ESDU), Modjadji will use the tour as a means to scout for fresh a talent in the continent to take part in the international dance competition.
He will also use the tour to advocate for dance and arts education while offering dance master classes in the respective countries including Nigeria. Modjadji made history by becoming the first dancer in Africa to win the ESDU World Championships in the solo Jazz category in 2011. As an international dance champion, Modjadji’s list of accolades is as long as his illustrious career. [YALI] Open Letter To Gambia’s President Adama Barrow. (JollofNews) – Dear Mr. President, I am by this letter congratulating you on behalf of the youth of Ghana and The Gambia.
As a private citizen of my country Ghana and my colleagues at the West African Sub Regions we say a very big congratulations to you Mr. President. The vivacious youths of the West African Sub Regions are in intensive prayers to enable our good Allah to guide and protect you and your family in all things not forgetting your Administration and the entire county at large. On the death of your son Mr. The Greatest Responsibility: Being the 3rd President of the 2nd Republic of The Gambia comes with great responsibility. The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) was launched by Ex-President of the United States Barack Obama as a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. Mr. Thank you for the political leadership you provide in the Gambia. Once again congratulations to you Mr. Thank you. [YSEALI] Charges on Malaysian students for dissent show region-wide cancer on free speech. In 2011, four students from a Malaysian public university were on their way to a political rally held during a campaign trail of a by-election.
Mid-journey, police stopped their car for possessing paraphernalia belonging to an opposition party. While the police eventually allowed the students to walk free, the university hauled them up before a disciplinary panel that found them guilty of participating in a pro-opposition event. The students fought all the way to the appellate court and won a landmark decision – a 2-1 ruling vindicated the four by deeming the university’s decision to charge them for merely attending a political rally as unconstitutional. One of the esteemed judges also called the facts of their case an “utter absurdity”. Rights groups and observers felt the Court of Appeal’s decision ushered in a new era for free speech in Malaysia, a country known for its constriction of freedom of expression despite having a Federal Constitution that enshrines it.
Image via UMANY. [YALI] Africa: Where Lies Obama's Africa Legacy? By Zelalem Kibret Addis Abeba — On November 09, 2016 while the GMT + world woke up to a surprising news of victory by the most unexpected candidate in the US election, the US Embassy in Addis Abeba was hosting an election breakfast in one of the most luxurious hotels in Africa, Sheraton Addis. As part of the breakfast, attendants were getting a chance to participate in a simulated election.
Among the 123 peoples who attended the breakfast and participated in the simulated election, 99 of them cast their votes for Secretary Hillary Clinton, 14 voted businessman Donald Trump, and the rest of the votes went to the rest of the low-profile candidates. Given the fact that Africa has never been an agenda (beyond the Benghazi stalemate, which is a Middle Eastern issue under the US diplomatic map) during the presidential race, and for his total disinterest in Africa, we can say that the fourteen votes cast to the President-elect Donald Trump were protest votes. But, protest against who? [YSEALI] Democracy and Human Rights Shouldn’t Take a Backseat in US Southeast Asia Policy. With last month’s observation of International Human Rights Day and the upcoming inauguration of Donald J. Trump, an avowed human rights agnostic, as U.S. president, it is worth taking stock of the role democracy and human rights play in the American foreign policy toolbox.
The incoming Trump administration should note that democratic values facilitate U.S. engagement with global partners and represent a net asset for American world leadership. In Southeast Asia, citizens increasingly demand transparency and respect for individual rights from their governments. From mass protests in Cambodia following the May 2016 killing of dissident Kem Ley, to the Bersih (literally “clean”) movement roiling Malaysia’s political establishment, to hundreds taking to the streets of Bangkok to protest for land rights, regional strongmen have reason to fear their power is under siege. As the world’s most powerful democracy, the United States can and should do more to support Southeast Asia’s democracies.
[YSEALI] Vietnamese Rapper Suboi Appears in White House Video. Vietnamese rapper Suboi appeared in a YouTube video with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tom Hanks and Aung San Suu Kyi. The video shows memorable moments from U.S. President Barack Obama’s eight years in office. Both celebrities and regular people tell about their favorite moments from Obama’s presidency. The White House posted the video on its YouTube channel on January 5. It is about six minutes long and has been played over two million times. One young woman remembered when her third grade class sent a letter to the president. “It was really strange when he actually replied back,” she said. Actor Samuel L. Suboi appeared in the video right after actor and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Suboi remembered what she was thinking when Obama called on her to ask a question during a “town hall” meeting with young Vietnamese in May 2016. Suboi asked the president if he thought it was important for a nation like Vietnam to support its art and culture.
I’m Dan Friedell. [YALI] Obama’s emotional farewell to young leaders | CAJ News Africa. US President Barak Obama By MTHULISI SIBANDA JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – OUTGOING United States President Barack Obama has bade youth in the continent farewell, thanking them for making positive changes in their communities during his tenure.
The first African-American President of the States is vacating the office he assumed in 2009, to make way for successor, the controversial Donald Trump. One of Obama’s legacies is the Young African Leaders Initiative (Yali). “As I leave office, I wanted to take a moment to thank you,” he said in a message to young leaders. Short URL: [Mandela Washington] Josephine Godwyll Inspire Girls To Lead Digital Innovations | News Ghana. Young at Heart Ghana continues to take steps to bridge the rural-urban digital divide The 2015 co-winner of the Tigo Digital Change-makers’ competition and Founder of Young at Heart Ghana, Josephine Marie Godwyll, wants to see more young Ghanaians at the forefront of digital innovations. Ms. Godwyll who is also a 2016 Mandela Washington fellow was speaking at the climax of a four-week ‘Digital Literacy Class’ organized for Junior and Senior Secondary students over the Christmas and New Year holidays in Koforidua, the Eastern region.
Her team took the students through problem identification, design cycle, and programming in HTML. She believes digital literacy fosters inclusion particularly greater community and global participation and this would open young people to several opportunities around the world. “Digital literacy essentially is about finding, evaluating and creating content using ICT. By:Michael Sarpong Bruce. [YALI] Obama’s post-aid legacy for Africa | The Star, Kenya. [YSEALI] Filling in the gaps between studies. WHEN the Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh announced on Facebook that a Gap-Year programme would begin in September, there was a lot of excitement.
Curious to find out more, I posted a question on my Facebook page asking my friends for their thoughts. Some had actually been on a gap-year over different periods of their lives and were happy to share their experiences and views. Farhana Zain (pic), a final-year law student from the International Islamic University Malaysia, took a gap-year from her studies between January and September last year. “It wasn’t intentional, but I will never regret the decision,” she said.
Farhana made the decision when she was selected for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) that was fully sponsored by the United States State Department. “Thankfully, my faculty was supportive in terms of easing my application process.” After completing the YSEALI programme, Farhana just kept going. “It was a real eye-opener,” he said.
[YALI] Young African leaders look back on when they met Obama. As Barack Obama prepares to leave the White House on Friday, we felt it was an opportune time to reflect on a Pan-African youth network created and empowered by his administration, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). For the past three years, I have been involved with many promising talents (so-called YALIs) in the 250,000 member YALI network. I have also been a mentor and juror—from Washington, DC to Nairobi via Accra and Johannesburg—in the Mandela Washington Fellowship, YALI’s flagship programme, which brings up to 1,000 African civic, business and community leaders aged 25–35 for six weeks of academic coursework, leadership training and networking at US universities. The 25-year-old tech entrepreneur Sam Kodo told me that he didn’t want to wash his hand for one month after shaking Obama’s hand.
Emmanuel Odama of Uganda introduces President Barack Obama during the 2016 summit © Chip Somodevilla/Getty It was a privilege to sit in the front row in the full glare of the president. [Mandela Washington] Obama’s Africa legacy: The triumph of symbolism — The Guardian Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari and US President Barack Obama at a meeting at the White House On January 20, Barack Obama’s eight-year presidency will be over. When the Kenyan-Kansan was elected the first black president of the United States (U.S.) in 2008, a wave of “Obamamania” swept across Africa and the Diaspora. By the time Obama visited South Africa, Senegal and Tanzania in 2013, the “Cinderella syndrome” had worn off.
The unrealistic expectations that the U.S. president would transform Africa’s fortunes had not even come close to fruition. American policy towards Africa continued to lack consistent Congressional support, while Africa remained at the bottom of U.S. policy priorities. Obama’s Africa policy was based on four pillars: Democratic governance; conflict management; economic growth and development; and access to quality health and education. Officials of America’s Germany-based Africa Command (AFRICOM) still roam the continent in a seemingly endless “war on terror. . ” • Prof. [YALI] #YALIStands4All participants showi support for rights | YALI. On Human Rights Day (December 10), YALI asked Network members to tell us their stories of when they stood up to bias based on nationality, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, color, physical ability, race, religion, language, and/or economic status.
The results so far have been both overwhelming and inspiring! We would like to share just a few of their stories and hope that they inspire you as well to take a stand for individuals and groups who are suffering human rights abuses in your community. Evelyn Appiah Opoku from Ghana said she still encounters resistance to educating girls or encouraging them to take leadership roles. This has contributed to forced marriages at a young age and teenage pregnancies, as well as their acceptance of inferior roles in society. Other YALI Network members just like you are standing up for the human rights of people in their communities who face discrimination and bias. It’s not too late to join them and tell us about what happened! [Mandela Washington Fellows] Gay Zimbabweans Fight Stigma, Harsh Laws.
Trymore “Tiara” Gendi of Zimbabwe clearly remembers the moment her life changed forever. In 2008, at age 16, she was outed as being gay to her family by a friend. Gendi, who was born a male but identifies as female, returned home to find her mother devastated by the news. “My mom was like, sitting on the floor with rat poison in her hand, crying and saying, ‘I am going to kill myself, saying, I will not have a gay son, I am going to kill myself' that's how I was outed,” she said. Gendi's parents eventually grew to accept her, but that was not the case with society at large. Pictures of her dressed in a wig and high heels began circulating, and people in her neighborhood responded with violence. “People started gathering around discussing what they are going to do to me. Before being injured, Gendi was rescued and taken out of the neighborhood by local LGBT activists who kept her safe in hiding for months.
Gendi's story is not unusual. And Zimbabwe is not alone. Catch-22 'Our own places' [Mandela Washington] Is there an Obama legacy in Africa? — The Guardian Nigeria. US President Barack Obama / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB In a matter of days, President Barack Obama will be stepping down after eight years in office. It is difficult to effectively capture the significance of his election and time as President in words. As he put it, many still can’t believe we pulled this whole thing off.
But it was done. Obama has carried himself well, even in the face of disrespect for his person in some quarters. In the effortless grace he has exuded lies a symbolism not lost on the discerning. Eight years after, many are disappointed. Some even argue that it is difficult to identify a coherent Obama policy on Africa. In 2013, Obama launched Power Africa with the goal of doubling access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. I do not know the level of progress that has been made with Power Africa but that the programme addresses the lack of access to electricity speaks to the depth of thought and deliberation on what ails Africa under the Obama Presidency.
[YALI] Rex Tillerson Hearing | User Clip. [YALI] A Heart for Africa: Staff group wants to be part of the conversation on Africa policies.