4 minute read

Play is Safe

Park under a light whenever possible, keep your keys in your hand with one key sticking out, it’s a great weapon.

https://youtu.be/YeQxt-_Sf1Q

Play it SAFE

The best way to be safe, first and foremost is to have a healthy level of awareness. Most people afterbeing attacked will tell you they felt something was off at least sixty seconds before being attacked. Pay attention to your surroundings, don’t walk looking down at your phone, walk looking straight ahead and walk confidently, attackers look for victims. Have a safetly plan in place at home and at work. Have someone on speed dial you know you can count on and a safe word that will let them know you are in trouble. Make certain someone knows where you are at all times. The following are simple safety techniques, remember the goal is to get away, strike like you mean it!

Elbow and knees are great for defense https://youtu.be/Aq16HowmLPE

Two strikes are harder to defend https://youtu.be/6NOwX4YwYbc

NDILC Member Tami Bonnell, CEO of EXIT Realty, is a second degree black belt in Taekwondo who has taught Safety nationally for CRS. She has taught at-risk youth for the Attorney General, and she served as President of a battered women's shelter, where she sat on the board for 15 years and taught self defense for their entire families.

Women Helping Girls:

How A High School Alumnae Association in the U.S. is Fighting COVID-19 In Africa

In February 2020, Ms. Esther Ayuk, resident in Atlanta, GA, visited her former high school, Saker Baptist College in Cameroon, Central Africa, in her capacity as President of Ex Saker Students Association (ExSSA USA). This robust 12-chapter alumnae association of an all-girls boarding Christian secondary and high school is now based in the U.S. During that visit she found out the school continues to suffer from inadequate water supply.

The current supply source of water is from a bore hole that is grossly inadequate for the 900 plus student body, faculty and staff. Water shortage in most African countries is a well-documented problem. As a public health expert, a real estate broker, and a delegate spokeswoman in the housing ecosystem, Ms. Ayuk started strategizing on how her organization can help rectify this sanitation and hygiene hazard in the school. Then the coronavirus pandemic happened, which elevated the water shortage on campus to a health crisis. Due to inadequate water supply and the need for social distancing, the students ranging from eight to 17 years old were sent home. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, the World Health Organization’s main preventive recommendation remains the same: wash hands often with water and soap. This is not going to be doable for the young girls at Saker if the water shortage on campus is not resolved.

The problem facing Saker Baptist College is symptomatic of the geographical region. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 63 percent of people in urban areas where one can find clusters of the virus find it difficult to access basic water supply for washing of hands.

Consequently, the alumnae of the school now resident in the U.S. are bent on protecting these young girls from this dangerous virus. With schools out till September, ExSSA USA is raising funds through donations and other charitable sources to make water available and accessible in their beloved alma mater to enable students to return to a campus that can at least guarantee the continuous washing of hands.

It should be noted that EX-SAKER STUDENTS ASSO

"Water shortage in most African countries is a well-documented problem."

CIATION USA INC., a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization has over 350 members fondly known as “Sakerettes.” The organization believes that empowering women and girls, providing them with educational and economic opportunities, securing their health and human rights are all essential in eliminating poverty and achieving social justice in Cameroon and beyond.

In 2019, ExSSA USA co-sponsored the International Day of the Girl alongside other organizations with the UN Foundation. The organization also hosts an annual Impact day during which its chapter members go out to volunteer and impact their local communities. In April 2020, limited by the shut down due to the COVID virus, ExSSA USA fulfilled its charitable commitment to local communities by making financial donations to No Kid Hungry, Meals on Wheels, and Direct Relief as well as providing lunch to two units at Veterans Affairs hospital in Washington, D.C.

The association welcomes individuals, organizations and corporations who can help or partner with them to fulfil their mission. Please contact Esther Ayuk for more information at 770-714-2846 or president@exssa-usa.org

Esther Ayuk Managing Broker, Bess Realty Professionals NAWRB Certified Delegate Spokeswoman