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Vol 10 Issue 1

January 2018

Do You Want Your Business, Church or Event on the Ex-Soccer Star Weah Wins Liberia's Presidential Web ?

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Liberia: Ex-Soccer Star George Weah Wins Liberia's Presidential Poll

See How African Leaders, Football Stars And Liberians Celebrated George Weah’s Election Victory

@pnkurunziza Congratulations to @GeorgeWeahOff, most likely President elect of Liberia. His talents have made him an exceptional footballer and will certainly make him a Senator Weah won by 61.5% beating Vice President Joseph Boakai Great Statesman. He's an inspiration for Burundi and for who garnered 38.5% votes out of the 98.1% votes counted, National Africa. https://twitter.com/pnkurunziza/status/946459756968992769 …

Elections Commission Chairman Jerome Korkoyah announced on Thursday evening in the capital Monrovia.

3:04 PM - Dec 28, 2017 18 18 Replies 116 116 Retweets 146 146 likes In a very emotional post on his Twitter page on Thursday, Twitter Ads info and privacy December 28th, President Weah thanked his fellow Liberians for granting him the mantle of leadership.

Roch M. C. KABORE ✔ George Weah @rochkaborepf ✔ Congratulations Mr George Weah on winning the @GeorgeWeahOff Liberian Presidential election. Wishing you and Liberian My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation. I people all the best. Greetings from Burkina Faso. RK measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on.

8:04 PM - Dec 28, 2017 9 9 Replies 39 39 Retweets 197 197 likes 2:34 PM - Dec 28, 2017 Twitter Ads info and privacy 1,618 1,618 Replies 8,647 8,647 Retweets 21,096 21,096 likes French President, Emmanuel Macron also extended his Twitter Ads info and privacy warmest congratulations to him.

Several African leaders took to their Twitter pages to congratulate the newly elected Liberian President.

Emmanuel Macron ✔ @EmmanuelMacron Nana Akufo-Addo Congratulations to Mister George for this election! Great ✔ moment for Liberia! @NAkufoAddo Warm congratulations to George Oppong Weah on his decisive vic7:35 PM - Dec 28, 2017 tory in Liberia’s peaceful presidential run-off, thus becoming the 147 147 Replies 543 543 Retweets 2,369 2,369 likes next President of the Republic of Liberia. Vice President Boakai is Twitter Ads info and privacy also to be commended for the maturity of his campaign.

Former football star George Manneh Weah has won Liberia’s presidential runoff election by over 60% of the vote to succeed Africa’s first democratically elected female president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is the President-elect of Liberia and a retired professional footballer, who played as a striker.

Born: October 1, 1966 (age 51), Monrovia, Liberia Spouse: Clar Weah Education: DeVry University Awards: Ballon d'Or, FIFA World Player of the Year, MORE Nationality: French, Liberian Children: Timothy Weah, George Weah Jr.

Source:Wikipedia

Former soccer star George Weah has been declared the winner of Liberia's presidential election.

The country's electoral commission said that Weah won 61.5 percent of the total vote and won 14 out of Liberia's 15 counties.

Weah ran against Vice President Joseph Boakai to replace President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is stepping down after two terms, the maximum allowed under Liberia's constitution.

The election commission said voter turnout was 56 percent lower than the October 10 election in which Boakai and Weah were the top vote-getters, qualifying them for the runoff election.

Observers said polling stations were better organized than during the October vote, and there were few reports of problems. The National Elections Commission said a woman who tried to vote twice was caught and arrested.

Weah's running mate was senator Jewel Howard-Taylor. She is the ex-wife of former rebel leader and president Charles Taylor, who sparked Liberia's civil war in 1989 and is serving a 50-year prison sentence in Britain for his role in atrocities in Sierra Leone.

Taylor still has supporters in Liberia, and his ex-wife is credited with helping Weah win key counties in the first round of voting.

If all goes smoothly, Liberia will see its first peaceful and democratic transfer of power in more than 70 years.

5:06 AM - Dec 29, 2017 · Accra, Ghana

Uhuru Kenyatta ✔ @UKenyatta My very warmest congratulations to President-elect @GeorgeWeahOff. His excellence and persistence have now won him the leadership of his people. Kenya sends its very best wishes to him and his administration. We look forward to closer ties in the years ahead. Congratulations!

1:29 PM - Dec 28, 2017 Pierre Nkurunziza ✔

Didier Drogba ✔ @didierdrogba It is indeed!!!!!! Félicitations Mr Georges https://twitter.com/anthonybaffoe/status/945819632392462336 …

6:48 AM - Dec 27, 2017 59 59 Replies 566 566 Retweets 1,733 1,733 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy Congratulatory messages from the football fraternity also poured in after it was officially confirmed the former FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or winner is the new President of Liberia.

Africanlove: 8 Power Couples Still Going Strong

January

Nigerian actress Omotola and husband Capt. Matthew Ekeinde

We want the whole package. A genuine and loving romance, a fulfilling career, a beautiful place to call home. The journey to these goals is definitely a roller coaster and can be difficult for some to attain. Below are African couples who are showing us that it isn’t impossible to find a lasting love and sustain a successful career and life while doing so.

Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker Mr Kodjoe, born Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey OfuateyKodjoe is the German and Ghanaian actor who’s appeared in television and blockbuster films. Mr Kodjoe was named 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 2002 and it is easy to see why. Ms Parker is a producer and actor in her own right and has appeared on screen with her husband as seen in the series Soul Food. Ms Parker and Mr Kodjoe met on set while filming Soul Food and have been married for 12 years and have two children.

Photo credit: Motherhood-In-Style-Magazine

Folorunsho and Modupe Alakija Mrs Alakija is a Nigerian businesswoman who is the second richest African woman. She is the vice chair of Famfa oil which is in partnership with Chevron and Petrobras. Alakija worked in the fashion, printing, corporate banking, and textiles fields before amassing her massive wealth in the crude oil business. Mr Alakija is a lawyer and got married to Mrs Alakija in 1976. Mr and Mrs Alakija have four children and a plethora of grandchildren.

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4. Basetsana and Romeo Kumalo

Mr Kumalo is a telecommunications mogul from South Africa who holds high-profile positions such as CEO and founder of Washirika Holdings, director of Kalon venture partners and serves on numerous boards. Mr Kumalo has also appeared on the South African rendition of the famed television show Shark Tank. Mrs Kumalo is a businesswoman, beauty queen, and television personality. Mr and Mrs Kumalo began dating in 1997 and married in 2000. They have 3 children.

Zari Hassan and Diamond Platinumz Originally Zarinah, Ms Hassan is a singer, college founder, and cosmetics businesswoman of Ugandan, Indian, Burundian, and Somalian descent. Naseeb Abdul Juma or Diamond Platinumz is a Tanzanian recording artist who’s gaining popularity in the mainstream music scene due to his collaborations with rapper Rick Ross and Nigeria’s Davido. Ms Hassan and Mr Juma are proud parents of two children.

Photo credit: Accra 24

Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams and Rosa Whitaker Duncan Williams Archbishop Williams is the overseer and chairing archbishop of Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM) in Ghana, Accra.

Archbishop Duncan Williams founded and led the charismatic movement in Ghana and the west of Africa 40 years ago which is still extremely prevalent today. CAFM has 300 memberships and branches worldwide. Mrs Whitaker Duncan Williams is the CEO of The Whitaker Group, an African consultancy company which formulated the African Growth and Opportunity Act; Mrs Whitaker Duncan Williams as the initial assistant U.S. trade representative for Africa under the Clinton and Bush regimes. Mr and Mrs Duncan Williams married in 2008 after Mr Duncan Williams divorced his first wife of 26 years.

Sandra Appiah and Isaac Babu-Boateng Mr Babu-Boateng is an entrepreneur and CEO of Babu Global which oversees businesses in the media, entertainment, technology, and real-estate to name a few. Mr Babu-Boateng was named Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30: Africa’s Best Young Entrepreneur’s list. Mr Babu-Boateng is the leading pioneer in the progression of the Pan-African Millennial movement. Ms Appiah is the CEO of Face2Face Africa and managing partner of Babu Global. Ms Appiah formerly served as the COO of Face2Face Africa and has worked with MTV, HBO, and The New York Times. Ms Appiah has also been featured on Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30: Africa’s Best Young Entrepreneur’s list.

Mohammed and Haina Ibrahim Mr Ibrahim is a Sudanese entrepreneur who founded Celtel International, one of the pioneering companies to provide cellular phone service in Africa and the Middle East. Dedicated to fighting corruption, Mr Ibrahim founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF) which intends to instil leadership skills and the advancement of governance in Africa. Mrs Ibrahim was a consultant radiologist who now works with Mr Ibrahim in aiding in the advancement of Africa via the MIF. https://face2faceafrica.com

Israel: African migrants told to leave or face imprisonment January

From the Editor

O u r G r ea tes t G lor y is n o t in n ever f a llin g b u t in r is in g ever y time we f a ll .

We ar e committted to b r in gin g th e commu n ity th e bes t in N ews f r om Af r ica a n d th e D ia s p or a .  Yo u may als o vis it o u r web s ite a t www. af r ik an pos t. co m f o r d aily n ews u p da tes o n Af r ica.

D is cla imer : Th e o p in ion s ex pr es s ed in ar ticles a n d s to r ies in th is N ews p aper ar e th o s e o f th e a u th o r s a n d do n ot n eces s a r ily r ef lect th e views o f Af r ikan Pos t . All commen ts a n d s u g g es tio n s a r e welco me.

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D E PA R T M E N T S Vol 10 Issue 1

CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT

Obaapa Christy Ordained As Pastor Pg. 8

Makerere to Award Winnie Mandela With Honorary Doctorate Pg. 32

Hollywood Star Of Ghanaian Descent Boris Kodjoe Spotted At Makola Market Page 9

Keeping Your Charge Pg. 11

Philadelphia Hosts Samira Bawumia At A Dinner Dance Pg. 10

UPDATE

Teenager Maame Biney makes history as first female AfricanAmerican speedskating Olympian Pg. 9

The Israeli government has issued a notice for thousands of African migrants to leave the country or face imprisonment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that an unchecked influx of African migrants could threaten Israel's Jewish character.

The UN refugee agency said the controversial plan violated international and Israeli laws.

http://www.bbc.com

Presentational grey line A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who They will be given the option of going to their have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing warhome country or third countries. torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be If they do not leave, the Israeli authorities have granted refugee status, as well as people who are threatened that they will start jailing them from seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.

April.

The migrants will be given up to $3,500 (ÂŁ2,600) for leaving within the next 90 days.

Israel's unwanted African migrants The Israeli government says their return will be humane and "voluntary".

The order exempts children, elderly people, and victims of slavery and human trafficking.

A spokesperson for Israel's Population and Immigration Authority told the BBC there were currently 38,000 "infiltrators" in Israel, of whom just 1,420 were being held in detention facilities.

Israel uses the term "infiltrators" to describe people who did not enter the country through an official border crossing.

Many of the migrants - who are mostly from Eritrea and Sudan - say they came to Israel to seek asylum after fleeing persecution and conflict, but the authorities regard them as economic migrants.

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Obaapa Christy Ordained As Pastor

Ghanaian gospel musician Obaapa Christy has been ordained as reverend minister at a church in the United States of America.

The ordination took place on 17th December, 2017 at Divine Prayer Line at Sprinfield, Virginia – USA by Bishop Dr. Adonteng Boateng.

She had left for the United States of America for a three-day convention at the church when the ordination took place.

In an interview with her manager, Quame Owusu Daquah, he told Citi Showbiz that even though Obaapa has been ordained at the Divine Prayer Line church, she can minister everywhere she goes.

Her manager had earlier taken to Facebook to congratulate her on her ordination.

“As your manager, when I saw U off at the airport to the states I had in mind you would return with ‘plenty dollar’.

Little did I know God had other plans for U. Today, I salute your anointing and congratulate you for your ordination. The job has just began and together we will win souls for Christ.

God bless your ministry Rev. Obaapa Adwoa Christy. God bless your beautiful soul. Thank you Bishop Adonteng Boateng.” he wrote.

Source: citifmonline.com

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Teenager Maame Biney Makes History As First Female AfricanAmerican Speedskating Olympian January

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about them or anything, but we’re not the most mature people in the world. We are not. Even though I’m 17, I feel like I’m a 12-year-old. I am not ready to be 18 in four months.”

That youthfulness also leads to a lack of confidence.

Biney was the second American woman since 1996 to earn a junior worlds medal, but she still doubts herself competing against Olympians like Jessica Kooreman, Lana Gehring and Katherine Reutter-Adamek.

National team coach Anthony Barthell and the team psychologist work with Biney on getting out of her own head. Barthell said experience will help as she better learns to master her trade.

Seventeen-year-old dominates 500-meter events at U.S. Team Trials

KEARNS, Utah (AP) — Maame Biney seems like the typical teenager. She giggles with her friends, is making her way through the Harry Potter movies and wants to go to homecoming.

But that’s where typical ends for the 17-year-old speed skating phenom.

Biney is on a path to be the next great U.S. short track skater with the Olympics six months way. The junior world championships bronze medalist won the World Cup qualifier this weekend against Olympians and skaters 10-plus years her senior.

She won three of six finals over the three days and should be named to her first World Cup team on Tuesday.

Biney is intimidated, sure, but that hasn’t stopped her from chasing her dreams.

“Before I came here in the month of June, I had a week worth of dreams about going to the Olympics,” Biney said. “I woke up and was like, ‘[Gasp], oh no, I’m not there!’

“But I’m so excited to go if I make it. And I really want to make it. … [It would be] mind-blowing.”

The journey to this point has been a bit random. Biney, born in 2000, moved to the U.S. from Ghana to be with her father at 5 years old. She was supposed to be coming for a short visit and cried her eyes out when she first arrived.

Her father, Kweku, had to pull the car over three times after picking Maame up from the airport to settle her down. She wanted to go home. But a trip to the mall and J.C. Penney started to change her mind, and soon afterward Maame was repeatedly asking to stay.

Kweku was living in Rockville, Md., and found a school and daycare and their new life began. One day they were driving down the street in Reston, Va., and Kweku looked over and saw a sign that read “Learn To Skate This Fall.” He asked Maame if she was interested, and that’s how it all started.

“She’s a natural athlete,” Barthell said. “Most natural athletes have a hard transition to skating because speedskating is so unnatural. It goes against everything you’re taught as an athlete. So for her, she’s learned how to skate and is able to use her natural athletic abilities.

Ice skating isn’t exactly a popular endeavor in Ghana, so she didn’t know anything about the sport. She’d never seen a rink, but Kweku signed her up anyway.

“We weren’t looking for anything, we were just driving around,” Kweku said. “She didn’t even know what skating was.

She didn’t even know what that word was and I explained it to her.

“Only thing cold in Ghana is cold beer.”

Maame was a natural. It didn’t take long before the coach suggested speed skating.

Twelve years later, Maame has moved to Salt Lake City to train in hopes of making the Olympic team. The short track trials begin Dec. 15, where up to five women could qualify for PyeongChang.

Editor’s Note: One athlete in U.S. Winter Olympic history was born in Africa — biathlete Dan Westover, who was born in Madagascar and competed at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, according to Olympic historian Bill Mallon. Biney and skeleton slider Nathan Crumpton, who was born in Kenya, could both make the PyeongChang team.

Kweku suggested taking the year off from high school, but she didn’t want to fall behind. Maame wanted to graduate with her friends, so the school arranged for her to take online classes to stay on track while she trains.

Those types of decisions are the hardest part for Maame, who misses out on many of the normal teenage trappings.

“I feel like that’s the worst part of skating 24-7, not being able to go to homecoming the last three years and not able to hang out with my friends whenever they want to do something,” Maame said through another bout of laugher. “It’s like, ‘Oh, no, I can’t, I have practice.’ I like it, because I also have friends here. So it’s kind of like a win-win kind of situation, in a way.

“Not having a very good social life, I guess. I’m surrounded by speed skaters all the time, and I’m not saying anything bad

“In my eyes, I feel she can be one of the top girls in the world. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but she has the potential.”

Kooreman remembers hearing about Biney four years ago from her coach and Gehring. At 33, Kooreman is aiming for her second Olympics and first medal while 16 years older than Biney.

“Her mentality as a skater and her personality … she reminds me a little bit of myself,” Kooreman said.

“She’s a fighter. She enjoys what she does. She’s energetic and brings good enthusiasm to the team.

“It’s nice to have new blood out there and young blood that’s wanting to learn and excited to just skate every day.” http://www.sltrib.com/s

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How A Liberian Refugee Got To Be A Montana Mayor That's how I got my first taste of political life.

What can Liberia learn from American politics?

I had an uphill battle because I was running against a very popular 16-year incumbent, a really decent person. But I was determined. And so, if I had to tell the Liberians anything, [it's that] they must first trust in their legal system. I would tell them to trust the legal system, and hard work and dedication will pay off. That's what happened here.

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Philadelphia Hosts Samira Bawumia At A Dinner Dance

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What was the reaction from your friends and family here and in Liberia when you won?

In a year of anti-refugee sentiment in many corners of the world (and especially in the U.S.), one former refugee and first-time candidate ran for office — and won.

Twenty-three years before Wilmot Collins became the mayor-elect of Helena, Mont., he was a refugee from Liberia. He stood in a long line at the port of Monrovia, Liberia, waiting for a cargo vessel to carry him away from the country's civil war.

Running on a progressive platform this November, Collins unseated a fourterm incumbent in the capital city of Montana, a state where just over half a percent of the population is black. Collins, 54, will be sworn in on Jan. 2.

"I ran on funding, trying to fund the providers of essential services like our police and our firefighters because we realize that there have been many occasions where our firefighters had not been able to answer calls ... because they were short-staffed," Collins told NPR shortly after the election. "So I went out and started campaigning on providing funding for essential services, and curbing our veterans and teenage homelessness. And it resonated with the voters."

His campaign was not an attempt to make a statement amid national and worldwide debate about the treatment and tolerance of refugees. But that's often how his story is perceived.

Now a child protection specialist for the Montana Department of Health and Human Services and a Navy reservist, Collins lives across the street from the school where he worked as a janitor upon arriving in Montana. When fleeing Liberia, he says he and his wife once had nothing to eat but toothpaste.

We talked with Collins at his home this month, sitting with him at his dining room table. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview Highlights Were there preconceptions or prejudices that came up while you were running for office?

I hear that a lot. But I knocked on a lot of doors. I participated in every event, every forum that was held. The people of Helena were only concerned with issues in Helena. I don't think they were looking at me saying, "Whoa, this black guy in a predominantly white community." No, I think they were just looking at someone who wanted to serve.

Was there anything about your upbringing in Liberia that led you to want to be a mayor or a leader in a community?

I went to the University of Liberia. I completed my bachelor's in political science and sociology; I was very involved in the student government. At the time, the military had taken over the country, and we in the political science department were up in arms. And that's how I got my first taste of activism.

I've been getting congratulatory messages from everybody across the country — Texas, Florida, California, I mean you name it, Rhode Island. My friends were happy. We cheered.

We divided cigars.

In Liberia, every newspaper carried the story. I got more calls from Liberia than anywhere else. I got a call on behalf of the [Liberian] president.

And then when I started getting the national media involvement, I was saying, "Oh geez. How is this happening?" I was only running a small Helena election campaign. I didn't think I was making history. I just wanted to be mayor.

Why do you think your story got so much national attention?

When I was running, I was not running as a refugee, but with what's been going on nationally with refugees I think it was good to know that all refugees are not what [critics] say they are. We're not bloodsuckers. We are not just here to consume the resources. We provide for the economy.

I've met so many refugees all around the country — doctors, nurses, social workers, poets, authors, dentists. You name it, they're all over the place. So while I would not say we are all model citizens, we're no different from the ordinary people.

And so I guess that's why this thing hit national.

Have you experienced a change in your own identity as a Liberian man since moving to America and deciding to represent the people of Helena?

When I came to Montana, there weren't a lot — there still aren't a lot — of African-Americans or black people. And kids are curious. People are curious. They hear my accent and want to know where I'm from. And it's not because they want to degrade you, demean you or anything. When I can see that they genuinely don't know, I use the moment as an educational one. And when you feel accepted, you want to give back.

You are motivated to be a part of that community. And I felt accepted.

https://www.npr.org

Corin Cates-Carney covers politics and policy for Montana Public Radio. His works has appeared on NPR, The Atlantic, PBS and other outlets. Contact him @clccarney

Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection welcomes the 2nd Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Mrs Samira Bawumia.

She is on a three-day working visit to the Philadelphia area in January at the invitation of the US-Ghana Chamber of Commerce.

The culmination of her visit is the dinner dance scheduled for January 27 2018, 7pm onwards in Philadelphia, PA. The event will also celebrate global female professionals and businesses.

The Chairpersons for the event are Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and Dr. Ellyn Jo Waller, First Lady of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

This fun-filled event will amongst others recognize the work of Hon. Lisette Shirdan Harris, USA Director of the International Association of Women Judges and Hon. Freda Prempeh, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing(Ghana).

The MC for the evening is Ms. Renee Chenault Fattah, Former NBC 10 News Anchor. This evening promises to be a night of great music, food, dancing and networking.

Keeping Your Charge

closer to understand Him and His intended ongoing relationship, role and purpose with and for us. You see, the parable of the talents (Mathew 25: 14-30) is very telling because even as the master gave one, two and five talents to three different servants, He intended them to use them and make something of them until he returned. And by using the talents, these servants were in essence worshiping God, for they were being of service to God with their very lives, for they have been entrusted with a stake in the Kingdom of God. So yes, we all have a stake in the Kingdom of God and we are to take charge of it by committing our gifts to use and use them effectively, impactfully, and in spirit and in truth. We are not to be like the one servant who did not utilize his one talent but rather Dr. Miriam C. Gyimah buried it.

The act of using my gift of writing and communication, my A charge to keep I have, gift of administration and organization within the church and A God to glorify, even within the community for the purposes of these entities’ A never dying soul to save progression and betterment is a form of worship. Using these And fit it for the sky. gifts and talents in these spaces for positive impact and in keeping with the word of God is us doing our part in God’s To serve this present age, kingdom. Preaching and teaching the word of God in the My calling to fulfill, church, streets and other venues, if that is your rightful talent, O, may it all my powers engage is keeping your charge. Even teaching and administering in To do my Master’s will. the public or private schools, where you have an impact on the knowledge and growth of your students in the expansion of I was turning in to bed and wanted to spend a little time with the Lord. I had woken up on this day and got their talents, abilities and minds, preparing them to become responsible and knowledgeable members of the world’s comto running around all over to do all that I had on my munity, is a form of worship and it is consistent with keeping busy agenda that I didn’t get a chance to do my usual your charge. If your part is catering services within the treasured quiet time with the Lord. So before going to bed, I picked up my Bible and even as I closed my eyes church, where you provide food and refreshments for visitors, to say a quick prayer before reading, out of somewhere, Sunday school students, or for church anniversaries and special occasions, know that you are keeping your charge; you or someone would say, out of nowhere, the above song are worshiping The Lord your God. All these are in fact minby Charles Wesley came. I began singing it though I istries and by committing to your ministry, you are making an thought it interesting that such a song should make its way through my throat since, although I know it, I hard- impact in improving and furthering the work of God. Now, having said all of this, let us be aware that while each ly ever sing it. As I sang the first verse, which I know and every one of us have been purposed to have talents and by heart, I thought to myself, what is my charge? And gifts and to bear influence in this our world, for however long as if I knew it already, the spontaneous response from we are here, there will be challenges and hindrances to thwart within me was “to worship God in spirit and in truth.” the progression and success that the Lord has intended for (John 4:24) Our charge to keep, our purpose, our reason for being, you. These challenges and hindrances can come from ouris to worship God and worship Him in spirit and in truth. selves, as in our laziness, our procrastination, our unprofessionalism, our sloppiness, our pride, our improper or even We are not to worship Him simply from our flesh as in abusive means by which we treat these talents and our work, using our hands, voices or bodies as gestures or out of not keeping in mind the privilege with which we have been self and ego, but to worship Him in spirit. Worshiping honored and the responsibility with which we have been God in spirit means our spirit must be shed of any ills entrusted. Why do you oppress with your gift instead of liberand self-will and connect with the Spirit of God where ate?

Why are you so permissive and not employ reasonable we unite as one, even as He comes to inhabit in our guidelines and standards for yourself and others that you lose praises. So just as the angels in heaven worship the your moral ground and the respect of your labor? How does Almighty God around the clock as it is attested in the that make your gift effective? It is rather compromised. A book of Revelations, so also must we worship Him. compromised output is not keeping your charge; it is not worOne may ask, how do we worship Him like the angels shiping in spirit and in truth. since unlike the angels, we are charged with the neverAttempts to thwart our ministries, our worship, and our ending task to work and take care of our families? charge will also surely come from outside forces, physical and While it might be true that we may not have the privispiritual.

You see, it is God’s desire to use us effectively even lege or even the stamina to worship the Lord around the as He has endowed us, but it is Satan’s, our chief adversary’s, clock, the charge to keep still remains. And so aside intention and purpose to prevent us from fulfilling our life’s from our daily communication, praise and worship of work, our charge, our worship in spirit and truth to divert us to God, aside from our quiet times and attending church a useless, barren end and even destruction. So when you are services, our charge, our worshiping of God is simply working in His vineyard. Plainly put, worshiping God is busy working for the Lord in the church, community or at work and individuals here and there clandestinely or even being serviceable to Him with the very talents and gifts overtly try to trip you, know that the enemy is at work and is that He has graciously endowed us. wishing your ineffectiveness, discredit, and even plotting your Our charge is to be connected to Him in service always. Writing this last sentence itself makes my heart downfall. He or she does not want you to succeed simply because of envy or jealousy. They despise the glory that God leap with affirmation, because the Lord is drawing me

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has bestowed upon you and wish it were theirs. They resent the respect you have from your peers and community and want to separate you from it. It is an evil intention, but it is real and it is at work. So while you are busily and happily at work for God, be vigilant; be wise and be in tune with your God each and every day even as He directs you to navigate those bumps and hurdles which He knows will surely be there as you utilize your talents for His glory.

Remember, keeping your charge is worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. It is not performing your role to bring attention to yourself, to demonstrate how good you are although you might be very good. It is not about the accolades that will be showered upon you.

It is not the appellations that will flow out of the mouths of people about you. Keeping your charge, glorifying your God with your talent, and fulfilling your part in this great world, is not at all about you, but all about your God and Creator and His intention for all of creation. You are the vessel and if the vessel is made beautiful by the Potter, know that the vessel is a tool created for a purpose. Too many people want to know what is in it for them when they do this and they do that. What am I going to get out of it?

What is the church going to give me? What rewards or acknowledgements will my service to my job place and my community yield me? Well, then why should I do it if there is nothing in it for me? If this is your thinking, then you don’t know and clearly do not understand your purpose in relationship to your Creator. If this is your mentality, then clearly you have not heard of nor read the parable of the talents or perhaps you have but you have simply rejected the teaching.

What is beautiful is God’s plan and intention for all of His creation. What is beautiful is that God the Creator has intentionally created and breathed in all of us, as worshiping and working beings, a multiplicity of talents and gifts to take part in this great world of His own making, giving us all a mission and assignments for the tenure of our lives as a means to worship and be a living part of His vision. But what is more beautiful is that while we are all working in this great vineyard, while we are all worshiping Him in truth and in spirit through our multiple means, He works alongside us, “for we are co-laborers with God” (I Corinthians 3:9). The Bible tells us, He inhabits in the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3), so let us be mindful that even our work is a living testament to God. Even our work invokes the presence of God each and every moment that we are performing it. So let us take joy, let us take pride, let us have purpose and good intention and put forth our very best effort each and every time we step in our roles to perform our duties. Let us not get in our own way with sloppy, careless and half-hearted service. And let us not let our enemies hinder our work and defer our mission.

Let us know that we have a “charge to keep,” “a God to glorify,” “a calling to fulfill,” “to serve this present age” and “to do our Master’s will.”

Top 10 Apps created by Africans in 2017

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the country.

Rescue, Egypt

Shadw Helal, a young Egyptian entrepreneur, recently launched an Android mobile app called Rescue to help fight sexual harassment in the Egyptian capital Cairo. The app uses voice commands and panic buttons to send alerts to emergency workers across Cairo. With this app, a person can send emergency calls to rescuers within a one kilometer distance radius.

Spot, South Africa

A group of South African developers recently developed a mobile app to help locals send money as easily as sending a text message. Spot is a person-to-person money transfer software that uses a push-and-pull system from one account to another. The app allows users to use all credit and debit cards provided they are internet-enabled.

In this era of digital technology, new innovations are coming up almost on an hourly basis as developers outdo each other in creating the next big application. African developers have not been left behind in the rush.

These are the top 10 apps created by Africans in 2017.

Kudi, Nigeria

Founded by two Nigerians, Pelumi Aboluwarin and Adeyinka Adewale, Kudi is a new financial service application designed to provide users with access to digital banking and financial services. It uses conversational interfaces, artificial intelligence as well as natural language processing to give reliable and speedy access to financial services on mobile devices. The app also enables users to carry out safe financial transactions via telegram, Skype, Facebook, and Slack.

Carter, South Africa

Carter is a simple phone application developed by three South African entrepreneurs, Amit Bholla, Tom Gardner and Vikash Govindjee, to help South Africans find the best car deals from local dealers. The app allows buyers to compare and contrast prices from multiple car dealers without breaking a sweat. It also allows them to search for pictures and specs of the latest cars in South Africa.

Traveller, Cameroon

With the ever-rising cases of fatal road accidents in Cameroon, a young Cameroonian app developer, Achiri Arnold Nji, recently developed a mobile application that will help to improve road safety in the country. Traveler is a simple app that uses the GPS technology to monitor vehicles on the road. The app logs essential information about the car, including speed and location. Passengers in public transport vehicles can also report cases of overcrowding and careless driving via Traveler.

Legal Wallet Mobile Application, Malawi

A young Malawian mobile developer, Alfred Andrew Kankuzi, recently created Legal Wallet Mobile Application with the hope of teaching Malawians about the existing laws. The app provides a mobile-based access to different laws of the land and allows users to receive government updates from various sectors of the economy.

It also provides information on court judgments as well as legal service providers in

Usalama, Kenya

With crime rates still high in many parts of Kenya, especially in the capital city Nairobi, a quick solution is needed to guarantee Kenyans and visitors their safety. This is what motivated Edwin Ingaji, a Kenyan university student, to develop Usalama, a mobile app that enables users to send emergency alerts to law enforcers whenever they are in danger. A person only needs to shake the phone three times to open the app and then hold down the volume button to send the alert.

Traffica, Uganda

Due to the never-ending traffic jam in the Ugandan capital Kampala, a group of Ugandans thought it wise to develop a mobile app that will provide road users with real-time information about the traffic situation in and around the city. So they came up with Traffica, an app that enables residents of Kampala to share traffic updates in real time.

Mbele, Nigeria

Mbele, a smartphone app designed by Peter Ayeni, a Nigerian developer, aims to improve learning in Nigeria by giving learners a fun way of acquiring information using technology. According to Ayeni, the app is a special learning platform with the capacity to transform how young Nigerians do their studies. Mbele also enables young learners to compete by giving them curriculum-based soft skills, general knowledge and vocational video lessons.

Dropping, Ghana

Launched in June 2017, Dropping is an equivalent of Uber, but it offers additional riding services such as private and elite car hire services.

According to its co-founder and director of marketing George Akomeah, Dropping does not charge commissions on rides, which makes it different from Uber and the rest.

FREDRICK NGUGI Senior Writer https://face2faceafrica.com

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Odomankoma Nana

Tune in to Highlife Radio Every Saturday at 4pm for a Special Program by Odomankoma Nana .

Veteran Radio Presenter and Master of Ceremonies.

To Book the Eloquent Odomankoma to be your MC at any event call 703 725 6968

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A Chance To Make Things Right: Britain’s Prince Harry Now African Parks President

Prince Harry, the Duke of Cambridge’s longtime obsession with the African continent has now morphed into a high position: President of African Parks.

In a statement released on December 27th, Kensington Palace shared and explained the news: “African Parks is a conservation NGO, founded in 2000, that manages national parks and protected areas on behalf of governments and in collaboration with local communities across Africa. With 13 parks under management, they oversee the largest area under conservation for any NGO on the African continent.”

Prince Harry is fast becoming a steady advocate for wildlife conservation and from the statement and the magnitude of the reserve under the NGO’s management, it is clear that this responsibility is one of both personal and professional significance.

Prince Harry & Africa

According to an interview with writer, Klara Glowczewska of Two & Country, Prince Harry has long engaged with the African continent. He discovered and fell in love with Africa when his father took him and William on a safari soon after their mother, Princess Diana, died.

This childhood fascination has morphed into a passion for which the Prince now sets aside four to six weeks every summer. As he explained to Glowczewska, he comes to Africa, “not on safari,” but to spend time with “the most down-to-earth people I know on the planet”.

He added, “This is where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world. I wish I could spend more time here….”

Prince Harry, The Royal Family, And Africa

Like other members of the royal family, the Prince’s attachment to the continent is complicated, especially in light of Britain’s historical legacy with slavery, colonization, and imperialism on the continent. This troubled relationship is also seen in the family’s legacy with wildlife on the continent. For one, Queen Elizabeth once

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Hollywood Star Of Ghanaian Descent Boris Kodjoe Spotted At Makola Market

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shot a rhinoceros on an African safari, and in 2014, pictures leaked of Prince Harry proudly posing with a water buffalo he shot on his gap year in South Africa and perhaps many other cases of the family’s compromising involvement with wildlife hunting.

What Does This All Mean?

Beyond the larger frame of the royal’s work on the continent, it seems like the continent holds personal significance for the family – it has been a place of respite, change, and renewal for the family. Princess Elizabeth found out she was the Queen whilst in Kenya when her father died, Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton in Kenya, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle solidified their relationship in Botswana.

As seen below, it is clear that some people find that the Prince’s leadership in African Parks is paternalistic given that an African face should be used to lead the cause,

Hollywood hunk Boris Kodjoe is in Ghana to host the 2018 Glo sponsored CAFAwards scheduled to hold in Accra again.

The thespian of both German and Ghanaian descent came with his actress wife, Nicole Ari Parker and their 3 kids.

The CAF Awards took place in Accra on January 4, 2018.

Boris Kodjoe shared his New Year’s message from Accra on Instagram.

The photo is captioned: “Happy New Year from the Kodjoes.

Still, if Prince Harry is to hold the position of President of African Parks and do the work he says he cares about, in a May you all be blessed with health and happiness in the new year. place he feels most like himself, and with the most down to #Gratitude#Ghana” earth people on the planet, then he must wrestle with his family’s troubled history with both Africa, wildlife, and hunting, and as well as an Africa that is skeptical of its work precisely because of this history.

This realization is important to the success of what he seeks to accomplish in the role.

BRIDGET BOAKYE ContributorHollywood hunk Boris Kodjoe is in Ghana to host the 2018 Glo sponsored CAFAwards scheduled to hold in Accra again.

The thespian of both German and Ghanaian descent came with his actress wife, Nicole Ari Parker and their 3 kids.

The CAF Awards will take place in Accra on January 4, 2018.

Boris Kodjoe shared his New Year’s message from Accra on

According to the Hollywood actor, he is in the country because he wants his children to learn and be exposed to the Ghanaian culture. They have been spotted at Makola market, the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, and the Independence Arch

2018 African Election Calendar

Afrikan

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Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa

Country Cameroon

Chad

Election

President

National Assembly & local

Djibouti

President

Ethiopia

23 Dec 2018

Between

8 Feb 2018 & 8 May 2018

Regional State Councils & local

2018

House of the Federation (indirect)

Gabon

By 20 Apr 2018

Municipal elections

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

National People's Assembly

Madagascar

Provincial & regional

Mali

Local and communal

Libya

Parliament

President and Parliament

PresidentJul 2018

12 Apr 2018

Local

National Assembly

National Assembly Mauritania

Mauritius

Niger

2018

National Assembly

Gambia

Sep 2018

Apr (?) 2018

São Tomé & Príncipe

Sep 2018

Postponed from 2017 to 2018

Nov or Dec 2018

Apr 2018 (postponed from 17 Dec 2017) Nov 2018

National Assembly

Nov or Dec 2018

Postponed from

8 Jan 2017 to 2018

Rwanda Chamber of Deputies

2018

Sep 2018

National Assembly, Regional & Local

Aug 2018

Sierra Leone

President, House of Representatives & Local 7 Mar 2018

South Sudan

President, National Legislative Assembly, Regional & Local

Constitutional referendum Postponed from Sep 2017 to 2018

Swaziland

House of Assembly& Tinkhundla

Zimbabwe

Presidential,Parliamentary, Senate & local elections

Togo

National Assembly & Local Jun or Jul 2018

https://www.eisa.org.za

The 2018 United States elections will mostly be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections will take place in the middle of Republican President Donald Trump's term. All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be contested. 39 state and territorial governorships and numerous other state and local elections will also be contested.

During or prior to the 2018 House election on November 6, there will be at least four special elections:

4 Feb 2018

President (indirect)

Local

United States Elections, 2018 Calendar

23 Feb 2018

President, legislative & provincial

Egypt

Page

2018

National Assembly

DRC

Date

Oct 2018

January 2018

Sept 2018

Jul (by 31 Dec) 2018

Jul (by 31 Jul) 2018

Special election in Michigan's 13th congressional district following the resignation of John Conyers, to be held on November 6, 2018, coinciding with the regular elections.

Special election in Ohio's 12th congressional district following the resignation of Pat Tiberi (date yet to be determined) Special election in Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district following the resignation of Tim Murphy, to be held on March 13, 2018.

Special election in Arizona's 8th congressional district following the resignation of Trent Franks, to be held on April 24, 2018

In November 2017, the rate of Republican congresspeople announcing their retirements or resigning their seats was vastly higher than at similar timepoints in the Congresses since 2006. Most of these congresspeople faced tough reelection bids in 2018.The rate of Democratic announcements of retirements was in line with previous Congresses. The disproportionate number of Republican retirements is likely to harm Republican prospects in the 2018 mid-term elections as there will be fewer districts where Republicans have the incumbency advantage.

Elections will be held for the governorships of 36 U.S. states and three U.S. territories. Special elections may be held for vacancies in the other states and territories, if required by their state/territorial constitutions.

Source: Wikipedia.com

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According to Forbes; Here Are The 5 Richest Pastors In Africa 2017/2018

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There are a lot of pastors in the African continent, who are leading the communities and congregations. Sometimes this profession can not only bring peace of mind but also a lot of money. There are some pastors who earn really good amount of money, and in this article, you will find out who the richest pastor in Africa is right now.

Africa’s richest pastor: who is he?

The pastor’s main purpose is serving the humans by providing the Christian community guidance and voicing the ideas about the improvement of humanity’s minds and church conditions. Through the church investments and other kinds of income, some of the pastors earn the miraculous amounts of money. If you are interested who is the richest pastor in Africa now, and who are the other wealthy pastors The 4th place – Matthew Ashimolowo that have achieved their success lately, you can find all the In 1992, this man was sent by Foursquare Gospel information you needed in this article.

Church to establish the branch of this church in London.

However, Matthew Ashimolowo decided to The rating of richest pastors in Africa found his own church instead of spreading Foursquare Surprisingly, all the richest pastors on the African continent Gospel.

Currently, his Kingsway International Christian of the last year appear to be from Nigeria. Here you can see Center is considered to be the biggest Pentecostal their ranking according to the popular American magazine, church in Great Britain.

Generally, the assets of this Forbes. church are around $40 million, and it has $10 million of profit.

The 5th place – Chris Okotie

Perhaps, the past fame of this man has helped him to establish his successful pastor career. In the 1980s, Chris Okotie was a successful pop star in Nigeria and had a lot of fans.

After retiring from his singing career, he became a devoted Christian. He established the Household of God church, which is currently one of the most flamboyant religious institutions in Nigeria.

Matthew Ashimolowo himself gets a salary of $200,000 every year, according to the media outlets.

Except that, he also owns a company called Matthew Ashimolowo Media, which is another source of income for him. His net worth is $10 million, which let him be on top of the richest pastors rating.

There are a lot of Nigerian celebrities among those who attend Chris Okotie’s church and are official members of it.

The pastor himself is a huge lover of cars, and he owns Rolls-Royce, Mercedes S600, Porsche, and Hummer. He is also involved in politics and even tried his luck at the presidential election, together with his own political party called Fresh Party. The net worth of Chris Okotie is $10 million.

The 3rd place – Temitope Joshua This pastor is one of the most powerful church leaders in Nigeria. Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua has founded the Synagogue Church of all Nations (shortly SCOAN), and he has been leading this congregation since then. He is a Christian minister and does a lot of humanitarian work – mainly educational. He also works hard in health care and rehabilitation.

Chris Okotie

Nigerians find the personality of Temitope Joshua strong, determined and philanthropic, though some people agree he is a controversial man. He owns a Christian TV network, which is called Emmanuel TV. His net worth is $15 million.

The 2nd place – Chris Oyakhilome Chris Oyakhilome is a founder of Christ Embassy church, which nowadays has about 400,000 members. Lots of them are successful people: famous politicians and entrepreneurs. Apart from everything else, this decisive pastor has been pursuing a lot of other fields.

Nowadays, he releases his own newspapers and magazines, has his own chain of hotels, recording label, real estate and even his own satellite television station. His official net worth according to Forbes is $50 million, which is surely impressive.

The 1st place – David Oyedepo Finally, here is the leader of our rating! In 1981, David Oyedepo has founded The Faith Tabernacle which has become one of the biggest religious congregations in Africa. Even though he is successful, he still is devoted to his church.

Every Sunday, he hosts three services there.

This man is the owner of many expensive houses and private jets in the United States and Great Britain. He is officially the richest pastor not only in Nigeria and Africa but also in the whole world. David Oyedepo has also founded the Living Faith World Outreach ministry. Apart from that, he is a chancellor of Landmark and Covenant universities. This pastor is known as one of the founders of Christian charismatic movement in Nigeria and in Africa. His net worth is estimated to be $150 million.

David Oyedepo So, now you know who is the richest pastor in Africa in 2017. David Oyedepo is a really influential person, and he has earned his money with his hard work.

For more information about religious personalities, check out the latest news.

https://howafrica.com

January 2018

Sale !!!!!

Wigs and Selected Weave

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Ghanaians Association Of Baltimore End of Year 2017 Party

Ambassador Baffour Adjei Bawuah addressing the Audience

Dr. Charles D. Sarbeng, Chairman Of Ghanaians Association Of Baltimore

Awards Were Given to Some Members for their Exemplery Service to the Association

Sia Finoh Candidate for Maryland House of Delegates, Legislative District 24.

Dignitaries

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Apostle Dr. Daniel Ahia-Armah Helping His better Half Cut Her 50 Birthday Celebration Cake

Congratulation to Rev. Mrs. Barbara Ahia-Ahmah on the Occassion of her 50th Birthday Celebration

South African Anthem Voted Best in the World

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Botswana Shuts Controversial Church

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Botswana has cancelled the registration of a church linked to controversial Malawian pastor Shepherd Bushiri.

A government notice says that the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church International had failed to respond to a letter, asking it to give reasons why it should not be closed.

A local paper is reporting that the church solicits what it calls "miracle money", and the government regards this as illegal.

Africa’s Nkosi Sikelil’iAfrika as the best national anthem in the world.

The newspaper describes the key ingredients to a national anthem as including a “rousing tune to quicken the pulse, some pathos to moisten the eyes and that inexplicable something to make it stand out from all the rest”.

They say that too many anthems like ‘God Save the Queen’ contain “dreary harmonies” and just bang on a little too much about being victorious and glorious. For The Economist, good anthems are a little sad “because nationalism is really about longing, suffering and sacrifice”.

According to their straw poll, South Africa’s anthem – based on a protest hymn, with lyrics combining Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, Zulu and Sesotho – is the winner because the anthem serves as “an act of musical healing for the Rainbow nation”.

Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika celebrated its 120th anniversary this year, since it was composed (in 1897), and its 112th anniversary since the death of its composer Enoch Sontonga on 18 April 1905.

Sontonga wrote the first two stanzas of Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika. It’s a song with a message to mobilize Southern Africans to be patriotic to Africa through prayer.

Sontonga, who was born in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, was only 24 when he wrote the melody.

It makes up part of the South African national anthem, and is also the national anthem – sung in Swahili – for Tanzania (and in the past was the anthem for Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia too).

“Nkosi Sikelela is a call for blessings for the continent and its people,” said the EFF earlier this year.

https://www.sapeople.comFormer president John Mahama has been named the Most Influential Ghanaian in the first edition of the Myjoyonline Influence Award 2017.

With 3,610 voters in the poll 100% determined by the public, the former President came top among several other names.

It also says that other groups linked to the church have been ordered to ceases their operations.

Mr Bushiri is a renowned religious leader in southern Africa, and is famous for his preaching style which involves make-belief miracles.

He caused a stir when he released a video on You Tube purporting to walk on air.

Source: www.bbcnews.com

Ethiopia Bans Adoption By Foreigners Ethiopia's parliament has passed legislation banning the adoption of children by foreigners. The country is a popular destination for families seeking to adopt, with celebrities Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie among those who have adopted children from there.

The adoption of Ethiopian children has caused heated debate in the country since 2013, when a 13year-old girl died mysteriously in the US leading to the conviction of her adopted parents.

Now the country’s parliament has passed a law ending all hopes of prospective parents getting children from Ethiopia.

Instead, lawmakers say orphans and other vulnerable children should be cared for locally in order to protect them from abuse and neglect abroad.

But some MPs raised concerns that there were insufficient services in Ethiopia to care for such children.

Two years ago, Denmark controversially stopped the adoption of children from Ethiopia over what it said were concerns about possible human trafficking.

Source: bbc.com

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Two Sets Of Identical Twins Who Are Ghanaians Take US University

By Storm “It’s been nice to see on a few occasions that a set of twins have both chosen to study here at UC, but I have never heard of two sets of twins at UC all sharing the same parents,” says Adrian Hall, director of UC’s academic data.

Double-double trouble As children, the ebullient bundles of joy got into double-double trouble and attracted their fair share of attention. As they grew, parents Dorothy and Stephen could see their unique intellectual talents unfold and vowed to give them the best education they could.

“We knew the best colleges were in the U.S. but it wasn’t easy getting the whole family over here at the same time,” says Dorothy. “My husband came first to the U.S. in 2002 with a firm to begin work as a home health care agent and to establish residency.”

But following in their father’s footsteps didn’t happen overnight. The Manteys explained the following years as a decade of lengthy and complicated red tape for obtaining American visas through the U.S. consulate in Ghana.

As a banker with a master’s degree in business, Dorothy remained in Ghana to raise the boys alone for almost 11 years until Stephen received his U.S. citizenship.

A University of Cincinnati family with two sets of identical twins credits perseverance, a strong faith in God and an embarrassment of riches in a UC education as the secret to their success.

When the Mantey brothers left their hometown in West Africa to continue their education in the U.S, they had only one familiar face on campus –– their own mirror image.

Since then, identical twins Alfred and Godfred Mantey are not only recognized for their shockingly similar looks, but especially for their parallel academic achievement at UC.

Starting this fall, they will share the constant barrage of “double takes” on campus with their younger brothers Alvin and Kelvin –– also identical twins. Arriving in the U.S. only three years ago from

West Africa’s Republic of Ghana, the Mantey family has garnered a lot of attention for their unique family dynamic, but they say their life is more a story of perseverance, faith in God and staying focused on what really matters. “We wanted our boys to have an American college education,” says Dorothy Mantey, mother of the twins. “With UC’s wide range of majors, top-rated programs Kelvin and Alvin Mantey prepare for their final chemistry exam in UC's Edward N. Prather Summer Bridge Scholars Program.

“We held strong to our faith and knew, if it was God’s will, we would eventually be together in the U.S.,” says Dorothy. “During that time I worked in the bank, educated the boys in private schools and communicated with their father by Skype and his yearly visits back home.

“By the time the older twins had graduated high school in 2013 our prayers were answered and we were granted a family visa for the five of us to come to the U.S.”

Dorothy, Alvin, Kelvin and Stephen Mantey hold a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol Building –– a gift to the younger twins, arranged by William (left) and Linda Hartford (right), for their speech on National Prayer Day.

New twins on the block Finally together again, the grateful family found Stephen’s townhouse in Hamilton a very welcoming transition. All well educated and fluent in English, the new arrivals got to work immediately looking into their educational options.

The ‘Mantey five’ invade campus As recent high school graduates and recipients of the Hamilton (Ohio) Community Foundation Scholarship, the younger twins will proudly join their brothers and mom this fall having already sampled a taste of college life.

As incoming freshmen in the National Science Foundation-funded Dr. Edward N. Prather Summer Bridge Scholars Program –– designed for incoming minorities who are academic achievers in STEM –– Alvin and Kelvin hit the ground running spending seven weeks living on campus this summer.

They occupied their days attending science, math and English classes and charming their classmates.

“We don’t really trick our friends,” says Kelvin, as he and Alvin enter their chemistry class in matching shirts and jeans. “But when we are apart we do respond to the awkward waves and hugs from people we don’t know, and we usually hug back anyway because we know they probably know our twin.

“One of our favorite things is the shocked reaction from our friends when we say the same thing in unison or finish each other's sentences,” they both said at the same time. “Many people say, ‘Don’t do that, it freaks me out!’”

Twins are a rare phenomenon in the world and, according to the Twins Foundation, account for approximately two percent of the general population. But the odds of two sets of identical twins in one family are less than one in 70,000, and the Manteys are the first documented double identical twin family to attend UC at the same time.

As second-year undergraduates, older twins Alfred and Godfred each received the Alpha Lambda Delta Award at a UC Honor Society ceremony in 2015. photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services

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Two Sets Of Identical Twins Who Are Ghanaians Take US University By Storm

Ghanaian graduate wins award in Finland January 2018 Page

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Before long the bubbly younger twins had taken their high school by storm. At the suggestion of the school’s music director, they both sang and danced in show choir.

Both of them played soccer on the varsity team and in their senior year Alvin was crowned homecoming king.

"Singing together is something we've always taken pride in as a family," says Dorothy. "We all sing in the choir at our church in Fairfield and three of the boys even play instruments at King’s House Christian Center."

By the time they graduated high school, the younger twins had given inspirational speeches about their story to the Hamilton Rotary Club and at Stephen T. Baden High School on "why perspective matters.”

Alvin and Kelvin Mantey as Hamilton High School show choir performers The older twins applied to UC for the pre-pharmacy and pre-med programs and the younger twins jumped right into their freshmen year of high school.

“We came to America and one week later started school at Hamilton Freshmen High,” says Kelvin. “We were shy and didn’t talk much that first day, but as we walked through the halls the other students came out to see this identical phenomenon.”

In gratitude for speaking at a special ceremony in Hamilton on the National Day of Prayer, U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson presented the young Manteys with a flag that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol building.

Bringing this talent to UC is one way the Manteys hope to show their appreciation, crediting God as the reason for their success. Their goal is to someday give back and make a positive impact on society.

Those who know them say they already have.

A Ghanaian who studied at the Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK) in Finland graduated last Thursday and received an award for his thesis.

A former student of the Accra Polytechnic (now Accra Technical University) Lukumanu Iddrisu who graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration from VAMK, emerged the best for his profound dissertation on Thought Leadership.

Thought Leadership is a new concept that urges businesses and companies to champion and share new ideas that will solve industrial and societal pressing concerns to better the world and in turn make the inventor an influence in its niche.

Although this topic is recently practised in industries especially in the USA and some parts of Europe, it is yet to be captured in academic texts or business textbooks. Mr Iddrisu’s curiosity and passion for new and challenging topics did not only lead him to a successful research work but a framework which serves as a blueprint for companies who aspire to be Thought Leaders.

He won himself a scholarship (in cash) and a certificate from the Nissi Foundation in Finland which was presented by Ms Marianne Elizabeth Waltermann the Head of Business program. Additionally, he was given the opportunity to deliver the student address on the graduation ceremony – the first African to have done that in the school.

In an interview, he revealed that he has always been on the lookout to do something different that will break-away from conventional practices.

“Our era is ever-changing and customers’ demands go beyond product and services. Therefore I touched on this topic to help companies invent novel ideas that will create more value for the society to make our world better”.

Lukumanu who is born and raised in Tema but a native of Kumbungu in the Northern Region of Ghana encouraged students to go beyond the learning routines to carve ideas that will help better the system.

Kelvin and Alvin Mantey prepare for their final chemistry exam in UC's Edward N. Prather Summer Bridge Scholars Program.

Furthermore, he recommended schools to introduce Thought Leadership in their curricula and urged companies to start adopting it to create more value for the society and the world at large.

Source: Kwao Richard

Meet The Talented African Woman Who Lectures At Harvard But Has No Formal Education

Afrikan

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weaving to supplement his income. So, definitely, I would have been educated very well if my mother had not died.

Nike Davies-Okundaye aka “‘Nike Davies’” aka “‘Nike Twin Seven Seven’” aka “‘Nike Olaniyi’” aka “‘Mummy Nike’” is a Nigerian batik and textile designer, considered to be the foremost designer on the west coast of Africa.

Not many in Nigeria appear to know about her unique story. But in other lands, especially Europe and America, she is a ‘goddess’ whose works are cherished by kings and presidents.

Without a doubt, the story of Nike Okundaye, the face behind the huge success story of Nike Arts Gallery, located in Lagos, Abuja and Osogbo, is as compelling as it is inspiring.

At a time when young Nigerians are in desperate need of a role model and inspiration in what self-belief and hard work can achieve, Nike’s rise from the status of an unknown village girl born into a seeming insignificant family in a rustic village to a globally celebrated icon would make an A-list inspirational novel. nike2 Share

Born in her native village of Ogidi, Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State, young Nike had high dreams about what type of future she wanted for herself. But her dreams were truncated even before they could take form when she lost her mother at age six. “I was six when my mother died,” she said with a tinge of sadness.

With the blow inflicted on her dreams by her mother’s death, young Nike was taken away to live with her grandmother. At the time, many believed that by going to live with an old woman, the young girl’s future had been compromised. But events have since proved that destiny may indeed have been at work in her journey through life.

She had her first contact with the world of arts through her grandmother, who at the time, was the leader of cloth weavers in the community.

She said: “I come from a family of craftsmen. My parents were crafts people from Ogidi in Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State. My life as an artist is something that I was born with. I started weaving at the age of six.

Photo Credit: Ruthie Abel 2014

“I started with weaving different things, including adire, a traditional Yoruba hand-painted cloth design. As a matter of fact, I can say everything that had to do with textile. They taught me how to weave, using a little calabash. Gradually, I graduated to using bigger materials.”

Though Nike was six years old and barely able to tell the difference between her left and right hands, she already had a picture of the kind of future she wanted.

“My grandmother was the head of all the weavers in our community. So, even as a little child, I already had a dream that I would own a big studio when I grew up. People came from different areas to buy the cloth from her. So, at that time, I already sensed that I might not have the opportunity to go to school.”

With the death of her mother, her grandmother, whose responsibility it was to look after her, did not pamper her in any form. She ensured that the virtue of hard work was instilled in Nike’s young, impressionable mind.

At that time, young Nike, unaware of the reason behind her great grandmother’s action, would cry, believing that she was being unnecessarily punished. “I would cry and lament because I thought she was wicked and punishing me. But today, I always thank her for inculcating in me the virtue of hard work. It was through her that I learnt that you must persevere in whatever you do and never give up on your dreams.”

Although she lost her mother at a time she needed her most, Nike believes that destiny might have been involved in the way her life played out, including her mother’s death.

According to her, the mother was a very hard working young woman who would have spared nothing to ensure that her child got a good education up to the university level.

“Even at that young age, I knew that my mother was very hard working. And I am very sure that if she had not died, she would have trained me up to university level. My father was a farmer. He also did several other things like basket

“But today, I look at my childhood and all that I went through as something designed by destiny. Who knows, maybe if my mother had not died and I had gone ahead to be educated, I may never have had the kind of opportunity that I have today and may never have risen to the level that I am.”

Nike never went to school to study art, the vocation that has brought her to global spotlight. Vocational training in art was passed down to her by her great grandmother, the late Madam Ibikunle. Watching her great grandmother in the art of adire textile processing and helping her out, Nike walked up the line to become an expert in adire making, dyeing, weaving, painting and embroidery.

A product of the famous Osogbo Art Movement, Nike is today a world acclaimed artist and textile designer. She brings vivid imagination as well as a wealth of history and tradition into the production of adire. Her works are celebrated in major capitals of the world, with her designs exhibited in countries like the USA, Belgium, Germany, Japan and Italy, among others.

Nike spent the early part of her life in Osogbo, a recognised hotbed for art and culture in Nigeria. During her stay in Osogbo, her informal training was dominated by indigo and adire.

Nike’s romance with international exposure began in 1968 when she had an exhibition at the Goethe Institute in Lagos. Since then, she has grown to become a major name on the international art circuit. She is most outstanding in paintings and design of adire, beadwork and batik.

Among Nike’s proudest achievements was her invitation to Italy by the Italian government in 2000 to train young Nigerian sex workers on how to use their hands to engage in creative ventures. Her invitation was as a result of complaints to the Italian government by the young Nigerians that they left Nigeria in search of work, not knowing what they would be forced into.

When Nike got to Italy, she taught them skills in craft making and many of the women became self-reliant in no time and stopped their old means of income.

In 2006, she was awarded one of the highest Italian national awards of merit by the government of the Republic of Italy in appreciation of her efforts in using art to address and solve the problems of Nigerian sex workers in Italy.

About two years ago, her adire painting was accepted at The Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum, located in Washington DC, US. Some of her works can be found amongst the collection of prominent personalities around the world, including the White House.

While little is known about Nike and her works across the country, two former presidents of the USA, Bill Clinton and George Bush, were so enthralled by her works at various times that they sought audience with her during their visits to Nigeria. Much more than just meeting and shaking hands with the two former presi-

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Meet The Talented African Woman Who Lectures At Harvard But Has No Formal Education invited to meet presidents of foreign countries. I think I should be proud of my little achievements and be grateful to God.”

In spite of her seeming low education, she insists she has no regrets about not attending school. “I have no regrets at all. I give thanks to God for making all these things possible for me. I also thank my husband for standing by me all these years. I must confess that it was not easy coming this far. You will agree with me that for a woman to be recognised, she has to work three times harder than a man.”

Reechoing his wife’s position, Mr. Okundaye said Nike could not have had any regrets, having attained the heights sought by many across the world. “You asked if she has any regrets. How can that be possible?

What kind of regret was she supposed to have with all her achievements? She is fulfilled in every sense of the word,” he enthused.

Expectedly, the couple was attracted to each other by their mutual love for arts. Okundaye told The Nation how it all started: “I have always been an arts lover. I have some of her works. Perhaps, like you said, maybe it was destiny that brought us together.”

dents, it was Nike that decorated George Bush’s room in Abuja during his stay in the country.

These two incidents, Nike told The Nation, were some of the best things to have happened to her.

She said: “When President Bill Clinton of the US visited Nigeria, he asked to meet the woman behind Nike Gallery, and I was taken to Abuja to meet him. It was the same thing with President George Bush. I was invited to meet him in Abuja during his visit to Nigeria. I was the one that decorated the room where the president stayed during the visit. What honour can be greater than this? I feel accomplished.”

As an accomplished artist, Nike has taught in several universities in the US, imparting the knowledge of her traditional adire designs in thousands of eager students from across the world. Her teaching exploits, she disclosed, have taken her to revered institutions like Harvard and Edmonton in Canada.

“I have lectured and held workshops in several noble institutions across the world. Some of the universities include Harvard, Columbus, Edmonton, Ohio and in Los Angeles, among others. My first experience with teaching was in 1974.

At that time, I taught people with doctoral degrees.”

Interestingly, all the education she had at the time, according to her, was the traditional education that parents pass onto their children.

“The type of education I had at the time was the education that is passed from parents to their children, not the education you get in a classroom. It was the practical type of education,” she said with a wry smile.

In 1983, she established the Nike Centre for Art and Culture in Osogbo, Osun State, where trainings are offered free of charge to Nigerians in various forms of arts. The centre was opened with 20 young girls who were picked from the streets and offered a new life in arts. So far, according to her, more than 3,000 young Nigerians have been trained at the centre.

Nike OkundayeThe centre also admits undergraduate students from many universities in Nigeria for their industrial training programmes in textile design. The centre now admits students from Europe, Canada and the United States of America.

International scholars and other researchers in traditional African art and culture also visit the centre from time to time

for their research works on the processing of adire fabric and African traditional dyeing methods.

But she says the true story of the gallery started in her bedroom about 47 years ago.

“The gallery you see today actually started in my bedroom in 1968. In 2008, we opened the one in Lagos, and my husband was always the motivator. It was intended to give the young and old a platform to hear their voice.”

As she spoke, with signs of fulfillment splashed on her face, her husband, Reuben Okundaye, a retired commissioner of police, who had remained quiet since the interview started, suddenly joined in the conversation.

He said: “It is with practical education that she has continued to teach and impart knowledge into people with doctoral degrees and masters in Fine Art. Some of these people even come here under the cover of night to seek advice from her. Yet, some would say she is not educated.”

Speaking about another experience, Mr. Okundaye said he once had an encounter with a prominent Nigerian who told him that his wife would have been made a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria if she was educated. Surprised, he said he took a swipe at the man, telling him his wife was better educated than most of the people that were being flaunted.

He said: “You can imagine, I was discussing with one big man the other day and he said that my wife would have been made a minister if she was educated. I was angry and I asked him what he meant by that. Here is a woman who teaches people with doctoral degrees in higher institutions all over the world, yet you say she is not educated. But when the chips are down, they come to her for advice.”

Asked how she feels whenever she teaches in the classroom, Nike looked up as if relishing her achievements, and said: “I feel fulfilled. It was a very high sense of fulfillment. Imagine, a little girl who grew up in a rustic village without any sign of hope for a good future. Now I stand before PHD holders and teach them. I have been

With a sterling career as a police officer, which saw him attaining the rank of Commissioner of Police and serving in more than four states, the couple has in the last 20 years of their coming together enjoyed the beauty of marriage and weathered the storm together.

Nike, who would be 64 in a couple of weeks, has also successfully created an identity for herself. Her most treasured clothes, she confessed, are adire fabrics. And it is not surprising that she cannot remember the last time she wore anything other than that.

“You may be right if you say I have created an identity for myself with my adire clothes. It is the only thing that I am known with. I don’t wear any other clothe, even when I travel out of the country,” she said.

https://howafrica.com

African Quotes on Wisdom

Trivia

Wisdom is wealth. ~ Swahili Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it. ~ Akan proverb The fool speaks, the wise man listens. ~ Ethiopian proverb Wisdom does not come overnight. ~ Somali proverb The heart of the wise man lies quiet like limpid water. ~ Cameroon proverb Wisdom is like fire. People take it from others. ~ Hema (DRC) proverb Only a wise person can solve a difficult problem. ~ Akan proverb Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams. ~ Nigerian proverb If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom. ~ African proverb A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb Nobody is born wise. ~ African proverb A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~Kenyan proverb Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Akan proverb

African Quotes on Learning

Learning expands great souls. ~ Namibian proverb To get lost is to learn the way. ~ African proverb By crawling a child learns to stand. ~ African proverb If you close your eyes to facts, you will learn through accidents. ~ African proverb He who learns, teaches. ~ Ethiopian proverb Wealth, if you use it, comes to an end; learning, if you use it, increases. ~ Swahili proverb By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree. ~ Buganda proverb You always learn a lot more when you lose than when you win. ~ African proverb You learn how to cut down trees by cutting them down. ~ Bateke proverb The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat. ~ African proverb What you help a child to love can be more important than what you help him to learn. ~African proverb By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed. ~Ashanti proverb One who causes others misfortune also teaches them wisdom. ~ African proverb You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla. ~Congolese proverb What you learn is what you die with. ~ African proverb Instruction in youth is like engraving in stone. ~Moroccan Proverb When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him. ~Ashanti Proverb Ears that do not listen to advice, accompany the head when it is chopped off. ~African Proverb Advice is a stranger; if he’s welcome he stays for the night; if not, he leaves the same day. ~Malagasy Proverb Traveling is learning. ~Kenyan Proverb Where there are experts there will be no lack of learners. ~Swahili Proverb

African Quotes on Learning

Learning expands great souls. ~ Namibian proverb To get lost is to learn the way. ~ African proverb By crawling a child learns to stand. ~ African proverb If you close your eyes to facts, you will learn through accidents. ~ African proverb He who learns, teaches. ~ Ethiopian proverb Wealth, if you use it, comes to an end; learning, if you use it, increases. ~ Swahili proverb By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree. ~ Buganda proverb You always learn a lot more when you lose than when you win. ~ African proverb You learn how to cut down trees by cutting them down. ~ Bateke proverb The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat. ~ African proverb What you help a child to love can be more important than what you help him to learn. ~African proverb By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed. ~Ashanti proverb One who causes others misfortune also teaches them wisdom. ~ African proverb You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla. ~Congolese proverb What you learn is what you die with. ~ African proverb Instruction in youth is like engraving in stone. ~Moroccan Proverb When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him. ~Ashanti Proverb Ears that do not listen to advice, accompany the head when it is chopped off. ~African Proverb Advice is a stranger; if he’s welcome he stays for the night; if not, he leaves the same day. ~Malagasy Proverb Traveling is learning. ~Kenyan Proverb Where there are experts there will be no lack of learners. ~Swahili Proverb Source :http://afritorial.com

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African proverbs on Peace and Leadership

Peace is costly but it is worth the expense. ~Kenyan proverb War has no eyes ~ Swahili saying When a king has good counselors, his reign is peaceful. ~Ashanti proverb Peace does not make a good ruler. ~Botswana proverb A fight between grasshoppers is a joy to the crow. ~ Lesotho proverb There can be no peace without understanding. ~Senegalese proverb Milk and honey have different colors, but they share the same house peacefully. ~ African proverb If you can’t resolve your problems in peace, you can’t solve war. ~ Somalian proverb When there is peace in the country, the chief does not carry a shield. ~Ugandan proverb When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled. ~ Swahili saying Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. ~ West African proverb He who thinks he is leading and has no one following him is only taking a walk. ~ Malawian proverb An army of sheep led by a lion can defeat an army of lions led by a sheep. ~ Ghanaian proverb He who is destined for power does not have to fight for it. ~ Ugandan proverb Do not forget what is to be a sailor because of being a captain yourself. ~ Tanzanian proverb Without a leader, black ants are confused. ~Ugandan proverb He who refuses to obey cannot command. ~ Kenyan proverb He who fears the sun will not become chief. ~Ugandan proverb A large chair does not make a king. ~ Sudanese proverb Because he lost his reputation, he lost a kingdom. ~ Ethiopian proverb Where a woman rules, streams run uphill. ~ Ethiopian proverb A leader who does not take advice is not a leader. ~ Kenyan proverb If the cockroach wants to rule over the chicken, then it must hire the fox as a body-guard. ~ Sierra Leone proverb

African Quotes on Unity and Community

Unity is strength, division is weakness. ~ Swahili proverb Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. ~ Bondei proverb It takes a village to raise a child. ~ African proverb Cross the river in a crowd and the crocodile won’t eat you. ~ African proverb Many hands make light work. ~ Haya (Tanzania) proverb Where there are many, nothing goes wrong. ~ Swahili proverb Two ants do not fail to pull one grasshopper. ~ Tanzanian proverb A single bracelet does not jingle. ~ Congolese proverb A single stick may smoke, but it will not burn. ~ African proverb If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. ~ African proverb

African Quotes on Family

A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place. ~ African Proverb A united family eats from the same plate. ~ Baganda proverb A family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break. ~ African proverb If I am in harmony with my family, that’s success. ~ Ute proverb Brothers love each other when they are equally rich. ~ African proverb Dine with a stranger but save your love for your family. ~ Ethiopian proverb There is no fool who is disowned by his family. ~ African proverb Home affairs are not talked about on the public square. ~ African proverb If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them? ~ African proverb He who earns calamity, eats it with his family. ~ African proverb Dine with a stranger but save your love for your family. ~ Ethiopian proverb The old woman looks after the child to grow its teeth and the young one in turn looks after the old woman when she loses her teeth. ~ Akan (Ghana, Ivory Coast) proverb When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father’s estate. ~ Ibo proverb Children are the reward of life. ~ African proverb

African Proverbs on Friendship

To be without a friend is to be poor indeed. ~ Tanzanian proverb Hold a true friend with both hands. ~ African proverb The friends of our friends are our friends. ~ Congolese proverb A friend is someone you share the path with. ~ African proverb Show me your friend and I will show you your character. ~ African proverb Return to old watering holes for more than water; friends and dreams are there to meet you. ~ African proverb Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough. ~ African proverb A small house will hold a hundred friends. ~ African proverb A close friend can become a close enemy.~ African proverb Bad friends will prevent you from having good friends. ~ Gabon proverb

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H-1B VISA: President 24-Year-Old Thokozile Muwamba Trump Drops H-1B Visa Plan Becomes First Zambian Female Fighter That Could Get At Least Pilot 750,000 Deported

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In a relief for Indian techies, US authorities today said that the Trump administration is not considering any proposal that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the country.

The announcement by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) came days after reports emerged that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of 750,000 Indians.

The reports had said it was mulling ending extensions for H-1B holders.

The USCIS “is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing interpretation of Section 104 C of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) statute that states that USCIS may grant the extensions,” an official said.

This provides for H-1B extensions beyond the 6 year limit.

“Even if it were, such a change would not likely result in these H-1B visa holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead,” Jonathan Withington, Chief of Media Relations at the USCIS, said in a statement.

“The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment based visa programmes,” Withington said.

The statement comes after last week’s news report by US- based news agency McClatchy DC Bureau according to which the US was considering new regulations to prevent the extension of H-1B visas, the most sought after by Indian IT professionals.

The USCIS was never considering such a policy change, he said adding that “any suggestion that USCIS changed its position because of pressure is absolutely false.”

The reported move had been opposed by both the industry and several lawmakers.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), a trade association of Indian information technology, had warned that any disruptive move on the visa front would be detrimental for both India and the US.

The USCIS has a Congressional mandate to issue 65,000 H- 1B visas in general category and another 20,000 for those applicants having higher education — masters and above — from US universities in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The H-1B programme offers temporary US visas that allow companies to hire highly skilled foreign professionals working in areas with shortages of qualified American workers.

Since taking office last January, the Trump administration has been talking about cracking down on the H- 1B visa scheme.

During his election campaign, President Trump promised to increase oversight of our H-1B and L-1 visa programmes to prevent its abuse.

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24-year-old Second Lieutenant Thokozile Muwamba has made history in Zambia as the country’s first female fighter pilot to be accepted into the male dominated area of the military.

After joining the military in 2012, Muwamba was fortunate to be part of the Zambian Air Forces programme to train female pilots who will bridge the gender gap in the field.

“Men are not a competition but counterparts that one should work with, and hence women should begin to participate and realise their abilities. Because of this understanding, I am ready to undertake this task ahead of me,” she told local media Times of Zambia last week.

Second Lieutenant Muwamba as the first female fighter pilot is a clear illustration that women were progressing.

“We want to see more women in the country to become fighter pilots in future,” the paper quotes him.

Second Lieutenant Thokozile Muwamba quit as a firstyear student at the Copperbelt University (CBU) to join the military and pursue her dream career of being a pilot.

She owed her success to hardwork, determination and inspiration from her family and instructors.

“Impossibilities can be made possible as long as one was determined to attain one’s goal,” she advised other women.

“I look at the fact that when I am in the aeroplane, the aircraft knows no sex as it depends on my input even if I am a woman. I can also give it the right steering for it Africa has only a few female pilots especially in the to respond correctly,” Muwamba added.

Air Force.

Impossibilities can be made possible as long as one was determined to attain one’s goal.

Nigeria decorated its first female pilot, Flying Officer Blessing Liman, in 2012. Liman was apparently the The Zambian Air Force commander Lieutenant General first female military-pilot in West Africa at the time.

Eric Mwaba Chimese announced in 2015 their decision to introduce female pilots to boost the fight for gender equality in Zambia.

According to Brigadier-General Kapungwe, who is the commander of the ZAF base in Mumbwa, having

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Dr. Thomas Mensah talks Infrastructure with Vice President Bawumia�

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Makerere to Award Winnie Mandela With Honorary Doctorate

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Photo: ANC

Dr. Thomas Mensah paid a courtesy call on the Vice president of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia at the Flag Staff House to Discuss major infrastructure transformation for the country.

Vice President Bawumia told Dr. Mensah during their Flag Staff House meeting that "Ghana is interested in infrastructure Developments and we are glad you are in the country to work with us. You have achieved a lot in developing the infrastructure for social media using fiber optics. We are proud of you."

The visit formed part of Dr. Mensah's month long trip to Ghana from his US base in Georgia. Dr. Mensah revealed in an interview that the meeting with the Vice President afforded him the opportunity to make a strong case for his calls for Ghana to undergo a transformational infrastructurural development to speed the country up into the 21st century.

Speaking of speed, one of the projects Dr. Mensah has been pushing for Ghana to undertake is the development of a high-speed rail to interconnect the country. "I feel like many other senior government officials that I have met, Vice President Dr. Bawumia understands my passion about the high-speed rail project and the need for us as a country to prioritize it" said Dr. Mensah.

[More Thomas Mensah related news]

Dr. Mensah on his part praised the Government for the GPS address system it has initiated and believes that not only will it upgrade the national mail delivery system, but that among other things, "it wil save lives and help emergency response teams like fire trucks and ambulances locate people in emergencies too.

"The world is experiencing rapid amazing changes and developments and my contribution to them in the sector of communication through my fiber optics and nanotechnology innovations are all going to come to play as we work on developing the high-speed rail system

"President Akufo-Addo has called for an 'Africa-BeyondAid' to free the continent from the chains of neo-colonialism and dependency on Western aid, some of the projects I've been working on and taking to a lot of the people I've met on my trip to Ghana will help bring Ghana back to its 'Star of Africa' status as the work begins -- Dr. Mensah.

Makerere University is to award veteran South African anti-apartheid campaigner, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, an Honorary Doctor of Laws during the 68th graduation ceremony later this month.

The 81-year-old veteran politician and ex-wife to former President Nelson Mandela is being recognised for her contribution towards the fight and eventual elimination of apartheid in South Africa.

Both the University Council and Senate, the top-most academic and administrative organs of the university, have approved the award.

Dr. Mensah believes 'Africa-Beyond-Aid' is not a work for government alone, but for all Ghanaians, and Africans as well on an off the continent. "This is why I have left my businesses in America to come out here to contribute my quota. I strongly believe in today's Ghana and I want everyone to know that we can not only build high-speed rails, but get to the moon and more importantly, make Ghana a place for the youth to want to live in and develop their God given potentials."

A total of 15,172 students are expected to graduate this year. Of these, 36 will graduate with PhDs, 436 with Masters and 11,300 with bachelor's degrees and diplomas. At least 3,400 are from Makerere University Business School- MUBS.

Source: Oral Ofori / www.TheAfricanDream.co

http://allafrica.com/

Find out more about Dr. Thomas Mensah at www.ablackgenius.com.

Makerere will hold its 68th graduation ceremony from Tuesday 16th to Friday 19th January 2018, the university authorities have confirmed.

Leaders of Agogo Citizens Association In Washington DC Metro Area Call on Ambassador Baffour Adjei Bawuah January 2 0 1 8

Leaders of the Agogo Citizens Association in the Washington Metro Area paid a courtesy call on H. E Ambassador Baffour Adjei Bawuah nn Thursday, December 17. 2017. Their mission was to welcome him officially to office and also to invite him as a special guest at their upcoming 25th Anniversary Celebration in May 2018.

Ambassador Bawuah informed them of the need to register with the Embassy as Ghanaians and implored them to inform their members to take advantage of that opportunity to enable the Embassy maintain a database of Ghanaians in the United States and be able to reach out to them as deemed necessary.

Ambassador Bawuah also gave an insight into various developments at the Embassay including improvement in the turn around time for visa and passport acquisition.

Maxwell Brempong the President of the Agogo Citizens Association expressed his profound appreciation to the Ambassador for opening his doors to them and assured him of the commitment of the Agogo Citizens in the Washington Metro area to support his community outreach activities during his tenure as

Ambassador.

Members of the delegation were

President:Maxwell Brempong,Patron:Mr Edward A Ofori, Council of Elder:Nana Bonti-Marfo, Council of Elder:Nana Kwaku Brano,

Children's Cordinator:Ms Christiana Oduro.

Maxwell Brempong in a handshake with the Ambassador

Nana Bonti-Marfo and Ambassador Bawuah

The delegation with the Ambassasdor and Ms. Akosua Baddoo of the Ghana Embassy

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Afrikan

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WHY PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT MUST INVEST IN REAL ESTATE

I am a 2nd generation of an African descent living overseas and over the years I have realized that the first generation of African descent has a myopic way of thinking and doing things. As a Realtor, I have come across a number of scenarios that I feel burdened and overwhelmed to address. One of the attributes I have encountered is “IGNORANCE”. Of course scripture does say that “for lack of knowledge my people perish” and indeed most Africans are perishing because of the symptom of ignorance. What I have been trying to wrap my mind around is when you lay the foundation and educate one about the benefits of buying a real estate property in America, they are quick to say “I am concentrating on my project back home where I will spend my golden years!”

Over and over I keep hearing this statement. Yet, I have seen people go back home and come back to America in a twinkle of an eye. When I asked the reason for their sudden return back to America, the laundry list of things that drove them back to America goes on and on. Most go back home to find their project in shamble, or the monies that were sent home have been used by their relative (s) for other things; or sadly they go home and tragically die and not even enjoy the fruits of their labor. You know the stories. It puzzles me that we have not learned anything from these atrocious stories. We continue to perpetuate this cycle.

Imagine if you had invested in real estate here in America, you would have greatly reaped the benefits.

Here are a few things to consider. You would have gone back home and come back to your real estate property in whole to enjoy, or you could have enjoyed rental income from the real estate property in America while living overseas or you could have sell and cashed out the equity on your real estate in America as you venture off to motherland. You see real estate investment in America is a win-win coin for you.

The other side of the issue that troubles me is that our parents have failed to recognize that their decision for not investing has impacted the younger generation. We find it difficult to keep par with our peers who are non-Africans.

Most of our peers graduate with minimum or no student loans because their parents were able to use their home equity to support their college education. Furthermore,

our peers tend to get ahead of us because they have the luxury of living with their parents after college and as a result they are able to purchase their own first home and other things that give them an edge over us. Most importantly, our parents have failed to recognize that "us” the 2nd, 3rd etc…generations, the chances of us going back to motherland to acquire or posse your properties are slim. We ask that you keep the investment(s) here so we (your children, grand children, great grand children) can enjoy your labor.

Mommy, Daddy, Uncle, Aunt; the younger generation is crying out loud that you wake up and begin to realize that America is the land of opportunities and investment through home ownership is part of the deal that drove you from motherland to this great country you live in and now call “home”. When we see you investing or owning a property, it gives us something to look up to and the will to achieve greater things. It is no longer about you and going back to motherland; it’s about investing in our future so we can also enjoy all that America has to offer.

I will leave you with this to ponder; scripture says “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.” So as you start thinking of this, I urge you to start planning and start dreaming. The American dream is achievable and attainable. Imagine that!

Stay tuned for the next article which will provide a step by step guide on how to achieve the American dream through home ownership. Blessings in full portion!

For more information about your real estate needs (buying, selling, leasing/renting a house) call me at 571-229-6694 and I will help you get started. Thank you.

Anita A. Bediako- REALTOR® –Licensed in the Common Wealth of Virginia Prince William CountyLocal Expert CONTACT 571-229-6694 Email: borderlessrealestate@gmail.com Borderlessrealestate.com

Secure Your Future Get Life Insurance Call Today 571-778-1917 January 2018

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Investments opportunities

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Tax Season is Here Again.

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All too soon, the tax season is here with us again and you need someone who will prepare your taxes and get you your FULL refund.

You will need someone who will do a detailed analysis of your W2s and efficiently prepare your taxes where you will have no problems with the IRS. Call Dr. Lawrence Appiah on 703-400-1621 and let him prepare your taxes for you this year. If you don’t want to receive any letters from the IRS after you have spent all your money, call the tax expert and have your peace of mind with the IRS.

Call Dr. Lawrence Appiah (703-400-1621) For Your Full Tax Refund Within 5 Days Guaranteed.

No Appointments Necessary.

Ghanaian Pharmacists Association (GPhA) in the United States Inaugurated Afrikan

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On Thursday, December 14, 2017, the Ghanaian Pharmacists Association (GPhA) in the United States held an inauguration ceremony to induct new officers into office.

The theme for the celebration was “Partners for Better health.”

The association which began with a small group of working and student pharmacists in the community has now grown to over 50 members.

It is the mission of GPhA to advocate for all Ghanaian Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians, share knowledge and innovative ideas, assist with career opportunities and project a good professional image while working to strengthen the bond between Pharmacists in Ghana and the United States of America.

The evening's proceeding began with an address by His Excellency Dr. Barfour Adjei-Barwuah, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States who hosted the event at Embassy of Ghana in Washington DC. In his welcome address, the Ambassador said the impact of Ghanaians and African professionals in the pharmaceutical industry is very crucial for Ghana and Africa as a whole, in improving health standards.

"The future of Africa rests on you. The launch basically establishes that you are determined to make a more than average contribution to Africa’s effort to stand on her own", said the Ambassador who went on to congratulate the incoming office holders.

“Because Ghana was the first country south of the Sahara to gain independence we are more often held responsible for whatever advances Africa will make just as I am holding you responsible for the advances we can make in our health industry and in our general development as a whole” - Ambassador Barwuah.

He concluded his message with the words "Thank you for inviting me and thank you for giving us the expectation that we are making the right moves for a whole continent's future." Dr. Rauf Audu, registrar of Ghana Pharmacy Council on his part praised the leadership of the Ghanaian Pharmacists association for their effort in making the dream of the association come true.

Other speakers at the function included Dr. Anthony K. Wutoh, the Provost and Chief Academic Officer of Howard University and Dr. Joseph R. Ofosu, Dean of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Saint Joseph in Connecticut.

In line with their aim of engaging in charitable activities and community services, the association has organized health fairs and screenings in the community for several years. They recently embarked on a Pharmacy textbook drive and donated several books to the pharmacy department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. They also donated several journals and magazines to the Ghana Pharmacy Council.

The following officers were sworn into office to steer the affairs of the Association: Kofi Oteng Bawuah - President, Vera Dannsa Asante - Vice President, Michael Nana Nyame-Mireku - Programs Coordinator, Samson Ansong - Secretary and Nana Kojo Dwumfour - Treasurer.

In his inaugural speech Dr. Kofi Oteng Bawuah, the President enumerated his priorities for the coming year. He said “we want to be successful in mobilizing and recruiting Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians across the nation to form one strong GPhA with chapters all over the US and also to partner with our Ghanaian colleagues to ensure better health for Ghanaian citizens, hence our motto: 'Partners for better health.'”

Dean of Howard University Pharmacy School Toyin Tofade was also in attendance to support the occasion. The curtain was drawn to conclude the event with a vote of thanks by Dr. Loreen Wutoh.

Today, the group has a total of two active Chapters in Maryland and Virginia and new Chapters have been started in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania , Texas, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, California and Massachusetts.

Source: AfrikanPost/GPhA

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Ghanaian Pharmacists Association (GPhA) in the United States Inaugurated January 2018

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Dr. Joseph K. Ofusu, Dean, School of Pharmacy, University of Saint Joseph, Connecticut

Dr. Anthony Wutoh, Provost and Chief Acadamic Officer of Howard University

H.E. Barfour Adjei-Barwuah

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Mr. Rauf Audu, Registrar, Ghana Pharmacy Council

Founding Members

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Afrikan

NPP USA End of Year Party

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6th Winternational brings Washington DC diplomatic community together in 2018Winternational is an international festival that prioritizes the celebration of showcasing cultural and culinary traditions of the diplomatic community in Washington, District of Columbia (DC).The 2018 festival which was held on Wednesday, January 6 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center was also the 6th edition of the annual embassy showcase event which is freely accessible to the general

The Ambassadore Exchanging Pleasantries with Nananom

Hon. Ambassador Adjei Bawuah and His Family and Mr. Rauf Audu, Registrar, Ghana Pharmacy Council and His Wife

African Union Mission

NPP Washington DC Exucutives

The Exucutive Committe Honoring Ambassador Adjei Bawuah

Cutting A Cake to Celebrate the ambassadors Birthday

Mr. Henry Adu of COGA won a Traveling Bag Set

George AdjeiEngineer with Department of Defense Quantico Won the Biggest Prize of the Day, A flat Screen TV

Nana Nti Yeboah Won a Cooking Pot Set

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