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African Community News

Vol 9 Issue 5

May 2017

Do You Want Your Business, Church Page 9 or Event on the Nigeria’s Segun Toriola Breaks World Record As Web ?

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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 an d th e D ia s p or a .  Yo u may als o vis it o u r webs ite a t www.af r ik an po s t.com f or d a ily 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 pa per ar e th os e o f th e a u th o r s a n d d o n o t n eces s ar ily r ef lect th e views o f Af r ik an Po s t . All co mmen ts an d s u g g es tio n s a r e welcome.

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The African Music Legend and Icon, Salif Keita Visits DC Mayor's Office on African Affairs (MOAA)

George Bright-Abu Publisher and Editor

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Call 703- 725- 6968 or E-mail: editor@afrikanpost.com Address: Bright House Productions 6236 Oscar Court Woodbridge VA 22193 D E PA R T M E N T S Vol 9 Issue 5

CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT Ghana-Born Edward Enninful

Appointed As Editor Of British Vogue

Pg. 9

At 23, Musawenkosi Saurombe Becomes The Youngest Female PHD Graduate in Africa Pg. 31

Two sisters aim to bring a bit of Africa, and some flavor, to D.C. Pg. 14

Who Or What Will We Worship?

Pg. 11 Africa’s First Electric Car Made In Ghana!!

Pg 7 UPDATE

NPP-USA Appoints First Female Chair Pg. 37

African Union Ambassador to the U.S. H.E. Archikana Chihombri, African music legend Salif Keita and Director Mamadou Samba On Tuesday, April 11, 2017, African music legend, and Icon, Salif Keita joined the Mayor's Office on African Affairs (MOAA) and H.E. Archikana Chihombri, the newly appointed African Union Ambassador to the US, for a luncheon with members of the community. Director Samba spoke about the work of the office and Mayor Bowser's initiatives in relations to the African community, followed by an in-depth discussion about the diaspora overall.

Source:MOAA

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May 2017

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Vice President Bawumia Meets with Ghanaian Community in Washington DC

May 2017

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On Saturday, April 22, 2017 Vice President, His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia briefed Ghanaian Professionals on the activities of the government's nation building efforts in a town hall format at the Embassy's auditorium. Senior Minister, Hon. Yaw Osafo Marfo and Minister of Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, answered question posed by members of the audience. Accompanying the delegation was Hon. Madam Oboshie Sai-Cofie, former deputy Minister of Information.

On Wednesday April 19,, the Vice President and Minister of Finance addressed an enthusiastic crowd of more than 300 in an event held by the Center of Strategic and International Studies entitled, “Spotlight on Ghana.” The audience was comprised of US government officials, policy makers, journalists, NGOs, members of the Diaspora, think tanks, and the private sector.

HE. The Vice President of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia

The Vice President presented opening remarks regarding the government’s immediate priorities to reignite the country’s economy by creating jobs in the agriculture sector, cutting taxes and removing other barriers to investment and increased production. The Minister of Finance was joined on a panel by John Rice, the Vice Chairman of the General Electric Corporation, and Alain Ebobisse, CEO of Africa50.

The Minister presented the government’s strategy for addressing the significant budget deficit and debt inherited from the previous administration. He also responded to questions from the audience by detailing the steps being taken to improve the investment climate in the country and enhance local capacity by improving education, as well as enforcing local content requirements for new investments.

Mrs. Margaret tabiri -President of the Council of Ghanaian Associations (COGA) in Washington DC gives vote of thanks

Senior Minister, Hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo (middle) answering audience questions

Finance Minister, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta responds during question and answer time

Mrs. Akosua Baddoo Introducing the Government Officials

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The Ghanaian Community

May

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Meet Genet Lakew, The Creator Of A Scholarship Designed To Help Students Of The Black Diaspora ships in trying to pursue the American dream.

“For example, growing up in the D.C. area one field that is dominated by black immigrants is the taxi business. A lot of taxi drivers are Ethiopians or Nigerians,” she continued. “So when you have conversations with these taxi drivers you learn that a lot of them have professional careers at home; some of them might be doctors, engineers or professors. There are a lot of educated middle class black immigrants, but there are also a lot of working class immigrants. I want to give them wiggle room to have the quality of life that they desire.”

While there are many settlers of the black diaspora across the country, Lakew is beginning her initiative on a local level in her hometown of Arlington, Va., where she’ll recruit five candidates from her alma mater, Washington-Lee High School. VIBE spoke with the young entrepreneur about her latest endeavor.

Richy Rosario

CREDIT: Colin Allum It’s no secret how expensive a college education can be. If you’re a child of immigrant parents or you recently migrated to the U.S., paying for a higher education can be a burden or even impossible. Thankfully, with scholarships and financial aid there’s hope, and no one knows this better than Genet Lakew. The Ethiopian-bred, Howard University graduate managed to earn a debt-free degree in journalism at the prestigious HBCU, followed by a free Masters degree in Africana-Studies at New York University. Through the power of scholarships and fellowships, Lakew was able to fulfill her educational goals.

Now, with a career in digital communications at The National Urban League, the 27-year-old is ready to give future college students scholarship opportunities through her own initiative, The Mekonnen Family Scholarship.

The endowment is designed to help immigrant high school students from the black diaspora pay for college. Like those who were born into an immigrant household, Lakew is no stranger to the limitations that come with trying to achieve a higher education.

My working class Ethiopian immigrant mother emphasized education as a gateway to opportunity and success.

But she did not have the economic and social access to help me apply to colleges, visit campuses, pay for application fees, tuition and housing,” Lakew wrote on her campaign page, Help Black Immigrants Pay For College. “The scholarship is named in honor of the humble, hardworking immigrant family I come from, who poured their hopes and dreams into me. I want the names and memories of the souls who are no longer on Earth to live on through this scholarship.”

Beneath the financial strain and lack of resources, there’s a deeper reason why Lakew is determined to help her fellow immigrants. When a discussion about immigration during this troubled political time surfaces, the black immigrant experience is shoved under the rug. Alongside the financial help, the young professional wants to bring visibility to the African and Caribbean communities, and their hard-

VIBE: How did you find out about scholarships while in high school?

Genet Lakew: In high school, we had a great minority achievement coordinator named Mr. James Sample. Pretty much all of the minority kids at the school knew him, and we would always go to his office. His office was kind of like the hangout space.

He was just very welcoming and supportive, so that’s why the minority kids gravitated towards him.

In my junior year he started sending me some applications for scholarships, whenever they would come in he would pass them along and encourage me to apply. By the time I graduated high school I was able to get a total of $8,000 in scholarships.One scholarship was for $4,000 and another one was for $2,000. The other two were for about $1,000 each, so by the time I entered my freshman year at Howard University I had $8,000 in scholarships with me, which was really helpful.

What was the application process like for these scholarships?

The process was really interesting. I remember my classmates not being as into them because they can be time consuming or just labor intensive, but I took in the challenge because I was motivated by the fact that I can get financial support.

Most of them—if not all—had an essay component. When it came to writing the essay, I figured out a way to tell my story.I remember some of the scholarships had interviews. It was a good practice run for job interviews and my career going through that application process.

What made you want to create your own scholarship?

I actually had this idea for a few years now. I’ve been out of college for six years this May. So I’m kind of going through these milestones; I’m in my late twenties, and I was reflecting on my educational journey. But it wasn’t something I really thought I could pursue. I just realized how lucky I am to not have that financial burden. So I kind of felt it was my responsibility to give back in any way that I can.

I decided to just jump in and do it right now. And I was like, “I’m going to do it, why not? I can mobilize people around this.” I think what really did it for me was the recent conversations that we’ve had in our country about immigration and refugees, and what we do with them as a nation. I felt this was a

great time to offer something that shows support to immigrant students, and their families—to let them know not only do you belong in this country, but there is support out there for you to make sure that you have a good quality of life.

What is your plan for the $10,000 you’re raising for the scholarship?

My plan is to divide the $10,000 among five students who will each receive $2,000. They’ll be able to use it toward any college expense—not just tuition. I understand that’s really helpful for students, so upon entering their first year with whatever it is that’s going to support them during their college journey.

Who would be an ideal candidate for this scholarship?

An ideal candidate will be a young person who is very aware of where they come from, has a sense of pride and understanding of being an immigrant or coming from an immigrant family, while still trying to navigate American life. Young people who are navigating a bi-cultural environment and within this bi-cultural environment try to basically understand in the way they can where they come from, but also their own dreams and desires.

Do you aim to do the scholarship on a national level in the future?

Because this is the first year of the scholarship I want to kick it off by starting locally in the DMV, (Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia) and because I mentioned the minority coordinator at my school, James Sample, I’m working with him to set the scholarship up through there. For this first year it makes sense to search for applicants from Washington Lee High School. Now, this is something that I want to continue every year, so for next year I want it to expand, maybe make it regional for the East Coast, and then eventually expand to the national level. But of course, my vision is to impact as many students as possible.

Are you interested in opening up the scholarship to immigrants of all ethnicities and backgrounds?

I’m also open to that as well because I think that as immigrants we have a lot of similar experiences. Obviously we come from different parts of the world, but there are common things that we share once we get to this space of trying to navigate life in a new country.

Source: http://www.vibe.com/

Africa’s First Electric Car Made In Ghana!!

Zimbabwe’s New ‘GOAT’ Currency? President Mugabe Approves Payment of School Fees With Livestock, Labour May 2017

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Parents who cannot raise tuition fees for children can offer livestock in lieu of payment or do chores for learning institutions, a Cabinet minister has said.

Kantanka Odeneho is a five-passenger seating fourwheel drive (4WD) without an internal combustion engine. It runs on a total prime over power of 144V DC been generated by 12 accumulators. There are two charging systems for the car- an external charging system and an internal charging system. The internal charging system uses an extra accumulator to power an invertor and the invertor simultaneously charges the 12 batteries while the car is accelerating.

The internal charging is manual and can be switched on or off when the car is in motion.

The external charging system uses 144V which makes it suitable for the world market.The charging modes are Quick Charge Mode and an Overnight Charge Mode. The Quick Charge Mode takes a maximum of 15 minutes to complete the charging and the Overnight Charge Mode takes a maximum of three hours to complete the charging. The life span of the accumulators is estimated to be a year. Thus, it

is far economical than any vehicle on the market.

The vehicle has a maximum speed of 240Km/h and a takeoff speed of 20Km/h. At the maximum speed, it takes a maximum of 10 second to bring the car to a complete stop. The car has a stereo player as well as an internal cooling fan unlike other electric cars on the market.

The car is made in Ghana by Apostle Dr. Engineer Kwadwo Safo Source:t: http://ghanamediaworld.com/

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora said over the weekend that school authorities should be flexible and not turn away pupils because their parents have no money to pay tuition fees.

“Our schools have to be flexible and ensure those who do not have money to pay fees can work. For example, if there is a builder in the community, he/she must be given that opportunity to work as a form of payment of tuition fees,” he told local newspaper Sunday Mail.

This was further elaborated by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango who was quoted by the newspaper saying payment using livestock is reserved for rural areas while those in towns and cities can pay by working for the school.

This option raised divergent views from parents while the country’s teachers’ association called for a change in the policy.

“I do not think that it’s sustainable with regards to parents in urban areas … so many parents have outstanding balances. Therefore, I am trying to imagine those 1 000-plus parents coming to work at a school … Why spend time doing manual labour at a school when they can go there to look for a good job?”

Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association secretary-general John Mlilo was quoted.

This development follows the recent tabling of a bill in parliament to direct banks to accept livestock as collateral for cash loans to informal businesses.

The Movable Property Security Interests bill, if passed, will allow livestock and household appliances to be acceptable as collateral after evaluation and registration by the central bank.

Cash shortages hit Zimbabwe last year after the government threatened to grab all foreign companies operating in the country under the Indigenisation and Empowerment Law.

Banks in Zimbabwe were compelled to reduce withdrawal bank limits for customers to as low as US$40 per day per individual.

This has led to hundreds of ordinary Zimbabweans sleeping outside banks daily to get the much needed cash.

Zimbabweans and other Africans took to Twitter to express their opinions about the livestock-for-school-fees plan.

May 2017

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26 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Africa !

1. Gambia has only one university.

2. Equatorial Guinea is Africa’s only Spanish-speaking country.

3. South Africa is the most visited African country.

4. Nigeria has the richest Black people inAfrica.

5. Samuel Eto’o is the highest paid Footballer of all time, he received about £350,000 weekly in Russia in 2011.

6. A person from Botswana is called aMotswana, the plural is Batswana.

7. A person from Lesotho is called a Mosotho.

8. A person from Niger is called a Nigerien. A person from Burkina Faso is called a Burkinabe.

9. Nigeria has won more football cups than England.

10. Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the world’s most educated President with 7 degrees, two of them are Masters.

11. Al-Ahly of Egypt is the richest club inAfrica.

12. Didier Drogba is Chelsea’s highest goal scorer in European competition.

13. Johannesburg, South Africa is the most visited city in Africa.

14. Zinedine Zidane wanted to play forAlgeria, but the selector rejected him, saying they are already many players like him in the team.

15. President Jacob Zuma was once a refereein prison.

16. President Robert Mugabe was jailed for 11 years for fighting for freedom.

17. President Robert Mugabe is Africa’s oldest Head of State and the world’s second oldest Head of State. He was born 1924.

18. The Seychellois are the most educated Africans. Seychelles’ literacy rates (Adult: 92%, Youth: 99%)Zimbabwe is 2nd (Adult: 91.2%, Youth: 99%).19. Rwanda is a better country for gender equality than England and USA.20. With one hundred and ten Ministers and Deputy Ministers, and not counting other appointees under the executive, Ghana, under President Akufo-Addo, holds the record of the biggest government in the world.21.

Somalia got its first ATM on October 7,2014.22. South Africa has the most Grammy Award winners in Africa.23. Ethiopia has the most airports in Africa.24. Ethiopia’s economy is growing faster than China's.25.

Eritrea’s President, Isaiah Afwerki is the least richest President in Africa.26. Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country.

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Nigeria’s Segun Toriola Breaks World Record As The Only African To Participate In 7 Olympic Games!!

Nigerian tennis pro, Segun Toriola who started playing table tennis in his father’s house was trained mostly by his brothers, some of whom played for Nigeria at some point is the only African to have participated in seven Olympic Games.

He was discovered through local competitions in Abeokuta. From there, he started participating in tournaments across the country. His first Olympics appearance was in Barcelona in 1992. It was after this competition that the then 19-year-old decided to go professional. So, he went to Italy to hone his craft.

Since after going professional, the 43-year-old has featured in Atlanta ‘96, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016. He has also flown the Nigerian flag in All-Africa Games and Commonwealth Games.

Although he has never won an Olympic medal, Toriola has done pretty well in table tennis: He was number one in Africa from 1998 to 2008; he reached the Men’s Singles final at Beijing 2008, beating former world number one, Jean-Michel Saive; he has also won medals in All-Africa Games and Commonwealth Games. http://howafrica.com

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Ghana-Born Edward Enninful Appointed As Editor Of British Vogue

By Flourish Chukwurah, CNN

(CNN)British Vogue has appointed Edward Enninful as its new editor. The Ghana born, Londonraised former model will be the first male and non-white editor in the magazine's 100 year history.

In the announcement declaring Enninful's appointment, Condé Nast International chairman and chief executive Jonathan Newhouse called Enninful "an influential figure in the communities of fashion, Hollywood and music which shape the cultural zeitgeist."

Enninful started his fashion career in London at the age of 16.

Related article: Meet the African models breaking barriers By 19, he was fashion director for international publication, i-D magazine, the youngest in the title's history.

To add to his many accolades, last October he was given an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his contribution to fashion.

Related: The biggest game changer in African fashion is...the internet Before his appointment as fashion and creative director at W Magazine in 2011, he had worked for American and Italian Vogue.

The 45-year-old will assume his new position August 1, succeeding outgoing editor Alexandra Shulman who spent 25 years with the publication.

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PackageToMe: The Peer-to-Peer Delivery Service with a Twist May 2017

With the power of Peer-to-Peer delivery, many of the challenges above are fixed while not interfering with conventional in-store or online shopping within the country.

Think about this. Imagine you want the Roxfit Xperia XZs Ultra Slim Soft Shell. You very likely won’t get this case to buy literally in any shop anywhere in Ghana. Or will you?

Roxfit Xperia phone cases are one of the best phone cases you can get for you Xperia devices. They weighs less than 2 pounds (even in the shipping package).

What if, on your way to Ghana, from the UK, you could pick this case from a nearby shop, or an online store, and deliver it to a Ghanaian who badly needs it, for just a fraction of the cost of buying and shipping from the UK?

The phone case will account for almost a negligible space in your luggage or backpack, yet will significantly make a difference if someone’s phone lasts longer or does not spoil the next fall it falls because they got a great case to protect it.

PackageToMe.com is a platform developed to help you become an ‘Angel’ to a Ghanaian, desperately in need of a quality and affordable package, yet can’t acquire if for various challenges, some of which are outlined below.

Delivering something as small as a phone case could protect an investment of some US $600 of a high-end smartphone.

The Challenge More online stores are springing up in Ghana in recent times. The missing piece of their puzzle is a majority, if not all, lack the wide array of simple products available on international online shops such as Amazon, Ebay, Expansys and many others.

If a product happens to be in the country, it can sometimes be pegged at an exorbitant price point. Why this is so can be attributed to many factors, including ridiculous profit margins placed on products by sellers.

For instance, a Google Chromecast device sells for US $35 (about 150 Ghana Cedis), yet it could be sold on the market in Ghana for somewhere close to, or above 400 Cedis (US $96).

A Google Chromecast weights less than 0.1 pounds, something so light it hardly would count against your total check-in luggage weight.

Newly launched products and gadgets might take weeks, if not months or years to become readily available in Ghana. If the product manages to enter the country early, it is most often priced unreasonably, as a result of the simple law of demand and supply.

At #TheAfricanDreamLLC, we’ve been thinking about these challenges and attempting to provide simple solutions.

In some lands, such as Cape Town, companies like Orange made online shopping a breeze – buy an item online (from the UK), and get it delivered in under 10 working days.

In a country where at least 25% of the population are internet users, the need to have quality and affordable electronic devices readily available and accessible is vital.

The Solution What if, there was a platform, that you could list an item you want, then a traveler could purchase it for you, meet you in Ghana, then you pay for it, plus any delivery cost and all you do is simply present receipt showing cost/proof of purchase and yes, the item too?

What if there was a platform like Tonaton.com, however instead of helping sellers meet buyers and vice versa, travelers get to find packages to deliver, and requesters could find travelers to deliver packages?

How do we create a seamless platform, open to all, but keeping travel dates of travelers secured, and making transactions as open as possible?

#TheAfricanDreamLLC begun work on a platform, which we today call today 'PackageToMe'. The goal was to build a fast, easy-to-use, robust and secure platform on which requesters and travelers could meet in the name of package purchases and deliveries between the USA and Ghana, for now, because you know we have bigger ideas and the next one might be residing in your head so yes, share them, ideas of yours are welcomed!

So, we recently put PackageToMe.com out there in Beta mode, and hope to answer many of the questions raised above.

Our Peer-to-Peer Delivery system is unlike many of the existing systems available. Here’s why.

PackageToMe: The Peer-to-Peer Delivery with a Twist One of the principles of Tonaton that made it a success is one which PackageToMe.com wishes to ride on.

Tonaton makes it amazingly easy for buyers to meet sellers, whiles using their head. Tonaton gets out of the way, and allows sellers and buyers to set their own price points, delivery terms and run their own transactions.

In the same vein, PackageToMe brings in that twist to the Peer-to-Peer delivery systems by getting out of the picture and allowing travelers and requesters to proceed with transactions.

Other Peer-to-Peer delivery systems in existence today with Ghana as the target market, all have a middle-man or company doing the routing of this-package-to-this-traveler and whatnot.

The presence of a middle-man or company means an increase in delivery cost, with ridiculous, rigid and unreasonable base price points for every product.

For some, an item the weighs same as for example 20 A4 sheet papers and originally costs US $30 could incur at least, a delivery cost of US $130 or more as whatever middle people involved scramble to get their respective cuts.

For others, say a US $5 phone case which weighs less than 5 pounds, could cost US $40 minimum to deliver.

At PackageToMe.com, how much to charge per item delivery is left to the traveler and requester. Thus, there is not price set in stone, rather, negotiated per each item. No blanket price points. No generalized delivery cost points, and sometimes if the traveller is nice and u get lucky your deliv-

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ery could cost zero and the opposite could happen when out of appreciation for the delivered item, the fellow picking it up could stash a few coins or notes as a way of saying thank you.

Just like Tonaton don’t dictate how much to sell your used phone, PackageToMe does not dictate how much to charge the delivery of the US $5 Body Glove phone case or the US $999 Mavic Pro drone.

How to make it Work We are constantly revising ways to ensure the safe use of the PackageToMe.com platform. You can find more details on our Stay Safe page.

In a nutshell, take note of these (for travelers):

Do not carry any items of any kind listed within the Prohibited and Restricted Baggage Items. Just DONT, please!

The specific date (as in, for example, 15th May 2017), is never displayed whenever you enlist your upcoming travel schedule.

PackageToMe only displays an estimate in weeks.

You are okay to be contacted via Phone should you enlist a package or your scheduled travel if you so require.

If you don’t want to carry a package, don’t carry it. Just say No! It might not fit in your luggage Too delicate to properly secure and carry Just not the type you wish to carry Always carry items that are relatively small and light in weight.

ONLY carry items that can fit nicely within the allowed baggage limit of your airline.

ONLY logged in users can see your phone number.

No tricks. Deliver what you are asked to. As much as possible, leave the item in its original packaging, and attach receipts of the package to the requester.

How does it work?

Here’s a typical likely case scenario:

Maybe Obed lives in the US, but plans to visit Ghana. He enlists his travel, indicating how much space he has left in his luggage.

Joseph has a package posted on PackageToMe.com. He points Obed to the package, and asks if Obed can carry it.

Obed agrees to deliver the package to Joseph at a US $25 cost (after some negotiation) plus the cost of the actual item. The package probably costs US $120. Therefore, upon arrival, Joseph pays Obed an equivalent of US $145 in Ghana cedis or has the money in dollars.

Obed therefore buys the package with his money, arrives in Ghana, calls Joseph to meet up at the Accra Mall and bingo, two smiling faces do business and walk, or decide to get to know eachother... either way life goes on and all are happy.

Obed and Joseph slap each other gently on the back shake hands --transaction complete!

Conclusion For some Frequently Asked Questions, please head over to the FAQ section on PackageToMe.com. Leave a comment below or contact us via email at packages@khophi.co or phone: GH +233.26.920.1707 / US +1571.406.2776 We’re happy to read and respond to your feedbacks, so please do send them in, at Feedback.

Source: PackageToMe.com / TheAfricanDream.net

Who Or What Will We Worship?

is God. When we worry about our children going into school buildings and possibly becoming harmed or killed by someone for whatever reason, the Lord wants us to be still and know that He is God. When we are afraid of going to the malls or the movie theaters with our children or even a cultural festival, for fear that we might be deliberately plowed by a truck or that we will hear the deafening sounds of gun shots, their ricocheting bullets and have to run for cover, the Lord wants us to be still and know that He is God. For He assures us that though the world has changed, and it will continue to change even more as prophesied in the book of Revelations, we need not frantically look for something new. We need not appropriate or covet someone, something, or ideology as our go to source for comfort, safety and strength. He is the God of Moses and He remains God even in times of uncerDr. Miriam C. Gyimah tainties and danger.

Psalm 46 begins with “God is our refuge and strength, a very Two days before this article was due, I still did not have a topic. Feeling the pressure of my looming deadline, I went present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart to my room to do my daily devotion and to ask the Lord for a word to write about, a word that would be instructional yet of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling” (verses 1-3). The assurance from this psalm uplifting. As I began to do preliminary prayers before I prompts us to pause and recall who God is. It reminds us to conwould turn to my Bible, I sensed the words, “hold still -sider His greatness and His capabilities. It cautions us to not focus on God.” So I reached for my notebook, which was right by my side and jotted down those words. I continued to become fearful and allow our fears and feelings of uncertainties derail us, causing us to lose our way and to possibly actively seek pray, but then the thoughts of Moses and the golden calf came to mind and the question “what will we worship?” also answers elsewhere. We are to know and remember that God is our refuge when we are afraid of terror, when we are afraid of came. Other thoughts began to rush in: “the world has changed—God has not,” don’t focus on the media or popular dangers and that He is with us even if we can’t see Him because of overwhelming and blinding circumstances. We must recall and culture—focus on God” etc. I then looked at the original know that He is with us and will be with us in times of troubles thought I wrote down, “hold still -- focus on God,” and I wrote above it, “be still and know that I am God.” Knowing and precariousness.

When the Israelites thought they had somehow lost Moses, that this is the title of a song, I reached for my hymn book and turned to that song. Written above the page as a preface they resorted to idolatry simply because they wanted to see, touch and feel a new answer to their troubles. In their minds, they had was “be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10. I opened my Bible and turned to Psalm 46 to read verse 10 as to find something new to depend on, something that will instantly help them, something that would direct them and even advance well as that entire division. The Lord had once again them. We need not do that. The scripture states that even if the answered my prayers and led me where only He could lead me. The Lord wants me to share with those reading this arti- world should change for the worse, as we are plainly witnessing now, we should not fear. Further, it says, “He makes wars to cle that though our world is chaotic, though nothing seems cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the stable, though we are fearful, we should be still and know spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. ‘Be still and know that He has not changed. There is no need to seek for answers anywhere else, nothing can genuinely satisfy us and that I am God’” (9-10). We see here that our assurance is furthered. It isn’t only just that He is with us in times of trouble and nothing can give us peace and a vision but He Himself. will be our refuge and strength, but it is also promised that He In the book of Exodus, when Moses had gone to the will bring an end to it. He can cause wars to end. He can mountains (Mount Sanai) to seek the face of the Lord for destroy the weapons of warfare against us. So why must we be direction and guidance to lead Israel’s multitude, the people disturbed? Why must we tremble? Why must we toss and turn grew weary. All of a sudden, they found themselves alone and impatient. The forty days that Moses had been away was and fall into depression and be despondent because the world as too much for them to endure. They needed their stable leader we know it has taken a turn for the worse and we are not so sure any more of our country’s or our world’s place and future in and director, the one who had led them out of slavery and Egypt, the one who had parted the Red Sea with his staff, the regards to economic, environmental, moral or even military stance? Why should we tremble when we step our foot outside one who told them what to do and where to go, as led by God. In their worry and impatience, they decided they need- our doors fearing that we or our children will not return home, ed a new god. They determined to create, construct an image that somehow we or our loved ones will be harmed? The psalm says that because we know He is our help and because we know of a god, a physical object that seemingly would be there if He is our refuge, we will not fear. In the least, I say, we should Moses, their wise and able leader were to separate himself from them. For it seemed to them that the absence of Moses not fear.

The truth is the world has changed and it is still rapidly translates to the absence of God. They must have a god they changing. This is not the same world or country I took comfort could hold on to. They must have a god they could see. in while growing up. Too many things, especially 911, changed They needed a God they could directly go to and worship, all of that. So now we live with obvious palpitations and endless Moses or not. So they brought all their gold, melted it and concerns and worries. What we took comfort in is eroding. constructed a new god, their golden calf, and began to worMany of us are visibly concerned and worried. What do we do? ship it (Exodus 32), believing they had found their answer.

What do we grasp on to when it seems as if we are slowly In times such as these, times where instabilities seem to be the order of the day, times where it appears there drowning in quicksand? Do we let go of God because we believe He has effectively abandoned us, otherwise things will not be like is no trusted leadership in a king, queen or president, times this? Do we try to find something else to believe in, some alterwhere our safety and freedom are threatened and our lives could be in danger any day, there grows a restlessness within nate philosophy, individual or spiritual entity to hang all our hopes and cares upon? Do we have a Golden calf in our future or us which causes us to toss and turn in our sleep. And our pleasant dreams turn to heart racing graphic terrifying night- are we going to still look to and wait on God, believing that mares. But the Lord cautions us to be still and know that He though the world has changed, though life will be more challeng-

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ing for our children’s future on numerous fronts, He is still the same and very present? Who or what will we worship?

Jesus Christ Himself tells us that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Mathew 24:35). Here, with these words, we must understand that everything on earth, however good or however bad will not last. We must bear in mind that we cannot revel in the great times of our lives and think that there isn’t a God who is forever seated on His throne and forever present and at the same time, we mustn’t lose sight of this very truth when our world is shaken. Let’s recall the episode of the strong winds in the book of Mark.

Scripture tells us that Jesus and His disciples had gotten into a boat but “there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were braking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’

And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4 37-40).

In short, we can’t allow ourselves to be blown away by any wind’s currents, but stand still, knowing that Christ is in the boat with us just as He was with the disciples. What’s more, Christ appeals to our faith. Do we have no faith? That the Israelites gave up on God because Moses was gone for forty days is telling of their faith given all the miracles they had witnessed in Egypt and on their journey. What about us? Are we going to give up on our faith and forget what the Lord has done for us in our personal lives as well as in our country and world? Moreover, those of us who are Christians must keep things in perspective and remember our place in the world. If we have forgotten, scripture tells us that we are in this world but we are not of it. In His prayer to God the Father recorded in the book of John, Jesus says, “’I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one…Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth’” (John 17: 14-17).

While we are physical partakers of this earthly place, our belief in our God and our active obedience to Him shield us from so many consequences that befall the general world. Our God can amply feed us even as others face starvation. Our God can make a route of escape for us even as others are harmed or killed. Our God can heal us from sicknesses from toxins that ruthless and wicked people use to harm our world even as others are unfortunately not healed. Most importantly, our God can give us peace in a very disturbed and unstable world. After all, Jesus assures, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Let us bear in mind who we are. Let us recall who we worship and let us be assured that our God has overcome the world.

Dr. Miriam Gyimah is available for speaking engagements. You may contact her at newepistlespress@outlook.com

Ghanaian Hypocrisy and President Akufo- From Accra to Washington Dulles Airport Addo's War on Galamsey SA209 Mondays,Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays Departs Johannesburg 5:25PM Arrives in Accra 9:45 PM Departs Accra Accra 10:45 Arrives in Washington 0605 AM the next day

Washington to Accra SA210 Photo: President Akufo-Addo to left and Kwame Ahenkorah Osei-Agyepong I learnt a lot about Ghanaian hypocrisy when it comes to order enforcement during my days as the Canteen Chairman of Unity Hall (1990-2000) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana – a lesson which has served me well even to date…

The Hall of Residence was experiencing an influx of hawkers, which was causing problems for students, especially during lecture hours when most of the students were away. Hawkers roamed freely throughout the KNUST halls. Not only were they noisy, some of them did engage in acts such as stealing and other vices which was very inconvenient.

One of my major campaign promise was to bring some sanity in the activities of hawkers in the Hall.

The students voted for proper regulation of the activities of hawkers in the Hall and it was my duty as the new Canteen Chairman to enforce these regulations – which was basically ensuring that hawking was limited to only registered and known bread-sellers and that they were allowed to hawk only in the morning hours when most of the students were around and getting ready for lectures.

To aid me in enforcing order were the Porters – these are men employed by the KNUST halls to assist in the management of security. I trusted and respected these men since they were old enough to be my Uncle or Father besides the fact that they knew their jobs. There was only one entrance to the hall and the Porters’ Lodge was right at that entrance, so basically, no hawker could enter the hall without being seen by a Porter, in addition the Porters’ Lodge was manned 24/7.

This looked simple right? Nope! Well I thought to myself: all I had to do was liaise with the Chief Porter, meet with all the Porters and Hawkers and bingo, everyone will be happy, right? Nope, wrong!

Despite the assurances from these Porters and

Hawkers, the problem wasn’t being solved after several months into my election, putting my reputation at stake. I was actually accused of being weak and taking bribes from the hawkers, this accusation was of course unfounded.

Unknown to me however, the hawkers and the porters had studied my lecture schedule, so as soon as I left for lectures – it was free range for them all. One day, I skipped lectures and hid in my room, together with my roommates we successfully accosted several hawkers and seized their wares.

That was when I realized the true nature of the problem, after seizing the wares, that is when different delegations representing each hawker showed their respective faces. Some of the delegations included porters themselves – the hawkers were either their nieces and or nephews, wife or girlfriend, some of the delegations included Mature Students who’s girlfriends were hawkers, some even included Lecturers of the KNUST – the hawkers were their maids… talk about Ghanaian hypocrisy.

Now tell me, how was a poor Canteen Chairman supposed to maintain law and order when all those expected to assist in the fight, were actively engaged in the trade from behind the scenes, take your time because I’ll await your response.

God be with President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo in his fight against Galamsey, may he be able to surmount this problem and Ghanaian hypocrisy. May all well meaning Ghanaians join in this fight to save #StopGalamseyNow and save Ghana.

Source: Kwame Ahenkorah Osei-Agyepong, NPP-USA

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays Departure :Washington 5:40PM Arrival -Accra 07:40 AM Departs Accra 08:40 AM

Arrival Johannesburg 4:30

SA052 Saturday

SA053

Johannesburg 16:55 Accra 21:15

Saturday Accra 22:30 next day

SA056

Johannesburg 06:20 the

Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday Johannesburg 12:50 Accra 1710 Accra 18:10 Abidjan 19:10

SA057

Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday Abidjan 20:10 Accra 21:25 Accra 22:30 Johannesburg 06:20 the next day

Two sisters aim to bring a bit of Africa, and some flavor, to D.C.

Afrikan

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The Dureke sisters also have an email newsletter that includes listings of black-owned stores in the Washington area, such as the boutique.

“We might not be able to do much for the black-owned businesses that couldn’t hold on because of gentrification, but we can give a shout-out to those that are hanging on,” Chidinma said.

Of course, such flair is not for everyone. In the District, look-alike shoe-box condos proliferate like kudzu. Rows of sidewalk cafes cater to look-alike, mostly nonblack clientele. Some “ethnic” restaurants are so Americanized that they might as well have golden arches over the entrance.

I’d interviewed the Dureke sisters at the Bukom Cafe on 18th Street near Columbia Road NW, in Adams Morgan.

They had recommended it.

Chidinma, left, and Chuckwunonso Dureke are Nigerian American sisters who seek to bring more African “flavor” to the cultural scene in the city. (Courtland Milloy/The Washington Post)l

In a younger, richer, gentrifying District, greasy spoons give way to swank new restaurants. Music shops morph into yoga studios. Liquor stores become wine bars and microbreweries.

But for two Nigerian American sisters who grew up in the Washington area, an essential ingredient is missing from the new urban recipe.

“We say D.C. doesn’t have Maggi cube,” said Chidinma “Chi Chi” Dureke, 27.

Maggi is the brand name of a seasoning cube widely used in West African cooking.

“It’s like mumbo sauce,” said Chuckwunonso “Nonso” Dureke, 25. “It adds flavor.”

The Dureke sisters want to add cultural flavor to the city.

They want to make the District a cultural cornerstone of the African diaspora — a place where black people embrace and celebrate their African heritage and not just pay lip service to the name, African American.

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“There are a lot of people like us, in our generation, that are searching for self, trying to discover who we are and where we can feel at home in the world,” Chidinma said. “D.C. ought to be a place where people are encouraged to take that journey. We believe that our dual identity as Nigerian and American allows us to help guide people along the way.”

Their efforts include discussing African culture — including food, fabric and family traditions — in a blog called “Nkem Life.” They also serve as the D.C. partners on a sociopolitical website aimed primarily at black urban millennial women, called “I Don’t Do Clubs.”

The site, founder Genese Jamilah said, is for women “who are looking for social events beyond the typical nightclub

scene” and who want to avoid “the random men grabbing . . . as you and your friends hold hands just to make it to the restroom.”

The Dureke sisters are from the Igbo tribe, in eastern Nigeria.

Both were born in the Washington area and went to live in Nigeria for several years before returning to the region.

Chidinma, a graduate of Frostburg State University in Maryland, is a visual artist who owns a graphic design business called CHDesignz.

Chuckwunonso is also a visual artist and is a MFA student at Howard University studying cinematography and film production.

Both can recall the days when African culture was a ubiquitous part of D.C. life. African and Caribbean music pulsated from bookstores and carryouts along Georgia Avenue and Columbia Road.

Wood carvers from Ghana whittled away while sitting on storefront steps. Authentic African foods were served at street festivals and even dished out to strangers at impromptu family picnics in Rock Creek Park.

It was not unusual to see women wearing traditional African dresses.

“You didn’t have to go to the Smithsonian to see authentic African fabric,” Chuckwunonso said. “There were shops where you could buy it, and people weren’t afraid to wear the most colorful designs.”

But the African culture was taken for granted, neglected, not nurtured. Even kente cloth, the iconic link to the Ashanti kingdom, ended up as little more than a fad.

The sisters wore dresses that they had designed and made from fabrics bought in Nigeria. Similar African-inspired dresses can be found at the Nubian Hueman boutique in Southeast Washington.

“Bukom to us has a great balance of American and West African culture with Afro-Caribbean flair,” Chidinma said.

We noticed while dining that some African American pedestrians walked past without so much as glancing at the place.

Some ended up going to an Italian restaurant and a popular fast-food joint nearby.

“A lot of that kind of decision-making has to do with lack of exposure and conditioning,” Chuckwunonso said. “We want people to celebrate their ancestral homeland, not be ashamed of where they came from.”

That may not be enough for the District to get its Maggi cube back. But just having the Dureke sisters around certainly adds flavor to an otherwise bland town.

By Courtland Milloy Columnist Washington Post

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Meet The Ghanaian King Who Works As A Mechanic In Germany And Rules His People Via Skype!!

67 year old King Togbe Ngoryifia Cephas Kosi Bansah pictured at his mechanic workshop in Germany is the superior and spiritual chief of Ewe people of Gbi kingdom in Eastern Ghana.

He may be a king in his country but he works as a full-time mechanic in Germany. He governs his people over Skype.

Céphas grew up in Ghana but he moved to Germany in 1970 before he was appointed king. His kingdom consists of 300,000 Ewe people. He originally moved to Germany when his grandfather, the then king, encouraged him to train there as a mechanic.

After finishing his studies and gaining full citizenship, he settled and set up his own garage in Ludwigshafen. He continued living a peaceful life until 1987 when he received a Fax which would change his life forever.

His grandfather, the King of Hohoe, had died and Bansah’s father and eldest brother were deemed unfit to rule because they were left-handed, which the Ewe people considered to be ‘unclean’. This meant that Céphas was his grandfather’s successor, and the new king.

He now lives in Ludwigshafen with his wife Gabriele Bansah, 57 and his two children Carlo and Katharina, continuing his job as a mechanic and his role as King. He uses Skype to govern his people and still visits Ghana up to eight times per year.

http://howafrica.com

King Bansah (pictured) leads two very contrasting lives as a part-time monarch and a fulltime monarch

Despite being regarded as a ‘superior and spiritual chief of Ewe people’ in Togo, he also works full-time mechanic in Germany – governing his people over Skype

Dressed in all his royal finery, Céphas Bansah, helps to govern more than two million Ghanaian and Togolese people

King Bansah is pictured with his son Carlo Bansah (left), his daughter Katharina Bansah (centre) and his wife Gabriele Bansah (right)

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Donald Trump Told Africa ‘I’m Not Your Uncle’ – President Yoweri Museveni

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have loyalties.

“In Uganda, am not bothered with minerals because Uganda has been developing at a good rate depending on agriculture and industry. We discovered petroleum about 12 years ago but up to now, we have not exploited it because I could not agree with those companies. They wanted to cheat us. I said no, the petroleum has been in the ground for the last many years it can stay there until we agree. That is because, in my view, minerals should belong to the country,” he said.

Mineral rich Uganda

Museveni also emphasized locally based value addition for countries to fully exploit their natural resources for the benefit of their people.

President Yoweri Museveni has urged African leaders to stop what he described as ideological meandering. Leaders, he said, should thoroughly discuss and review positions which can help their people transform and develop using their natural resources.

Museveni added that focus should be on home-based solutions and self-reliance. He said new US President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies will jolt Africans into the reality of their situation.

“I love Trump. I love that man Trump because that man has told you that he is not your uncle. And I think it is good. For those Africans who feel orphaned, am sorry for them. Let’s come back to our continent and mind our own affairs,” Museveni said.

Museveni was speaking Saturday at a discussion on “Managing Natural Resources In Africa: Challenges and Prospects,” at the ongoing 6th High-Level Forum on security in Africa at Blue Nile Hotel, Bahir Dar in Ethiopia.

The president spoke passionately about processing Africa’s minerals from Africa to create jobs and get more value from their resources, illustrating his point by saying it was “foolish to give your neighbor firewood when you don’t have firewood in your house”.

“We have a lot of Uranium. Canadians came and said they wanted to take to Canada to process it from there and I said it will stay in the ground until we build own nuclear power station because am not a fool to give firewood to my neighbor when I don’t have firewood in my house,” he said.

Education is not the only solution

President Museveni who disagreed with some of the presenters who said education was the solution to solving Africa’s problems said policy mistakes by both technocrats and political leaders have led to various problems in Africa.

“That if you educate your people, everything will be okay?

This was part of mistakes in 1960. This fragmented thinking, fragmented vision is incorrect. If you educate people but you

don’t have infrastructure including electricity, where will they work? How will they work”? the president said.

The president used the example of the Philippines which he said has its citizens working all over the world because they don’t have jobs in their own country while South Korea has its citizens working home.

“We in Uganda have identified 10 strategic bottlenecks and our view is that they all must be handled together. These include ideology, state formation, infrastructure development, market integration –

If I produce but do not have enough buyers, how will I benefit?”

Museveni said while Africa is at a structural disadvantage in that great ideas do not apply to the whole of Africa, the Tana Forum can still spread the ideas through ‘osmosis’. He said it takes good ideas to spread on the continent to consolidate its gains and urged all Africans to come together and achieve this.

“Africa has a structural disadvantage. We are not like China.

In China when there is one good thinker…the whole china follows them. Here, you may have good ideas in Ethiopia but they are localized and do not apply to the whole of Africa.

This forum can help ideas spread by osmosis,” he said.

He urged all Africans to come together and achieve this.

Who owns the resources?

Museveni also urged the forum to focus on who owns the natural resources on the continent.

“On the issue of mineral resources, my question is who owns the minerals. With petroleum we have production sharing agreements (PSA) where the company which has exploration licences agrees with government to pay so much to regain what they invested and the rest is for government,” he said, adding that, it is not clear what the case is with other minerals including where companies own minerals but governments

“We have got huge reserves of iron ore in Uganda. Indians came and said they want to export soil to India and process it there. If they take as soil, they would pay $38 per ton. Our iron ore is 70% pure, one of the best in the world, only second to Peru. When steel prices are high instead of $38 per ton, you get $900. I said nobody will take an ounce of iron ore from Uganda until we agree.. up to now its still in the ground,” he said.

He revealed that the government agreed with the Chinese to process locally the lower version magnetite which they are using to produce steel.

On petroleum, Museveni said various companies tried to convince Uganda to export its petroleum from abroad and were discouraging the country from building an oil refinery saying it was not economically productive.

“I was told Uganda does not need a refinery because it was not productive and not economic that means those with refineries are Mother Theresas’ working for nothing. I went to Iran and asked how many refineries they have and they said they got 9 and building another 6. I said no refinery no oil. It is still in the ground until we agree,” he said.

What is TANA?

The Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa is an annual meeting that brings together African leaders and stakeholders to engage and explore African-led security solutions. Currently, in its 6th edition, the Forum is at the forefront of initiating dialogue with the continent’s policymakers and influencers.

The Forum complements formal meetings of African heads of state and government by assembling them in an informal, collaborative environment. In the spirit of gatherings taking place under the Baobab tree, the Forum offers room and space for panel discussions, interaction with the floor and bilateral talks to share views and experiences in a time efficient, results-oriented and open manner.

“Frank, the relevant and candid dialogue is fundamental to resolving conflict and transforming societies,” explains TANA organizers.

The Tana Forum promotes African-led solutions by holding discussions on the strategic and pro-active management of African peace and security issues driven by the interest to contribute to stronger ownership of these issues.

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Hackers on Rampage - Target Media Websites Hackers have targeted major Ghanaian news websites, as the coalition of media houses intensifies a campaign, for the ban of illegal mining commonly referred to as galamsey [gather and sell] in Ghana.

for a ransom but Ghanaweb ignored them.

Peacefmonline

U.S. Approves Sale of Weaponized Helicopters to Kenya M a y 2017

with the U.S. Armed Forces and other partners in the region. Additionally, a strong national defense and dedicated military force will assist Kenya in its efforts to maintain stability in East Africa.

With respect to Peacefmonline, the desktop version of the website was not accessible for At least four major websites, Ghanaweb.com, sometime and it was only the mobile site Peacefmonline.com, Myjoyononline.com and which was accessible during the period of the Adomonline.com have come under attack in the last three attack. weeks.

Kenya will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

Myjoyonline

Multitvworld.com which is also under the Multimedia Group was also affected. These websites were un-accessi- In the case of Myjoyonline.com, ble for some time during the period of the attacks.

Adomonline.com and Multitvworld.com, it was noticed around Thursday that the sites Every day, various websites do get hundreds of attempted were having technical issues and for four days attacks that are considered normal by webmasters and they were not accessible. It was announced on expected, but not on a similar scale as the one currently the radio station, Joy FM that the sites were being experienced by the news websites. having technical issues and that efforts were underway to resolve it.

The Daily Graphic has gathered that the attacks mainly originated from hackers in China and that they were in the As of press time Sunday, Myjoyonline was nature of distributed denial of service (DDoS). yet to be back online but Adomonline and

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The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor will be MD Helicopters, Mesa, AZ. There are no Washington, DC — The State Department has known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Kenya for MD 530 Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of approxiaircraft. The estimated cost is $253 million. mately twelve (12) additional contractor The Defense Security Cooperation Agency Multitvworld were back online. delivered the required certification notifying representatives in country for a period What is DDoS of 12 months.

Congress of this possible sale on May 1, Galamsey fight 2017.

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is an attack There will be no adverse impact on U.S. in which multiple compromised computer systems attack The media has been at the forefront mounting The Government of Kenya has requested a defense readiness as a result of this proa target, such as a server, website or other network pressure for a ban on illegal mining. posed sale. possible sale of twelve (12) MD 530F resource, and cause a denial of service for users of the tarweaponized aircraft to include twenty-four geted resource.

Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, a member of the steer- (24) Heavy Machine Gun Pod (HMP) 400 This notice of a potential sale is ing committee of the coalition of media hous- systems; wenty-four (24) M260 rocket required by law and does not mean the The hackers normally flood the targets with millions of es in the fight against galamsey suspects that launchers; four thousand and thirty-two sale has been concluded. messages, connection requests or malformed packets. the attacks were deliberate to frustrate the (4,032) M151 rockets; one thousand five hunmedia’s fight against galamsey.

All questions regarding this proposed dred and thirty-six (1,536) 2.75-inch M274 Foreign Military Sale should be directsmoke signature warhead rockets; and four This forces the target to slow down or even crash and shut Cyber attacks ed to the State Department's Bureau of hundred thousand (400,000) rounds of .50 down, thereby denying service to legitimate users or sysPolitical Military Affairs, Office of caliber ammunition. Also included are comtems. When this happens, legitimate users are unable to Congressional and Public Affairs, pmmunications and navigation equipment, convisit the target website. cpa@state.gov. tractor logistics support, training, U.S. There was a sense of alarm and dismay when Government technical assistance, airframe Investigations ongoing some state websites were recently hacked and and weapon system spare parts support, put out of action for a while.

Contractor Field Service Representative A number of the editors of the affected websites told the (CFSR) support, and Special Assigned Airlift Daily Graphic that investigations were ongoing to ascerMission (SAAM) flight delivery support. The tain the cause of the hacking. total estimated cost is $253 million.

The views of Ghanaian cyber security experts Source URL: https://dsca.mil/major“We are all gathering data. We have made a lot of were that, there could be more of such attacks This proposed sale contributes to the foreign arms-sales/kenya-md-530-aircraft progress and will officially file a complaint with National on government agencies and companies as policy and national security of the United Security after our internal investigations. well as on important private establishments if States by improving the security of a strong the nation does not develop and implement a regional partner who is a regional security “There appears to be a sponsored attack on the websites cyber security strategy to address cyber warleader, undertaking critical operations against of the media houses. What usually happens is that others fare, sabotage and espionage. al-Shabaab, and a troop contributor to the go down when hacked websites revive their operations,” a African Union Mission in Somalia (AMIwebsite editor noted.

SOM).

Ghanaweb

In the case of Ghanaweb, the attack happened around Easter three weeks ago and the webmasters had to work around the clock to restore service after some days.

Ghanaweb issued a notice to inform visitors it was resolving a technical issue.

The Daily Graphic gathers that the attackers demanded

Just last week the Bank of Ghana (BoG) cautioned banks to guard against vulnerability to cyber-attacks as a result of a growing threat of cyber-attacks and recent instances of fraudulent payments online.

Source: Daily Graphic

By Defense Security Cooperation Agency

The proposed sale of the MD 530F helicopters, weapons, ammunition, support items and technical support will advance Kenya's efforts to conduct scout and attack rotary wing aircraft operations in support of their AMISOM mission. The MD 530F will also replace Kenya's aging MD500 fleet, which is the current reconnaissance platform supporting Kenyan ground forces. This sale will significantly enhance the Kenyan Army's modernization efforts and increase interoperability

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Somali President Buries the Hatchet With Ethiopia

Since then, the regional force has secured significant gains: driving out Al Shabaab militants from the Somali capital Mogadishu. But the latter remain active in the rural parts of Somalia.

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Nigeria's President Buhari Urged To Take Medical Leave

"Al Shabaab remains a formidable threat still and clearly there will be expectations of a more robust Amisom push against Al Shabaab," at the talks, Abdi reckons.

Who's talking?

By Christina Okello Somalia's new president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, was to visit Ethiopia on Wednesday in a much-anticipated meeting aimed at smoothing over decades of mistrust.

Farmajo has been criticised for waiting three months before going to Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopia trip is by far the most important visit abroad that President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo will make and it is also the most difficult, says GĂŠrard Prunier, a French historian specialising in the Horn of Africa.

Farmajo has visited five other countries, including Kenya, beforehand.

"He didn't have the guts to go there first," Prunier told RFI by phone on Tuesday.

"Since it's going to be a controversial visit with difficult circumstances, difficult dialogue, he probably postponed it until he felt it was absolutely necessary."

Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo beat the odds to become Somalia's ninth president on 8 February, campaigning on a platform to defeat the Al Shabaab armed group and improve security.

Yet he almost did not make it to the presidency due to meddling from the Ethiopian government.

"The Ethiopian government backed a different candidate, so there was speculation that the new Somali president may actually be hostile to Ethiopia, a regional country with a military presence in Somalia," Rashid Abdi, Horn of Africa Director at the International Crisis Group in Nairobi told RFI.

Letting bygones be bygones

Yet the urgency of Mogadishu's security concerns leave Farmajo with little choice but to do business with Addis.

"Definitely there is a huge security imperative which is how to deal with Al Shabaab," Abdi says. "Al Shabaab is an existential threat not only to Somalia but to the region.

And I think that security cooperation between the two countries will be very central to how they move forward."

Relations though weren't helped when Ethiopia pulled its troops from Somalia last October.

Ethiopia National Defense Force (ENDF) units under the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) unilaterally departed from two strategic towns in the Hiraan region of central Somalia, with Addis blaming the EU for failing to sufficiently support Amisom.

"The question is, to whom will President Farmajo speak?" GĂŠrard Prunier says.

"Since the death of President Meles Zenawi, there are various factions who all have different views on what's going on in Somalia."

The decades-old conflict over Ogaden, the Somali region in eastern Ethiopia, is not likely to be top of the list, though.

"Things have changed significantly in the past 10 years and I think that the Somalis in the Ogaden part of Ethiopia and north-eastern Kenya are no longer harbouring secessionist views," says Abdi.

That leaves Somaliland, which still very much wants to be recognised as an independent country.

It's also a battleground for Gulf countries because of ongoing military operations in Yemen.

Yemen conflict weighs on Somaliland question

The United Arab Emirates announced their intention earlier this year to open up a military base in Berbera in the self-declared state of Somaliland.

"Farmajo pretends Somaliland is still part of Somalia," continues Prunier. "Of course he says the government in Somaliland is not authorised to sign an external diplomatic contract of such an important thing as welcoming a country which is at war [United Arab Emirates] on its territory."

Except Somaliland did sign an agreement with the United Arab Emirates in February. Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have been fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015.

"The real issue behind Farmajo's visit to Ethiopia is Yemen", says Prunier. "Farmajo wants to stop Somaliland from hosting the UAE military base and Ethiopia are reluctant to have Arabs back in the region after dozens of Ethiopians were killed during the Abyssinian-Adal conflict of the 16th century."

The former rivals could thus see eye to eye on Somaliland. The latter remains excluded from next week's international conference on Somalia in London.

Source: http://allafrica.com

A group of prominent Nigerians has called on President Muhammadu Buhari, 74, to take medical leave, amid growing concern about his health.

There was an "apparent deterioration" in his health following his failure to attend the last two cabinet meetings, the group said.

Mr Buhari took about seven weeks of medical leave in January, and flew to the UK for treatment.

When he returned home in March, he said he had never been so ill in his life.

Mr Buhari has not disclosed his illness, but hinted that he had had a blood transfusion.

Africa Live: More updates on this and other stories Should Nigerians be worried about their president's health?

Do Nigerians go on holiday?

Information Minister Lai Mohammed told the BBC that the president's health was "a personal matter".

Nigerians have been kept aware of his condition, he added.

'Take a rest' The 13-member group included some of the Nigeria's most influential civil society figures, including lawyer Femi Falana, political analyst Jibrin Ibrahim, and Transparency International Nigeria head Anwal Musa Rafsanjani.

In their statement, they said the president had not been seen in public for the last week, and his absence from the cabinet meetings, as well as the weekly Friday Muslim prayers, "has fuelled further speculation and rumours" about his medical condition.

The 13 said they felt "compelled" to ask Mr Buhari "to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay".

Mr Buhari's personal assistant Bashir Ahmed said the president had met Justice Minister Abubakar Malami and other officials at the presidential villa on Tuesday as part of his official duties.

Last week, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said Mr Buhari was "taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment" in the UK. Buhari's unhealthy start to 2017 19 January: Leaves for UK on "medical vacation" 5 February: Asks parliament to extend medical leave 10 March: Returns home but does not resume work immediately 26 April: Misses second cabinet meeting and is "working from home" 28 April: Misses Friday prayers

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Could Fasting Every Other Day Help You Lose More Weight?

The fasting diet appeared to be safe, she added.

On fast days, people were encouraged to eat a lot of protein, because protein makes you feel full, she said.

May 2017

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ICGC Intimate Praise and Worship Experience

In terms of weight loss, all calories are the same, but not all calories are healthy ones, Varady said.

On days people could eat anything, some ate bags of chips and still lost weight, she noted.

"If you are reducing your food intake, you are going to lose weight, but in terms of health benefits, people should try to eat less processed foods and more fruits and vegetables," Varady said.

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 1, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- As much as you might hate the daily restrictions of a conventional diet, a new study shows that fasting one day and eating what you want the next may not be a better way to lose weight.

After one year, researchers found that weight loss on either type of diet was about the same -- 6 percent for those on the alternate-day fasting diet and a little over 5 percent for those on the daily restricted-calorie diet.

"We thought the alternate-day fasting group would do better. It allows people to have a break from dieting every other day, so we thought their adherence would be better," explained lead author Krista Varady.

"But it turns out people in both diets lost the same amount of weight," said Varady. She's an associate professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"People in the alternate-day fasting group were eating more than the 500 calories prescribed on the fast day, but a lot less than the calories prescribed on the feast day. That's why they lost the same amount of weight," she explained.

However, "people who stuck to the [alternate-day fasting] diet lost 20 to 50 pounds in a year," Varady added. "It does work for some people."

In the study, Varady's team randomly assigned 100 obese people to an alternate-day fasting diet, a conventional diet (25 percent reduction in calories every day), or no diet at all (the "control" group).

Some people really love this lifestyle and have been on the fasting diet for years, but it's not for everyone, Varady said. "People should find what works for them," she added.

The report was published online May 1 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

One specialist isn't convinced that a long-term fasting diet is healthy.

"There are some experts who suggest that intermittent fasting may help with weight control, but for markers for heart disease and diabetes management, the jury is still out -- especially on how healthy and sustainable this approach is," said Samantha Heller. She is a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center.

Fasting on alternate days feels punitive to many, and may exacerbate an already difficult and complex relationship someone has with food, Heller explained.

In addition, the body does not know that restricting food is a choice and views severe calorie restriction as a crisis, Heller said.

"Intermittent fasting does not teach strategies for making healthy choices and managing life's ups and downs," she added.

"A lifestyle overhaul -- one that a person can maintain for long term that provides a healthy, balanced diet as well as pleasurable foods -- is what I would like to see people embrace," Heller said. "These kinds of changes take time, motivation and ongoing support."

People on the conventional diet were able to stick to their calorie goals better than the alternate-day fasting group, the researchers found.

The dropout rates proved the point: 38 percent of the alternate-day fasting group quit, while only 29 percent of the conventional diet group and 26 percent of the control group tossed in the towel.

It's hard for people to stick to 500 calories in one day, Varady explained. "Certain people are suited to this type of diet. If someone were to pick this diet for themselves, they probably would do better," she said.

WebMD News from HealthDay

The Christian Journal, Bronx, NY – Worship is the act of freely giving our love to God. Worship is action! What if God approached you the way you approached Him in worship? What would that experience be? Worship is an expression of love and awe to the God who gives us more than we deserve.

Praises – when we DECIDE to begin praising God, whether out of the overflow of joy and thankfulness for His blessing, or offering the Sacrifice of Praise in difficult circumstances, we are stepping out in faith, and saying: I believe in the power and greatness of God, and that what He says in His Word is true.

God honors the praises He hears. He values them by the genuineness and cost of the praise we bring. David, a man after God’s own heart, refused to offer a sacrifice on a threshing floor that didn’t cost him anything. (2 Sam 24:24)

ICGC Dominion Temple over the weekend held its annual praise and Worship event dubbed: “Intimate Praise and Worship Experience 2017” on the theme: “Our Redeemer Lives,” at the church auditorium , 4500 Park Avenue, Bronx New York, Saturday Elder Kenneth Appiah (Music Rabbi( of Soul Winners fame and Minister Yaw Mpaebo supported by Unity Choir ministered in songs of worship and praise to the Most High God! It was truly an awesome time in the presence of the Lord. The whole atmosphere was charged and the congregation worshipped and praised from the depths of their hearts!

Minister Yaw Mpaebo, supported by Unity Choir crowned the event on Sunday with a high spirited morning of worship, thanksgiving, praise and an intimate worship experience.

In his epistle to the Romans, the Apostle Paul proclaims the glory of our Lord and the motivation for our worship: Thus, the Bible calls us to: Present our rededicated bodies by kneeling, bowing, raising our heads and hands, and dancing before the Lord; present our revived emotions by shouting and clapping to the Lord, praising aloud, rejoicing, and expressing thanksgiving.

It was amazing to see people cry out of joy during praise and worship and as Christians when we render our hearts, souls and spirits to praise God, it gives us an opportunity to invite the Holy Spirit to come into our lives to enlighten our beings and transform us into His presence as glory of the Lord is manifested.

Source: The Christian Journal

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Deliverance FM USA Donate Items to Some Orphanages in Ghana

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May 2017 Page

Ohio based Deliverance FM USA a Ghanaian community online radio station continued its tradition of supporting the needy , orphans and homeless in the United States and Ghana with a visit to several Orphanages in Ghana where they donated items worth several thousands of dollars . At the Cherubs Children Home At Kumasi Santasi Rev. Harry and his wife Rev. Mrs.Bertha Dumfeh engaged the Children in various activities, prayed for them and took care of their needs. The couple were accompanied by Kumawood Actor Kwaku Manu. At other locations they provided the children with several boxes of food, toiletries and administered the Word of God to them as well.

Rev. and Mrs. Dumfeh Presenting Items at one of the Orphanages

Rev. Bertha Dumfeh With one of the Children

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AJ Dahottest Drops Diwu Lane Mu single on May Day

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Nigeria Clinches Eight Medals At African Wrestling Champs May 2017

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Nigerian female wrestlers at the ongoing 2017 Senior African Wrestling championships in Marrakech, Morocco, have clinched eight medals.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the medals comprise six gold and two silvers.

The gold medallists are Mercy Genesis, 48 kg; Odunayo Adekuoroye, 55kg; Aminat Adeniyi, 58kg; Blessing Oborududu, 63kg; Kemeasuodei Dressman, 69kg; and Gofit Winnie, 75kg.

Diwu Lane Mu is the title of the new single of AJ Dahottest, Liberian born Ghanaian afropop rapper.

The new single’s title loosely translates into English to mean ‘stay in your lane’ according to AJ Dahottest who said he chose May 1, 2017 as the release date for his new song to stand in solidarity with all hard workers in Ghana and across the globe.

“May Day is a day set aside to celebrate hard workers and I feel my fans have been with me through all my hard working days. I belive by supporting something or someone you believe in is in itself hard work.

"So as you listen to this track which is my 9th single, pay attention to the lyrics and let it motivate you to keep working hard, being genuine and honest, not discouraging others and making sure you are staying in your lane” AJ Dahottest told TheAfricanDream.net in a phone chat.

Dannybeatz produced this new track which is inspirational with an upbeat tempo that brings an awareness and believe in self through the powerful lyrics of AJ Dahottest.

The musician also took the opportunity to express his feelings about the current political climate in Ghana, calling on all to stay in their respective lanes and do the jobs required of them to move the nation forward because “it is up to us all to get involved to see the Africa we want for our children” he said.

Diwu Lane Mu is available for free listening and sharing

The silver medallists are Bose Samuel, 53kg; and Bisola Makanjuola, 60kg.

on the musician’s official Audiomac page online: https://www.audiomack.com/search?q=AJ+DaHottest+stay+ in+your+lane

AJ Dahottest dedcates the new single to his fans all over the world, sending special thanks to MyStar radio of the USA and Ghana’s The Late Nite Celebrity Show host Eddy Blay of ETV, Oral Ofori of TheAfricanDrem.net and everyone that has supported his work in diverse ways.

The rapper promised that his new album will soon be out.

Till then, Diwu Lane Mu is here to keep you positively thinking, dancing and working to making your dreams a reality. Find the rapper on Twitter as @AJDahottest

Daniel Igali, the President, Nigeria Wrestling Federation, NWF, told NAN on Sunday on telephone that "he is impressed with the day one results".

Igali said that the result by Winnie, the 75kg gold medallist, had been rated as the "Fantastic result overall."

"Tochukwu Okeke 75 kg did not win a medal, but put up appreciable effort," the Olympian said.

Seven freestyle wrestlers will today take to the mats to increase the country's medal haul in the male category of the competition.

(NAN)

Source: TheAfricanDream.net

Destiny Believer’s Conference 2017

Rev. Dr. Eric Clarke-President of the Destiny Ministers Network

The Believers Destiny Conference was held from Wednesday April 26th to Saturday 29th, 2017 at 6:00pm each night at 1312 Horner Road, Woodbridge Virginia 22191.

Speakers included Bishop Hans Mashila from South Africa and Apostle Josh Moyo from Australia These Highly anointed Men of God empowered and equiped the participants of this conference with information and tools to take Christ to their Communities.

May 2017

Bishop Hans Mashila-South Africa

The theme for the conference was “Taking Christ to our Communities”

The Conference was Organized by Desnity Ministers Network.

Destiny Ministers Network was inaugurated on March 25, 2017 at the Church of the Living God-NOVA auditorium in Fairfax , Virginia. The New leaders who will run the affairs of the New Organization ware sworn into office on that occasion.

For more information or how to join the Destiny Ministers Network go to their website www.believersdestinynetwork.org or contact.

Rev. Dr. Eric A. Clarke (703) 628-6993 Rev. Ababio Gyebi (301) 526-6199

Apostle Josh Moyo-Australia

A Mass Choir Leading Praises

Packed Conference Auditorium

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Trivia

An old farmer wrote a letter to his son in prison. "Son, this year I will not plant cassavaand yam because I can't dig the field, I know if you were here you would have helped me". The son replied his father "Dad don't even think of digging the field because that's where I buried the money I stole". The POLICE & PRISON'S on reading this letter went early in the morning and dug the whole field in search of the money but nothing was found. The next day the son wrote his father again "Dad you can now plant your cassava and yam this is the best I can do from here."Dad replied "haaa my son, you are too powerful indeed, even in prison you still command police men to work for me. I was sosurprised to see the IGP and his team holding hoes and shovels, digging my farm. I will write to you when I want to harvest.

MORAL LESSON : Nobody can imprison your mind.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water..Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?''That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.' For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.' Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. SO, to all of my cracked pot brothers have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!And don't forget it was another Cracked Pot that sent this to you!!

Bulletproof Jeep!

Mallam Zuri bought a $60million bullet-proof SUV. He travelled from Bauchi to Abuja and he was accosted by armed robber. They opened fire on the vehicle and all the bullets bounced off. Mallam rained curses on the bandits; ”Shege!, Dan Iska!!, Dan Bura uba!!!”. The armed bandits shouted, that they couldn't hear him so,Mallam rolled down his glass so that they could hear him! He was buried Last Week!

My mates are in the universityMy mates are getting married.My mates are getting good jobs.My mates are succeeding.My mates are living overseas.My mates are buying cars.My mates are building houses.My mates are this......my mates are that......It's a pity you literally forgot about your mates in the mortuary, yourmates in the psychiatric homes, your mates roaming on the streets, your mates who are jobless, hungry, blind, deaf..........You might not be where you wish to be but you have obviously transcended from where you were yesterday. BE THANKFUL!!!!!!!.3 months ago we started another new year, but In few months from now, we'll bid 2017 goodbye. Some slept yesterday and didn't wake up today.We were sinners but God showed mercy.His mercy is still there for those yet to know HimGod still has plans for you before the year ends.Some mates are there in jail without committing any crime!You ate last night but some didn't or couldn't.You have sources for daily living while some have nothing to look up to.You are alive not because you are faithful or because you have never sinned before but it is the MERCY of God Almighty that kept and is keeping you alive.Can you just appreciate God by sharing this with people on your list AS A Big

'THANK YOU GOD

May 2017

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10Hillarious Things We Do

1. Calling Someone And Yet Hoping The Person Wouldn’t Pick the Call

I am sure we’ve all experienced this–despite it sounding ridiculous on the face of it. Sometimes, there are certain phone calls you cannot avoid making and yet you do not really want to speak to the other person at the other end.

Therefore, you place the call, hoping the beeping ends without the person answering it–then you can say, I called but you didn’t answer.

The relief that comes when the calling tone finally ends is priceless.

2. Farting in the Midst of People And Praying It Doesn’t Smell Bad Farting is a natural phenomenon and therefore unavoidable.

However, there are places you sometimes so wish it should not show its stinking head and when it keeps pushing the limit, you squeeze your butt and gently let it out smoothly and silently while praying it shouldn’t smell.

3. Seeing Someone Online on Whatsapp And Quickly Running Offline WhatsApp has somewhat become addictive and even if you’ve not received a message alert, you may sometimes just go on there to check what’s up.

And then you meet this one person you’ve been avoiding online–quickly, you close the app, hoping he or she hasn’t already spotted you.

4. Giving Your Phone Number to A Person Knowing You Wouldn’t Pick the Call When He Calls This is primarily the weak woman’s tactics.

Such a woman will give her number to a man instead of being firm and saying, “I am sorry I cannot give you my number.”

5. Knowing the Answer And Still Asking It’s pretty annoying when someone clearly sees you eating and proceeds to ask; are you eating? Or when someone sees you entering the bathroom and the person still asks; are you using the bathroom?

6. Watching A Shitty Movie And Yet Unable to Stop Watching It There is no reasonable explanation as to why we all do this.

After concluding that a movie you are watching is useless, you will still continue to watch it–wanting to know what shyt thing will happen next.

7. When You Hate Someone On Social Media or A Website And Yet You Can’t Help Yourself But to Keep Going Back to Check On Their Wall or Website There are characters like Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri of GhanaCelebritie.Com all around the world.

These people are super intelligent but annoying and they usually get on your never. Yet, you cannot seem to stop checking out their articles or social media pages to see the next annoying thing they’ve said.

8. Last Minute Peeing This is not when there are no washrooms around and therefore you have no option than to store urine.

Here, you may be in the house but doing something such as watching a movie or finishing a letter which you do not want to even leave for a minute to walk to the bathroom.

Now, when the pee is almost about to splash out; you run into the bathroom, sometimes even wetting your panties.

9. When Your Girlfriend Begs You to Watch A Particular Movie With Her And She Ends Up Falling Asleep I do this a lot to my man and I know he finds it annoying. Mostly, I bang on about him watching a particular movie I am told it’s awesome with me. And finally, when he agrees, 10 minutes into the movie and you will find me sleeping…

10. When Someone is Sleeping And Yet They Say They Are Not Sleeping For some weird and hilarious reason, no one seems to accept the indictment that they are sleeping–especially when you are on the phone with them or when you are watching a movie together. It goes like this; you are sleeping–Oh, No I am not–even when the person was snoring right in your face.

Source: ghanacelebrities.com

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Samira Bawumia Visits Ghanaians in Connecticut

GAJ - Her Excellency the Second Lady of Ghana, Mrs. Samira Bawumia took some time out of her busy schedule on Sunday, April 16, to meet with a cross-section of the Ghanaian community in an event organized by the Ghanaian American Journal (GAJ) in Manchester, Connecticut.

After a hectic day on Saturday April 15, where she attended a conference organized by the Yale University Association for African Peace and Development (YAAPD), the Second Lady was gracious to join the Ghanaian community on a beautiful Easter morning for a breakfast meeting.

The Founder and Publisher of GAJ, Mr. Fred Kojo Kyeremeh and other members of the community took the opportunity to welcome Mrs. Bawumia. During his brief welcome remarks, Mr. Kyeremeh thanked Mrs. Bawumia for honoring the invitation to interact with the community. He also introduced the community members in attendance and thanked them for taking time out of their Easter morning to welcome Mrs. Bawumia.

Mrs. Bawumia on her part, thanked the members present for welcoming her into the “City of Village Charm” Manchester, Connecticut. She talked about her visit to Yale University, where she encouraged students during her speech to work hard and not be deceived by the comforts of campus life.

She also took some time to talk about the state of healthcare in Ghana.

With that, she talked about the work her NGO, the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Project (SEHP) is doing to tackle the numerous issues plaguing our current healthcare system in Ghana.

Several members in the audience, including healthcare professionals, took this opportunity to inquire and pledge their commitment and willingness to contribute in diverse ways to support the vision of the NGO.

The Ghanaian American Journal on their part assured the Second Lady of its mission to improve information flow between Ghanaians back home and those living in America. GAJ also assured the Second Lady of its commitment to assist in identifying problem areas, providing needs analysis and ensuring proper allocation and accountability of donations, especially during times of major disasters.

Ms. Abena Sarpong delivered the closing remarks. She thanked the Second Lady for being a positive role model and encouraged her to continue to work for the benefit of the vulnerable in society.

Also representing GAJ were Mr. Kwasi Ntem-Mensah, Managing Editor and Nana K. Bonsu, Director of Information and Technology.

For more information on how you can support the mission of the Second Lady, please visit www.sbawumia.org to read more about the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Project (SEHP).

May 2017

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At 23, Musawenkosi Saurombe Becomes The Youngest Female PHD Graduate in Africa

At 23 Musawenkosi Donia Saurombe has made history, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Industrial Psychology, from the North-West University – Mafikeng, in South Africa. Musa’s PhD thesis passed without corrections, a remarkable and laudable feat.

Saurombe has earned herself the title of youngest woman to earn a PhD in Africa according to a statement by the University. She joins a list of elite record breaking young scholars that have wowed the world. These include Dr Sandile Kubheka who graduated in 2014 with an MBChB from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Her PhD thesis explored “The Management perspectives on a talent value proposition for academic staff in a South African Higher Education Institution”. She wanted to explore a topic that would greatly contribute to her field of study.

“Congratulations to 23 year old Musawenkosi Saurombe. She is the youngest female PHD Graduate in Africa with a Research thesis of No Corrections & Ammendments,” North West University.

Saurombe was born in Zimbabwe and raised in Botswana. She has always been a smart student, having skipped Grade 3 and promoted to Grade 4 after just one term. After completing matric at the age of 16, she decided to move to South Africa to pursue a bachelor’s degree at North-West University (NWU).

According to NWU, she started her university career with a BCom at the age of 16 which she completed at 19. Leading to her postgraduate studies, she received her honours and master’s degrees

with distinctions at the age of 20 and 21 respectively.

Musa is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the NWU’s campus in Mahikeng, and is responsible for the teaching and supervision of postgraduate students, the University reported.

Musa has been nurturing her passion and commitment towards community service, and she talks to women about women empowerment, sharing her personal journey to success.

“I am grateful to God for the milestone I have reached – this day has been long awaited. I am especially overwhelmed that I passed my thesis with no corrections. It can only be Him at work in all of this,” NWU quoted her saying.

In an interview with Drum she said “I am defined by my African name ‘Musawenkosi’, which means ‘God’s grace’, and indeed my life continues to be a story of God’s grace”.

Sarombe also serves on the executive management for Golden Key Mafikeng Campus, which is responsible for organising and directing community service events for the organisation. This ensures that the Golden Key Committee reaches out and makes impact in the communities. Recently she travelled to the United States to take part in the annual international summit of the Golden Key International Honour Society which was recently held in the USA. At the summit she was granted the opportunity of presenting her research, which gave her international recognition. www.howafrica.com

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What African Language is Spoken Where?

Below you'll find a list of the major languages spoken in the more common African travel destinations. As a general rule, the more rural a place is, the less likely you are to get by with just English, Portuguese or French.

Angola Official Language: Portuguese Other languages spoken in Angola are mostly Bantu languages which include Umbundu, Nyemba and Chokwe.

Benin Official Language: French Other languages spoken in Benin include English (in tourist areas), Fon and Yoruba (south), Beriba and Dendi (north).

Botswana Official Language: English The principal language spoken in Botswana is Setswana (or Tswana) which is spoken by 90 of the population.

Cameroon Official Languages: English and French French is more widely spoken than English but a combination of the two is becoming more widespread -frananglais.

Over 200 hundred languages are spoken in Cameroon from the Bantu and Sudanic groups.

Egypt Official Language: Arabic Modern Standard Arabic is widely understood in Egypt and is used by the media and Government. But most Egyptians on the streets of Cairo and Luxor speak a colloquial Arabic that is unique to Egypt. English is spoken by many people in the major tourist areas and some French as well.

Ethiopia Official Language: Amharic Other important languages in Ethiopia include Oromo, Somali and Tigrinya. English is taught in schools and many people will know a few words.

Gabon Official Language: French Other important languages in Gabon include Fang, Mbere, Punu and Sira.

The Gambia Official Language: English Other important lanugages in The Gambia include Wolof, Mandinka and Pulaar.

Ghana Official Language: English Other important languages (out of 79) spoken in Ghana include Twi, Ga, Ewe, Dagari and Dagbani.

Kenya Official Languages: English and (Ki)Swahili Other important languages include Luo, Kikuyu, Luyia and Kamba. Young urbanites often speak Sheng which is a based on Swahili but uses words from many other languages.

Libya Official Language: Arabic If you're traveling to Libya you should pack an Arabic

phrase book since little else is spoken, especially outside the main cities.

Madagascar Official Language: Malagasy and French Malagasy is spoken by everyone in Madagascar and many people also speak French especially in the business and government sectors.

Malawi Official Language: English Chichewa is probably spoken more widely by most of the population than English in Malawi, but you can get by without it for the most part. Yao and Tumbuka are commonly spoken around the lakeshore.

Mali Official Language: French Bambara is the most commonly spoken language in Mali, other languages include Tamashek, Songhai and Fulfulde.

Morocco Official Language: Arabic As in Egypt, Modern Standard Arabic is widely understood but Moroccans on the streets of Casablanca and Marrakech speak a colloquial Arabic called Darija that is unique to Morocco and influenced by the Berber languages also commonly spoken throughout the country. French is useful as many educated people will speak it and it may help you get from place to place. English is not commonly spoken or understood in Morocco.

Mozambique Official Language: Portuguese Other important languages (out of the 43 mostly Bantu languages) include Lomwe, Makhuwa, Ndau and Tsonga.

Namibia Official Language: English While the official language is English, Afrikaans is actually much more widely spoken by Namibians as a second language, even in rural areas.

Other important languages in Namibia include Herero, Ovambo, German, Portuguese (in the north) and Nama.

Nigeria Official Language: English Other important languages in Nigeria include Hausa (widely spoken throughout northern Nigeria), Yoruba, Ibo, Edo, Idoma, Fulfulde and Efik. Many people, particularly in the south and urban areas, speak a creole or pidgin English similar to Krio in Sierra Leone and Pidgin in Cameroon.

Rwanda Official Languages: French, English and Kinyarwanda Rwandans nearly all speak Kinyarwanda as their mother tongue, but Englih and French is also widely understood throughout the country.

Senegal Official Language: French The most widely spoken language in Senegal is Wolof. Other important languages include Fula, Soninke, Mandinka, and Bambara.

South Africa Official Languages: Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Venda, Swati, Sesotho, Sepedi, Tsonga and Tswana.

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Yes, South Africa actually has 11 official languages. Most people speak their tribal mother tongue as well as some English and Afrikaans. Unofficial languages include San and Nama (Bushmen languages) and Northern Ndebele.

Several creole or pidgin languages are also common including Fanagalo (used in the mines) and Tsotsi taal or Isicamtho (used in the townships).

Tanzania Official Languages: (Ki)Swahili and English Swahili is more widely spoken outside of the urban areas than English, so it's useful to pick up a few phrases when traveling in Tanzania. Other major languages spoken in Tanzania include Sukuma, Gogo, Haya, Kwere, Makonde, Mambwe, and Nyamwezi.

Togo Official Language: French Other important languages (out of 39) in Togo include Kabye, and Mina.

Some English is spoken in the tourist areas.

Tunisia Official Language: Arabic French is widely spoken and understood especially in the tourist areas. The Arabic spoken in the streets of Tunisia is similar to that spoken in Morocco, commonly known as Darija.

Uganda Official Language: English Most Ugandans speak English as well as an indigenous language, the most common ones are Luganda and (Ki)Swahili. Soga, Chiga and Runyankore are also important languages in Uganda, each have over a million native speakers.

Zambia Official Language: English English is widely spoken throughout Zambia, other important languages include Tonga, Bemba, Nyanja (similar to Chichewa) and Lozi.

Zimbabwe Official Language: English English is widely spoken throughout Zimbabwe but most Zimbabweans' first language is either Shona or Ndebele.

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2017 League Table of the Top Universities in Africa Rank UniversityCountry May

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69

University of Cape Town za South Africa University of South Africa za South Africa University of Pretoria za South Africa University of the Witwatersrand za South Africa Universiteit Stellenbosch za South Africa University of KwaZulu-Natal za South Africa University of Johannesburg za South Africa University of Nairobi ke Kenya The American University in Cairo eg Egypt University of the Western Cape za South Africa Rhodes Universityza South Africa Cairo University eg Egypt North-West University za South Africa Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University za South Africa Universiteit van die Vrystaat za South Africa Universidade Eduardo Mondlane mz Mozambique Makerere University ug Uganda University of Ibadan ng Nigeria Cape Peninsula University of Technology za South Africa Mansoura University eg Egypt University of Ghana gh Ghana Kenyatta University ke Kenya Université de la Reunion re Reunion Université Cheikh Anta Diop sn Senegal Egerton University ke Kenya Moi University ke Kenya Durban University of Technology za South Africa University of Dar es Salaam tz Tanzania University of Lagos ng Nigeria Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology gh Ghana The German University in Cairo eg Egypt Ain Shams University eg Egypt Tshwane University of Technology za South Africa University of Botswana bw Botswana Obafemi Awolowo University ng Nigeria University of Khartoum sd Sudan Université Mohammed V ma Morocco Strathmore University ke Kenya Addis Ababa University et Ethiopia Université Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen dz Algeria Al Akhawayn University ma Morocco Namibia University of Science and Technology na Namibia Université des Frères Mentouri de Constantine 1 dz Algeria Zagazig University eg Egypt Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediène dz Algeria Ahmadu Bello University ng Nigeria Université Kasdi Merbah de Ouargla dz Algeria University of Zimbabwe zw Zimbabwe University of Fort Hare za South Africa Assiut University eg Egypt Benha University eg Egypt Alexandria University eg Egypt University of Namibia na Namibia University of Ilorin ng Nigeria Covenant University ng Nigeria University of Nigeria ng Nigeria Université Cadi Ayyad ma Morocco Université Mohamed Khider de Biskra dz Algeria Sudan University of Science and Technology sd Sudan Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology ke Kenya Ndejje University ug Uganda University of Mauritius mu Mauritius The British University in Egypt eg Egypt Central University of Technology za South Africa United States International University ke Kenya Vaal University of Technology za South Africa Université Mouloud Maameri de Tizi Ouzou dz Algeria University of Rwanda rw Rwanda Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah ma Morocco

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139

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Jimma University et Ethiopia University of Benin ng Nigeria University of Zululand za South Africa Université Batna 1dz Algeria Université d'Alger 1 dz Algeria Sokoine University of Agriculture tz Tanzania University of Zambia zm Zambia Université Ferhat Abbas de Sétif 1 dz Algeria Helwan University eg Egypt Université Abdelhamid Ibn Badis Mostaganemdz Algeria Université Abderrahmane Mira de Béjaia dz Algeria University of Abuja ng Nigeria University of Port Harcourt ng Nigeria Mzumbe University tz Tanzania University of Swaziland sz Swaziland Modern Sciences and Arts Universityeg Egypt South Valley University eg Egypt Federal University of Technology, Minna ng Nigeria Jaamacada Kismaayo so Somalia Misr International University eg Egypt University of Venda za South Africa Misr University for Science and Technology eg Egypt Université Abdelmalek Essadi ma Morocco Université Hassiba Ben Bouali de Chlef dz Algeria Uganda Christian University ug Uganda Université Ibnou Zohr ma Morocco Université de Yaoundé I cm Cameroon University of Limpopo za South Africa Université Djillali Liabès de Sidi-Bel-Abbès dz Algeria Université Badji Mokhtar de Annaba dz Algeria University of Malawi mw Malawi Universidade Católica de Angola ao Angola Université Gaston Berger sn Senegal Tanta University eg Egypt University of Cape Coast gh Ghana Ashesi University College gh Ghana Federal University of Technology, Owerri ng Nigeria Université des Sciences et de la Technologie d'Oran dz Algeria Université Ibn Tofail ma Morocco Université de Lomé tg Togo Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences tz Tanzania Universidade Católica de Moçambique mz Mozambique Université Ahmed Ben Bella d'Oran 1 dz Algeria Université Mohamed Boudiaf de M'sila dz Algeria University of Education, Winneba gh Ghana University of Agriculture, Abeokuta ng Nigeria Université Hassan II de Casablanca ma Morocco Mount Kenya University ke Kenya Africa University zw Zimbabwe Kafrelsheikh University eg Egypt Université de Dschang cm Cameroon National University of Science and Technology zw Zimbabwe October 6 University eg Egypt Université 20 Août 1955 de Skikda dz Algeria Fayoum University eg Egypt École Nationale Polytechnique dz Algeria Minoufiya University eg Egypt National University of Lesotho ls Lesotho Nahda University eg Egypt Mbarara University of Science and Technology ug Uganda Université de Ouagadougoubf Burkina Faso Université 8 Mai 1945 de Guelma dz Algeria Al-Azhar University eg Egypt Federal University Oye-Ekiti ng Nigeria Midlands State University zw Zimbabwe Université Saad Dahlab de Blida dz Algeria Suez Canal University eg Egypt Université Moulay Ismail ma Morocco Minia University eg Egypt Université de Sfaxtn Tunisia

http://www.4icu.org/top-universities-africa/

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WHY PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT MUST INVEST IN REAL ESTATE

Dear readers,

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 May 2017

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Outstanding Benefits

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Investments opportunities

Afrikan

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Friends Of JDM Meet In Canada

The Chairman and Founder of Friends of John Dramani Mahama (North America) took time off his busy schedule to meet with members of the group in Canada during the Easter weekend.

The purpose of the meeting was to have first-hand interaction with the members and to encourage them to hold onto their faith they have in the NDC and to assure them that NDC is coming back to power in 2020. The Chairman of the group, Dr. Lawrence Appiah explained to the members that the original name of the group covered only issues in USA but the name changed to cover all members and issues in North America, which includes Canada and Mexico.

Mr. Simon Adzaku, an elder of NDC-North America, took the opportunity to explain to members that we have maintained the name even though President Mahama is no more the President.

He said President Mahama was our friend during his Presidency and he will continue to remain our Friend even in opposition.

He explained further that President Mahama didn’t become our Friend because he was the President. He is our Friend because of who he is. Mr. Adraku went on to say that Friends of John Dramani Mahama (North America) is not one of those adhoc/whattsap groups that dies after elections. This group has come to stay for a very long time.

Miss Josephine Gbediame, also talked about the need for unity in the party for victory 2020. She said that unity must start from NDC in Canada and USA.

She was happy to see how this group is working to bring unity amongst the NDC members in the USA and she pledged to do same in Canada.

Miss Mavis Tekpeki, the Treasurer of NDC-Toronto, on her

part thanked Chairman Lawrence for visiting the group in Canada and acknowledged the importance of the role the group is playing amongst the NDC fraternity. She was full of praise for the formation of Friends of John Dramani Mahama (North America) and added that the visit has once again brought together the members of NDC-Toronto.

She also pledged to work hard for NDC victory in 2020.

Messrs. Kwame Agyemang and Obed Adore, both Founders of NDC-North America, told members to work hard to get NDC in both Canada and USA back on their feet. They said right now they have NDC – Toronto, Montreal and Alberta so there is the need to mobilize and energize these branches so they can play active roles in election 2020. They advised the various Chairmen to embark on a nationwide drive to recruit more members into the NDC family.

In concluding, Chairman Lawrence advised the members to be united and be relevant to the growth of the party. He further explained that just being a branch chairman does not make you relevant to the party. “You must be seen to be playing a role that will enhance the growth and unity of party under your chairmanship” He added. Dr. Lawrence told the Chairman of NDC-Toronto, Nana Akwasi Bawuah, to work with other Chairmen in Canada to be relevant to the party especially if the NPP administration decides to implement ROPAL.

Some Executive members of Friends of John Dramani Mahama (North America) intend to visit the members in Mexico later during this year to preach the good news about the NDC.

US to host Ghana in East Hartford in Pre-Gold Cup friendly May 2017

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The US men’s national team will face off with a familiar foe in one of their final tune-ups before the start of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The US Soccer Federation announced on Monday that the USMNT will host Ghana in a friendly on Saturday, July 1 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut. Set for one week before the US begins their Gold Cup against Panama on July 8 in Nashville, the match will be broadcast live on ESPN, UniMás and UDN and will kick off at 4:45 pm ET.

The US and Ghana have played in each of the last three World Cups, with the Black Stars knocking the US out of the competition in 2006 and 2010 before the US defeated the African country 2-1 in the opening group game of the 2014 tournament.

Columbus Crew SC's Jonathan Mensah and Harrison Afful were both part of Ghana's Africa Cup of Nations squad this season, and the Chicago Fire's David Accam has also been a recent call-up for the Black Stars.

“Ghana is certainly a team that brings different challenges, and it’s the type of competition we need as we continue to develop our program,” US head coach Bruce Arena said in a statement released by US Soccer. “Winning the Gold Cup is one of our priorities in 2017, so this is an important opportunity. We’ve always had great support in Hartford, and look forward to more of the same this summer.”

The US is 3-1-1 all-time in East Hartford, last playing there in October 2014, when the USMNT defeated Ecuador 2-1 in Landon Donovan’s send-off game.

Sam Stejskal Contributor https://www.mlssoccer.com

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Anthony Joshua, British Boxer With Nigerian Roots Is World's Best Joshua had an amateur record of 40-3.

2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships During the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Joshua marked his sudden arrival on the world scene when he beat Italian reigning World and Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle, and went on to stop Erik Pfeifer of Germany in the semis before losing by a single point to local boxer, Magomedrasul Majidov winning a silver medal.

By Gowon Akpodonor Not until the build up to Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, many Nigerian boxing fans did not know anything about Anthony Oluwafemi Joshua, the rave of the moment, who on Saturday night, floored Wladimir Klitschko in the 11th round at the Wembley Stadium, London to retained his IBF world title and added the WBC ‘super’ belt title.

After he failed bid to make the Great British team to Beijing 2008 and his moves to join Team Nigeria was ‘blocked,’ Anthony decided to move on with challenges of life.

Joshua was born in Watford to a Nigerian mother and a British father of Nigerian and Irish descent in 1989. His cousin is fellow unbeaten professional boxer Ben lleyemi. The pair made their professional debuts together in 2013.Joshua grew up in his early years in Nigeria and returned to the UK halfway through ‘Year Seven’ to join Kings Langley Secondary School.

Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, Joshua was called ‘Femi’ by his friends and former teachers, due to his middle name ‘Oluwafemi’.

He excelled in football and athletics and broke the Year Nine 100m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.

His Amateur career Joshua was a late starter in the sport. He only began boxing in 2007, aged 18, when his cousin suggested he take it up. His club, Finchley ABC in Barnet, North London, is also home to professional heavyweight Dereck Chisora.

Joshua won the 2009 and 2010 Haringey Box Cup. He also won the senior ABA Championships in 2010, in only his 18th bout, and later turned down £50,000 to turn professional.

“Turning down that £50,000 was easy. I didn’t take up the sport for money, I want to win medals.” He said. He also went on to win the same tournament the following year.

In 2010, Joshua’s domestic success earned him a place on the Great Britain’s Boxing team and later the same year he became British amateur champion at the GB Amateur Boxing Championships after defeating Amin Isa.

In June 2011 at that year’s European Amateur Boxing Championships he beat Eric Berechlin and Cathal McMonagle but was stopped by aggressive Romanian southpaw Mihai Nistor after receiving several standing counts.

In October 2011 he was named Amateur Boxer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Club of Great Britain.

En route to the final, Joshua secured his place at the 2012 Olympic Games in the 91 kg+ division as a relative newcomer to the elite level of the sport.

London 2012 Olympic Games

After missing the opportunity of appearing at Beijing 2008 Olympics Games in the colour of Nigeria, Joshua fought his way in Team GB boxing squad, and went into the 2012 London Olympics as a novice on the international scene, despite being a world silver medalist.

According to Nigeria national boxing coach Tony Konyegwachi, Joshua’s closest to the Nigerian boxing team was when he and his other Great Britain teammates sparred with their Nigerian counterparts in build up to London 2012 Olympics Games.

“For the records, Joshua only sparred with my boxers in London, he was already in the Great Britain team,” Konyegwachi stated, while clearing the controversies surrounding Joshua’s exclusion from Team Nigeria ahead the London Games.

“Since we were all together in the same camp, we just decided to conduct a sparring session which Joshua was involved in. So, for me, this talk about him not given him the opportunity to represent Nigeria is nonsense, some people are just being mischievous,” Konyegwachi said.

At London 2012 Olympics, Joshua received a tough draw in the last 16 of the super heavyweight event, in Cuban Erislandy Savón, ranked No. 4 in the world by AIBA and nephew of the three time Olympic champion, Félix Savón.

Joshua won by 15:11 guaranteeing at least a bronze medal. In the semi-final Joshua met Kazakhstan boxer, Ivan Dychko, but despite Joshua’s height disadvantage he won by 13:11 victory gaining a place in the Olympic final. Joshua met 32-yearold reigning Olympic Champion and former twice World Champion, Roberto Cammarelle of Italy in the closing bout.

After conceding the first two rounds (6:5 and 13:10) to Cammarelle, an adversary he had already beaten the previous year, Joshua grew into the fight and fought back to level the scores after the third round (18:18), Joshua was announced winner via count-back and the new Olympic champion. The final decision was criticized by some boxing experts, who felt Joshua won on “home advantage.”

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to boxing.

Professional career On 11 July 2013 it was confirmed that Joshua had turned pro-

fessional under the Matchroom Sport promotional banner. Joshua made his professional debut on 5 October 2013 at the O2 Arena in London in the Main-Event of a card featuring Scott Quigg’s successful WBA super-bantamweight title defence against Yoandris Salinas, beating Italian Emanuelue Leo by a TKO in the first round.

Joshua’s second professional fight was against English Heavyweight Paul Butlin at the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield on 26 October 2013. The bout was stopped in the 2nd round when the referee decided Butlin was taking too much punishment and declared Joshua the winner by TKO.

Joshua’s third professional fight was on the Prizefighter Series card against Croatian Hrvoje Kisciek on 14 November 2013. Joshua got a TKO victory in the second round, achieving his third knockout victory in a row.

In February 2014, Joshua scored a 2nd round TKO victory over Dorian Darch to take his record to 4-0. The following month, on the undercard of Ricky Burns against Terence Crawford, Joshua defeated Hector Alfredo Avila with a 1st-round KO, in Glasgow, Scotland. In May that year, Joshua knocked out Matt Legg in one round on the undercard of Carl Froch against George Groves in Wembley Stadium. In Joshua’s seventh professional fight, on 12 July 2014, in the Echo Arena, Liverpool, he defeated Englishman Matt Skelton via 2nd round stoppage.

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NPP-USA Appoints First Female Chair

Afrikan

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The fight against injustice and inequality, and the quest to advocate for equity and equal opportunity for all is what has characterized and defined the life of Yaa Amponsah Frimpong (nee Gyamera), the first ever female Chairperson in the history of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition to lead and steer the affairs of the NPP-USA Branch, and indeed any External Branch for that matter.

Obaa Yaa, as she is affectionately called, grew up in Obuasi and had the privilege of being educated at the premier elementary school at Obuasi popularly called “Mines School.”

As a young child, she witnessed the excesses of the December 31, 1981 revolution and the inhumane treatment meted out to residents of Obuasi, most especially parents of friends she grew up with. As she recalls, this caused her a lot of discomfort, and made her vow in her heart to get involved in the political affairs of the country. She has never relented in her quest to be involved politically.

As she puts it, she has an innate desire to advocate for people and to resist what is unfair and unjust, and would not rest until she sees change happen. The welfare and wellbeing of others have been her driving passion in fulfilling her God-given purpose in life.

The return of Ghana to constitutional rule in 1992 was a positive paradigm shift that Obaa Yaa applauded, and she joined the NPP campaign for change and self-determination.

She completed University of Science and Technology with a degree in Social Science in 1999, after which she taught at Obuasi Secondary Technical School. After the NPP victory in the 2000 election, she left Ghana to pursue a Master of Social Work degree at the University of Denver. She completed in 2003 and has worked in the field ever since. She also earned a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Management from Regis University, Denver in 2009 and has co-owned Jeroyaf Accounting and Tax Services since 2004.

Obaa Yaa has been very active in the Ghanaian community in Denver and has held many different positions: public relations officer, secretary, and financial secretary of the Rocky Mountain Ghana Council.

She served as Public Relations Officer for the Asanteman Association of Denver, and was instrumental in getting Golden Star Resources, Colorado, and AngloGold AshantiDenver to assist in financing the shipment of a 40-foot container of medical equipment and supplies to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi in 2005, donated by ProjectCure which was greatly applauded by Otumfuo Osei Tutu.

As a community activist, Obaa Yaa volunteered to teach English as a Second Language and life skills to refugees that came through the Colorado African Organization program funded by USCIS.

Obaa Yaa was a founding member of the NPP-USA Colorado Chapter, and served as chapter secretary for two terms. Until her current elevation, she served as the NPPUSA Branch’s 2nd Vice Chairperson for two terms from 2009. She also served on many committees in the branch: Planning Committee, Elections Committee, Mobilization Committee etc. She continues to be a key member of the NPP-USA Women's Wing, and is very supportive of the Youth Wing of the branch.

She participated in NPP-USA branch congresses in Dallas and North Carolina, and in 2009, her chapter successfully hosted the 2nd NPP International Congress in Denver.

As a woman of many talents, Obaa Yaa did not want to be left out, and so she was on the ground in Ghana for both the 2012 and 2016 elections. She served on the Welcome Subcommittee of the 2017 Presidential Inauguration Committee.

To quote the words of Margaret Thatcher, "In politics, if you want something said, ask a man but if you want something done, ask a woman". Obaa Yaa has gone through the mill and is well seasoned and ready to hold the fort and, with God’s help, she will take the great NPP-USA branch to the next level.

Source:www.modernghana.com

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MOAA Launches Its African Community Workforce Development Initiative

In order to alleviate obstacles related to language, culture, credential-recognition, and other barriers that highly-skilled college-educated immigrant face, the Mayor's Office on African Affairs launched its African Community Workforce Development program on Wednesday, April 19, 2017.

Workforce development remains a high priority on the Bowser administration's list of initiatives as it would propel African residents in the District on pathways to the middle class. The program will provide four consecutive job readiness workshops, including resume building, networking, and interviewing skills, over the next weeks in April and May 2017. The workshops will culminate with a job fair scheduled for Thursday, May 18, 2017.

Source: MOAA

Afrikan

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Rev. Emmanuel Nkrumah Snr. Pastor

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Rev. John Obeng Associate Pastor

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