A panorama taken from the Westlands area of Nairobi. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have just come from watching the new Avengers Assemble movie at the latest IMAX cinema to open in Nairobi. It set me back about 7 dollars and needless to say this is rather expensive for a students entertainment. Walking out of the Cinema hall and looking at my fellow fans , a realization hit me.

I am solidly in the middle class and so are thousands of other youths if the no. of followers on twitter is anything to go by. Several years ago to even think that I could afford to pay what some people I know earn in a week would have been the base of a good joke. That I willingly and happily paid this out just to watch a movie in 3D glory left me with mixed feelings. Is this a good thing that a 23 year old guy in Kenya should be happy to spend Kshs. 800 to watch a movie or is it a terrible affliction that we are hopelessly enslaved  by western consumerism?

Warren Buffet and Guy Kiyosaki would have spent that money starting a business. but is that all there is to life? Make money so that you make more money? But I digress.

KFC have setup several branches allover the city and ave lost count of the no. of banks opening branches in any space available. The rest of the world sees one last frontier to milk before we become smart and our bureaucracy actually starts to work for us.

Here is a toast to the last frontier.

Stephen

In this second instalment of my chats with folk in Kikube  Masindi NW UgandaI would like to introduce you to Stephen a farmer . Stephen grows a variety of crops including  Maize, Beans, Cassava and groundnuts on his 12 acre farm. He is married with 10 children some of whom are still at school.

IH: Stephen please tell us about your business

S: I grow several cash crops that I sell to earn money

IH: where do you sell your produce?

S: I sell through the middle men who come to village from Masindi town and sometimes I sell locally

IH: How does your business help you meet day to day challenges of life?

S: I have a good income from the business that enables me to put food on the table, maintain my home and pay my children’s school fees

IH: What are some of the difficulties that you face in your business?

S: Capital to scale the business, transporting my produce to the market

IH: How do you access working capital for your business?

S: I borrow banks such as the Centenary bank

IH: How so? Some of the local business people I have spoken to today told me that this is a near impossible to access funding from banks

S: I own my land so that makes it easier

IH: What would you do if you had access to more capital

S: I would open a shop

IH: Oh? Why is that? What would you sell?

S: I would sell my own produce. I would possibly move to Masindi town

IH: why is that?

S: There is more money in Masindi town

IH: What would happen if everyone moved to town? Who would grow the food to feed the nation?

S: I would maintain a presence in the village and continue to farm

IH: you have alluded to the fact that the only means to get your produce to the market is by bicycle. How much maize do you produce ?

S: I produce 20 bags but can’t transport it all by bicycle to the market and for this reason I cannot get a fair price for my produce. Middle men come to the village and offer me whatever price they want. I can’t argue with them as I can’t get my produce to the market – they take advantage of my situation

IH: What can you do about that whole situation?

S: There are discussions in the village to address this challenge. We also talk about the development of the village but we lack money to develop the village.

IH: You have stated that due to lack of money the village does not develop. What does development look? What would you like to see if you had access to money? What would you do to develop the village or your business?

S: having transport to take our produce to market would help

IH: can the village form its own cooperative and perhaps share transport costs?

S: we have discussed this, but we are not sure how to go about implementing it

IH: so what next for your business?

S: I would like to open a shop in in Masindi town and that is what I am focused on

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• Ida Horner Meets James a Ugandan farmer and business man(africaontheblog.com)

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Together with my editor, Nevanji Madanhire, we were summoned by the police no less than four times and ultimately we were arrested and charged on theft and criminal defamation charges.

In the same month I was charged again with criminal defamation on a separate case, a statement was recorded and the charges, God forbid, like the sword of Damocles, still hang over my head.

It being World Press Freedom Day today (May 3), I am constantly reminded of that dark November month and what steps Zimbabwe has taken to enhance media freedoms.

While it is generally accepted, authorities loosened their noose on the media over the past three years, the government has cunningly introduced laws that make it increasingly difficult for journalists to practice in Zimbabwe.
The world knows about two of the most outrageous media laws, the Public Order and Security Act (Posa) and the Access to Information and Privacy Act (Aippa), but I believe not much attention is given to criminal defamation laws.
In the past 12 months alone, I can count no less than 10 cases were journalists have been dragged to police stations on criminal defamation charges.

Never mind that the state hardly has any successful conviction in cases involving criminal defamation, they are only too happy to drag you through the courts and you suffer the ignominy of having been imprisoned for a day or two.
Just the idea of being dragged to a police station and even not being imprisoned, is enough to get anyone cowed, as it is not pleasant experience.

In my case, I was a guest of the state for one night, probably the longest night of my life. Sleeping in dirty and smelly blankets in a cold cell. I was told that this was one of the cleanest and well kept jails in the country, well I was honoured but no thank you I preferred sleeping at home.

The charge of theft, where I was accused of stealing documents to write a story, has since been dropped. One criminal defamation case has since been referred to the Supreme Court as we felt it was unconstitutional and infringed on our rights as journalists.

The other case is yet to be prosecuted, but it is increasingly highly unlikely that it will be brought before the courts.

Since its World Press Freedom Day, I believe it is time that we as journalists and anyone interested in the work of the media in Zimbabwe campaign strongly for the repeal of such laws.
We have left it for too long to the politicians, and as they have always done, who have shown that they cannot be trusted.

Most are after positions and self aggrandisement, yet the media and other sectors of society burn, literally.

Kikube Masindi NW Uganda

If you live in rural Uganda  and or any other Sub Saharan Country for that matter chances are that the road through your village will look like the one in Kikube, unless of course your village is on a main road to somewhere such as  a  big  city or a tourist attraction

Minor roads leading off the  main roads are not sealed (murram) and generally speaking are  OK during the dry weather bar the dust that passing traffic generates and if  well maintained they serve the villages well. Driving on these  murram roads requires exceptional skills!

The main roads  those leading to large towns and cities are usually tarmac and are part of most African countries strategy to improve trade. Goods in Uganda are mostly transported by road and I can imagine a huge chunk of the country’s infrastructure budget is spent on these  major roads.  These  roads are almost always paid for by donor agencies/AID and chances are that this is only benefit that some folk on the ground will experience –  A NICE ROAD THROUGH THE VILLAGE!

It is easy to be cynical about the idea of giving the poor a nice road when they have nothing to eat but imagine if you will a woman in labour trying to get to a hospital that is 2 hours away on a poor or no road at all!  In fact a few days ago I came across a man at a networking event who was doing some research on this issue. He is convinced that African women’s reproductive health is impacted by the quality of roads in Africa

Kabale Road Ruhanga SW Uganda

But for the folk of  Ruhanga SW Uganda (see photo above),   a nice road through their village has mixed blessings so to say. Ruhanga  is on the main road  to Kabale, Congo, Rwanda and a major tourist attraction- MOUNTAIN GORILLAS.  Having this nice roads means that folk can get to hospital easily and can take advantage of passing trade  but the nice road has become a death trap and only a few weeks ago we lost Witness a 4 year old in a car accident.

The irony of this situation is a couple of years ago there were some deep potholes in the road which forced drivers to slow down and in turn we had fewer accidents in the village.

We also learned that Uganda’s Minister of works has no intention of putting in any form of traffic calming measures. I am not quite sure what if anything the community can do about this whole situation as I know for a fact that Witness’ death is not the first nor will it be the last  and judging from the email we got from the secretary of the Community Based Organisation there is nothing they can do and expect answers or a solution from us.

He said- I am sure the news of Witness’ death has reached you by now and I am really not sure what you are going to do to ensure the safety of very young children a very busy high way with undisciplined drivers of small and heavy trucks

Your thoughts please!

Mung beans and chapati

Mung beans (also known as green grams) are some of my favorite legumes. I have eaten mung beans since my childhood and I don’t usually let more than a couple of months go by without eating them. They are a great source of protein and fiber, and although we consider it a Kenyan dish, it is originally an Indian dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole dry mung beans
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 medium onion, finely sliced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup coconut milk

Instructions:

• Rinse the mung beans under cold running water and place in a bowl. Cover with several inches of cold water and soak for 6 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the ground spices, stir for about 15 seconds, and then add the onion and ginger to the pan. Fry until the onion begins to brown.
• Add the mung beans and and 1 1/2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered until the beans are just tender, about 20-30 minutes. Add more water if necessary just to keep the beans covered.
• Now add the tomato, grated carrots and salt. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes or until the beans are soft and the liquid is mostly absorbed. Taste for seasoning, then stir in the parsley and coconut milk near the end of the cooking time. Serve hot with fresh cooked rice or Indian flatbreads.

I’ve been raising funds with great difficulty for the work that my charity TACT does in Nigeria – the country of my heritage and the birth nation of my mother and father. We work in rural communities in Eastern Nigeria and provide funding for widows to build businesses in order for them to help themselves and stimulate the local economy. We work with young women to train and develop their expertise in sewing and tailoring so they can start their own business and contribute to the community. This ensures that they avoid joining the cohort of ladies in the oldest industry known to man- the “night trade.” In addition, we support a mental health organization that takes severely psychotic or emotionally disturbed people off the streets and into a wellness center, where, with an in-depth remedial program and the right drugs, they can be helped to restore their mind and regain a place back into society.

All good work, I hear you say, but nonetheless very hard to raise funds for. To date we (myself, my trustees and volunteer supporters) have done half marathons, ridden between capital cities, held golf days and run programs from our sister organization The Akabusi Company in order to support TACT work abroad. Most of the money that comes in has been from well meaning business and people from the UK (not always the most wealthy) but very little has come from Africans in the Diaspora.

I must add that this is not my way of having a go, but rather a sincere question:

Is it time that the African child helped itself, and if so, how would you recommend that we engage it to do so?

While Black British people can be said to have been in these islands for many centuries, many of the people of African origin who live in the UK today can trace their roots to the cohort of Africans in the Diaspora that came to this country between 1950-70. The majority of these people of African descent were from the Caribbean and came to the UK as part of the post second world war drive to rebuild Britain, as the indigenous population realised it needed help from the colonies.

However a smaller contingent was from the main continent and arrived strictly for educational purposes (both academic and professional) while engaging with menial tasks as a mode to support the income from their parents, villagers and well wishes who had sent them here in the first place. The latter scenario best suited my parents, who came in 1955 with the intention of getting educated and then going back home to help develop the infrastructure of their homeland. This turned into a full Nation Building program as Nigeria received independence on the 1st of October 1960. On their return to the country of their birth there was much excitement as they got stuck into the nation building program.

But seven years later all was plunged into disarray as civil war laid waste those dreams and turned hope into despair. In my humble opinion, 50 years later the country has still not recovered from the disaster (for another blog) but I have no time to go into it here.

The upshot is that Nigeria (home of 160million people) still has the vast majority of its people living on less than $2 a day.

This vast majority has limited access to clean potable (not portable) water, sanitation, electricity, safe working environments (even if they have regular work) medical services and yada yada yada the beat goes on.

Where has the spirit of our fathers gone? The desire to be a part of the Nation Building Program, to get involved as my brother’s keeper and in the words of Mahatma Gandhi “to be the change that you want to see?” I have found it easier to mobilize well-meaning Europeans, than to engage my African brothers and sisters with what I am doing in Nigeria, and there can be many reasons why. In my limited research I came across this table on population shifts in the UK and the influx of ethnic minorities within Britain and must admit to be surprised by the data.

One of the reasons why it might be difficult to raise money from the African population or to get them to engage with the main continent, is that actually per head of population, the major influx of the African into the UK is really recent: 1991-2001.

The effects of recent immigration may mean limited income within the community or that they may be so focused on establishing themselves here that they have little room or sentiment for what is going on back in their ancestral home. It could also be that they indeed are doing their own little bit to support friends and family back home (“charity begins at home”) and they have no room for somebody else’s dreams. Or perhaps it is a mixture of both of the above and more.

Nonetheless I would be very interested in the opinion of people who interact with AfricaOnTheBlog as to how you see the landscape, and what you would advise us do about it, if indeed there is anything that can be done.

Some other thoughts that crossed my mind were/are: -

1. The Nigerian/African is still tribalised and therefore only has eyes for their own community.
2. Nigeria still suffers from an image of corruption, so much so that even those who originate from the country don’t trust that any money donated will get to its intended target.
3. Africans in the Diaspora are still, in the main, in the lower strata of society economically, and have limited disposable income for good causes.
4. Africans, in an attempt to assimilate the host country’s ethics, have lost touch with the sense of brotherhood within mainland Africa.

This list is not exhaustive and I’m really interested in your thoughts around the third sector, and on raising funds from within the African community for work in the mainland continent.

Warmest wishes

Kezie Akabusi

The Event will be marked by excursions to technology companies in Ghana on the 25th of April. School girls will be taken to various ICT companies to expose them to options they can consider as a career in the future. On Thursday, the main day of the celebration, a panel of Ghana’s top ICT women will be put together to deliberate and discuss the theme for this year’s celebration; Broadening Horizons and Changing Attitudes. Resource persons on the panel will include Dorothy Gordon, Director General of the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, Lucy Quist (Managing Director, Vodafone Wholesale), Estelle Sowah (Country Director, Google Ghana), Yvette Adunyo Atekpe (Regional Managing Director, Internet Solution Ghana) and Caroline Edmundson (ICT Facilitator, KNUST).

Why is Ghana celebrating this day?
All over the world, it is estimated that the world shortfall in skilled ICT professionals exceeds two million. Despite these benefits, a good number of girls (and women) never even consider a career in ICTs. The ICT sector remains a growing sector for employment, and a key economic factor underpinning both national and international development in both developed and developing countries. A shortage of qualified staff with math, science, engineering and computing skills is predicted in many countries. At the same time, many companies are looking to increase the number of women in the sector. This means that highly qualified women in technical fields have significant opportunities available to them in both developed and developing countries. The need for qualified professionals in developing countries worldwide should come as no surprise, considering the rate of ICT growth in developing countries.

You can obtain more information about this event from its Facebook page or by following Girls In ICT on twitter

What is Social Media?
Social media are online tools that allow you interact creatively, seamlessly, directly and quickly with your friends, family, business associates and other contacts. They easily facilitate connections between humans through blogs, microblogs, social networks and photo/video-sharing sites. If websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, WordPress and YouTube come to mind, that is social media! Ghanaian institutions stand to gain immensely from these new media platforms as they enable customer engagement and feedback in real time.

BlogCamp 2012
BloggingGhana, a registered organisation of pro-Ghana bloggers, is putting together a one-day social media training event dubbed BlogCamp 2012 and themed Voice of a New Generation. BlogCamp 2012 brings together all the main actors in the Ghanaian social media space on 5th May 2012. The event seeks to educate and inform attendees on the benefits of social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and blogs. Further, BlogCamp 2012 will demonstrate how the youth can leverage the power of social media for positive social change, good governance, accountability, technology, business and education; this will ensure that there is more online content from Africa. Visit the BlogCamp Agenda page for further details.

BlogCamp 2012 will also be used to launch Ghana’s first Social Media Awards, aimed at rewarding various activists and contributors to the growth of social media in Ghana.

Why Should I Attend?
First, BlogCamp 2012 is a free event. Second, you learn about ways in which you can network, boost your professional profile and promote your business/cause using proven channels. Third, you meet and network with some of the best minds in Ghana’s new media circles. Finally, you have your personal and/or corporate blog and other social media accounts set up for you for free. Yes, no one leaves BlogCamp 2012 without a blog!

How Did You Do It and How Can I Get Involved?
BlogCamp 2012 has been made possible through the efforts of the BloggingGhana Community and the kind support of our partners: Vodafone, Google, United States Embassy, Nandimobile, Web4Africa, Citi 97.3 Fm, Mawuli Sikanku Photography and REDD Kat Pictures. We are looking for more partnerships, especially towards our upcoming Ghana Social Media Awards. You can get your organization to be part of this exciting initiative by reading through the sponsorship proposal and getting in touch with the organizers through this form. BlogCamp is looking for more volunteers, so fill the form too if you have interest.

I Need More Info!
Wait, have you registered? If not, enter your details into the BlogCamp 2012 registration page to be part of this wonderful programme. For more information, visit the BlogCamp Ghana website or connect with BloggingGhana through Twitter, Facebook or Google +. We will be posting with the hash tags #BlogCamp12 and #BloggingGhana. Make your inquiries and we will get back to you immediately.

Be part of BlogCamp 2012, Voice of a New Generation!