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 April 15th was voting day for South Africans living abroad, with a total of 16,240 voters on hand to cast their votes at the 124 South African missions abroad.
South Africa House, home to the South African mission in London, was the largest polling station in the elections, according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), followed by Canberra, Australia, with 1235 registered voters, then Dubai in the United Arab Emirates with 900 registered and Wellington, New Zealand, with 410. The role of South Africans overseas has not been overlooked by those at home and we publish below the statement issued by Themba Maseko, Government Spokesman and Head of South African Government Communications.
Statement on Voting by South Africans Living Abroad
Government acknowledges the important role that South Africans abroad played in the special voting last week thereby strengthening their bond with their compatriots at home as well as giving substance to the ruling by the Constitutional Court that South Africans abroad should have the right to vote.
It was significant that 16 240 South Africans living abroad applied for and were granted permission for a special vote and that almost half of these (7,427) voted in London where the South African High Commissioner mobilised the entire mission to ensure the voting went smoothly.
"Government acknowledges the important role that South Africans abroad played in the special voting last week."
The enthusiasm evident in those who queued outside South Africa House throughout the day bodes well for creating the atmosphere for more South Africans to return and make a contribution through deploying their skills in the nation-building effort or creating more jobs. It also bodes well for building a brain-bank of South Africans living abroad to assist in the process of image-building, investment and ongoing knowledge exchange and the acquisition of skills.
The Homecoming Revolution has done excellent work over the past five years or so in creating such a climate and proactively connecting South Africans abroad with companies at home seeking skills and disseminating accurate information about opportunities and conditions in the country.
 The recently-formed Global South African Network, active in the United States and the United Kingdom, has as its objective the building of a global network of skilled and influential South Africans who can help the country attract foreign direct investment and achieve its economic objectives in a globalised world.
Government acknowledges the important role of skilled and entrepreneurial South Africans returning to the country and contributing from their positions of influence abroad.
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 Now is the best time to create businesses and jobs in South Africa and South Africans with international experience are returning home with great ideas, says the Homecoming Revolution, ahead of the forthcoming conference, "Entrepreneurship – The Way Forward in South Africa".
In every crisis lies an opportunity and, as Sir Richard Branson says, "Fortunes are made out of recessions. A lot of entrepreneurs get going in the economic depths because the barriers to entry are lower." Seeing Opportunities But how do you get to spot opportunities in one country while living in another? For South Africans in Europe, the answer lies in the one-day Entrepreneurs Workshop to be held on 9th May in London by the Homecoming Revolution and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), "Entrepreneurship – The Way Forward in South Africa". In every crisis lies an opportunity .... "Fortunes are made out of recessions" Entrepreneurs are in the business of seeing opportunities where others don't and then working with passion and energy to bring an idea to life in the form of a new business enterprise. They produce opportunities for others and create substantial wealth for themselves. Being an entrepreneur is about using one's creativity, drive and leadership to shift the status quo. Entrepreneurs redefine the way business is done.
Economy Full of Opportunity According to Nick Binedell, the Director of GIBS, the South African economy is one that offers enormous opportunities to the entrepreneur. "The South African economy has benefited from the drive and energy of an extraordinary set of entrepreneurs," he says. "For an economy of its size, it has produced a disproportionate number of individuals and businesses that have gone on to become global champions in their industry. This success has mainly to do with the type of business environment in which South African entrepreneurs find themselves." Describing the South African as one that is "restless and turbulent", Binedell sees the current economy as one "full of opportunity for those with the energy and drive to take full advantage." In downturns, says Binedell, there are opportunities for people to start out and lay out a new value proposition for business idea, while large companies are often caught between memory and vision and are slower to react to rapidly changing circumstances. "This is where the new players come in, riding off new technologies, riding off a different business model, and they may come in at a lower cost structure or a better product proposition," he says. "The lovely thing about South Africa is it has a highly entrepreneurial spirit. There are people who'll be reading these markets and finding the gap and starting new companies." For many South Africans facing restricted job markets in the UK and Europe as well as soaring costs of living, returning home is an increasingly attractive prospect, says Binedell, who sees the mood for business in South Africa as more upbeat than in the West.
"The lovely thing about South Africa is it has a highly entrepreneurial spirit. There are people who'll be reading these markets and finding the gap and starting new companies." "In recent times we have seen a surge of interest in South Africans wanting to come back to not only make their place in the sun, but find a way to contribute to a fast changing society." Practical Starting Points The specially designed one day event, which takes place at Altitude in Westminster, central London, will give people the opportunity to engage with successful entrepreneurs  in South Africa who have spotted unique opportunities and grown successful businesses. Martine Schaffer, Managing Director of Homecoming Revolution, an independent, non-profit organisation that encourages and facilitates the return to South Africa of skilled South Africans around the world, sees this Workshop as a vital source of information for those interested in enterprise. "We know that in order to continue to build the economy, jobs need to be created and South Africans with international experience and exposure return with great ideas that they bring home. With this event we are hoping to inspire them, as well as give them practical starting points." Coming back home, she says, is becoming an increasingly popular option for South Africa's expat population. "Our enquiries have increased 35% year on year and many are seeing it as an opportunity to return and create the future they want." Speakers for the event include Professor Nick Binedell, Director of GIBS, Paul Harris, CEO of FirstRand Group and Kevin Vermaak, Founder of the Cape Epic Mountain Bike Race. The MC for the day will be Ithumeleng Kgaboesele, CEO of Sphere Holdings and President of Entrepreneurs Organisation. "Entrepreneurship – The Way Forward in South Africa" takes place on 9 May from 11 am until 5 pm. Places are limited and tickets will not be for sale on the day, so reservations are required. Bookings can be made online at www.satickets.co.uk For an updated programme and further information on the event, visit www.homecomingrevolution.co.za Photos: (top) Bloemfontein, Free State, province: The Lochlogan Shopping Centre and waterfront in the city centre. Graeme Williams www.MediaClubSouthAfrica.com Hip Hop Photo: Rodger Bosch, www.MediaClubSouthAfrica.com
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 As he launches his new London restaurant, Fred Quartey looks back on his leap from IT Programmer to Chef and restaurateur.
For anyone looking for a taste of Africa in the heart of London, the recently opened Just Freddie's might be just the place to go. Offering classic dishes with an African twist, Just Freddie's combines Quartey's Ghanaian roots and European training. It also offers typical Ghanaian warmth and hospitality and has been described by one food reviewer as "the 'local' - the one around the corner with the owner who knows your name, where you get a coffee on the house and you take your best mates before you go out on the town." Changing Course Even without today's challenging economic climate, a restaurant is more likely than any other business to fail rather than succeed and almost 60% of restaurants in the UK close down within three years. But if risk can be mitigated by sheer hard work, few would care to bet against the owner of Just Freddie's. Setting up a business in what must surely rank as one of the highest risk sectors has not come easy to Fred Quartey who, in common with many other professionals, had very different ambitions when he left Ghana for the UK. "I came to this country as a computer programmer from NCR in Accra," says Quartey. Instead of an abundance of opportunities, however, he was unable to break into the British IT sector. "I found it very difficult to find a job and took up a part-time job as a kitchen porter."
It was while working in the kitchens that Quartey started to develop a real interest in cooking which, as he admits, is "something that women from my part of the world do - or so my wife keeps telling me!" Over time, his frustration at not finding the right job turned into something else. "During this transition I actually started enjoying and keeping a keen and open minded view on cooking", he says. Just Freddy's combines Quartey's Ghanaian roots and European training. It also offers typical Ghanaian warmth and hospitality. Luckily for Fred, his growing interest was encouraged by the kitchen's Head Chef who recognised his potential. A recommendation from the Head Chef led to an offer to Quartey to train as a junior Chef and assist in the kitchen. "The rest," he says, "is history." Quartey's catering career went from strength to strength and he moved on to work for the SAS Radissons Hotel, Novotel in West London. This was followed by stints with LWT and the BBC. Continued hard work brought its successes and Quartey eventually progressed into catering management, working with successful eateries such as Nando's, Horse, Leon and Giraffe. With a growing family to support, Quartey began to take on more assignments in addition to his regular work. "During these times," he says, "I was also moonlighting with Philip Small and Tony Page who were, then, the biggest Jewish banqueting companies." Leap of Faith Quartey’s strong Christian faith has sustained him during the tough periods in his life and directs the course he chooses to follow. Combining his talent for cooking with a strong desire to help others, Quartey's next steps turned him towards the hostel sector, where he still works today.
"As my faith took a greater hold of me", he says, "my passion has directed me to managing hostels. I am managing 15 hostels under a catering company called Caterplus and we provide food for the homeless and for emotionally, physically and substance abused people." Quartey's faith was also a key factor in deciding to take up the challenge of setting up his own business. By his own admission, the process has involved a level of commitment and hard work that he never envisaged. But, judging by the reactions of his growing clientele, Just Freddie's has been well worth the effort and energy put into it. Exciting Cuisine Located in Blackstock Road, in the heart of North London's bustling multicultural streets, Just Freddie's is a cosy eating place where you are made to feel at home. The restaurant specialises in homemade American-style beef and lamb burgers, grilled tilapia, bream and croker. The restaurant specializes in hearty, homemade, American-style 100% homemade beef and lamb burgers, from as little as £8.00 per dish, as well as grilled tilapia, bream and croker fish. There is also a tasty selection of chicken dishes including Peri Peri and Jerk chicken. Keeping to the homely feel of the restaurant, Quartey deftly handles all the cooking at Just Freddie's himself, serving up an eclectic and exciting range of international dishes. Quartey's Ghanaian roots are evident in the flavouring of the extensive range of grills and pastas, while his grilled fish, couscous and curried goat have become staple weekend favourites with the local African community. Just Freddie's Restaurant, 131 Blackstock Road, London N4 2JW, 020 7226 2484
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 Harbouring hopes of entering the American advertising industry? Well, the facts about your chances of success may surprise you.
In what is describes as 'a wake-up call' to Madison Avenue, a new study shows the extent of racial discrimination behind the glossy facade of the US advertising industry.
An exhaustive study of America's advertising industry has found dramatic levels of racial discrimination throughout the industry. The study revealed evident bias against African-American professionals in areas ranging from hiring to pay, assignments and promotion.
The study was initiated by a coalition of legal, civil rights, and industry leaders who, in 2008, created the Madison Avenue Project to address advertising's deep-rooted racial bias. Prominent US civil rights lawyer Cyrus Mehri, the leader of the Project, called the findings "absolutely astonishing in this day and age", while Angela Ciccolo of the NAACP, another Project partner, commented that "the time has come to stand up to change this industry."
Discrimination is 38% Worse in Advertising The findings from the study reveal that, overall, racial discrimination is 38% worse in the advertising industry than across the broad American labour market. Worse still, the "discrimination divide" between advertising and other U.S. industries is more than twice as bad now as it was 30 years ago. Overall, racial discrimination is 38% worse in the advertising industry than across the broad American labour market. So what exactly did these findings reveal? Some specific results include:
- Black college graduates working in advertising earn $.80 for every dollar earned by their equally-qualified White counterparts;
- Based on national demographic data, 9.6% of advertising managers and professionals should be African-Americans. The actual percentage in 2008 is 5.3%, representing a difference of 7,200 executive-level jobs;
- About 16% of large advertising firms employ no black managers or professionals, a rate 60% higher than in the overall labor market;
- Black managers and professionals in the industry are only one-tenth as likely as their White counterparts to earn $100,000 a year;
- Blacks are only 62% as likely as their White counterparts to work in the powerful "creative" and "client contact" functions in advertising agencies;
- Eliminating the industry's current Black-White employment gap would require tripling its Black managers and professionals.
40 Years of No Change While employment discrimination across the United States has steadily decreased over the last forty years, what the report terms "systemic barriers to equality" within the advertising industry have remain virtually unchanged.  Practices which were deemed back in 1978 by the New York City Human Rights Commission to be "not simply the result of neutral forces, but emanating directly from discrimination" continue unchecked today. Many of the changes needed to eliminate these practices would have to be initiated by advertising agencies themselves who, despite occasional public pressure to address these disparities, have responded with little more than token efforts such as training and minority internships. Measures which, at today's rate of progress, the study's authors conclude, will mean that the number of Black advertising managers and professionals will not reach their expected level for another 71 years. The study found the primary source of discrimination to be agencies' implicit assumption that the cause of Black under-representation is a shortage of 'qualified' Black job seekers. Ironically, those initiatives that have been taken to increase 'pipeline' Black talent have simply served to increase the already substantial number of qualified Black candidates. In reality, the study says, the problem is not a shortage but a "persistent unwillingness by mainstream advertising agencies to hire, assign, advance, and retain already-available Black talent."
Waking Up to Meaningful Inclusion A total transformation of the workplace culture of advertising agencies is needed if change is to be substantial and permanent, says the study. Specifically, agencies will need to reform human resources practices in which "personal relationships and social comfort often outweigh job performance". Also key to change in the industry is what the report terms "obsolete assumptions that racial minorities lack skills applicable to non-ethnic markets".
"It's time for Madison Avenue to wake up to civil rights and to the meaningful inclusion of African Americans in this highly segregated industry." The Madison Avenue Project is led by the NAACP and attorney Cyrus Mehri, the founding partner of law firm Mehri & Skalet, who has won several multi-million dollar discrimination settlements against such corporations as The Coca-Cola Company, Morgan Stanley and Texaco Inc.; with the cooperation of Sanford Moore, a former advertising executive, current New York City talk radio co-host, and longtime advocate for racial parity in advertising. "We are sending a message to the advertising industry: this conduct is unacceptable and must change," Mehri says. For Sanford Moore, the study illustrates what he terms "the mendacity and machinations that have kept African-Americans invisible on and to Madison Avenue for over four decades." The advertising industry, he notes, has "created and perpetuated a 'separate and unequal' marketing paradigm" and "even though our dollars provide the profits, the industry is still afraid of the dark."
Angela Ciccolo, on behalf of the US civil rights group, the NAACP, describes the report as an opportunity for Fortune 100 companies "to stop aiding and abetting widespread discrimination by this industry." "The Madison Avenue Project is designed to send a special wake up call to the advertising industry. It's time for Madison Avenue to wake up to civil rights and to the meaningful inclusion of African Americans in this highly segregated industry."
The study, entitled "Research Perspectives on Race and Employment in the Advertising Industry," was conducted by a leading research firm, Bendick and Egan Economic Consultants. The complete study can be found at www.findjustice.com (Mehri & Skalet), www.naacp.org (NAACP), and www.bendickegan.com (Bendick and Egan). |
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 If 75% of corporate executives believe that having minorities in senior level positions helps promote new ideas and innovation, why do Black women make up only 1% of US corporate officers?
The findings of a new poll highlight how negative perceptions, the lack of strategic networking and the demands of work/life balance are holding Black American women back from the executive suite. What's holding Black women in America back from making the top ranks in corporations? A poll commissioned by The Executive Leadership Council and conducted by Harris Interactive heard from 150 executives from a broad range of industries. What they had to say suggests that senior corporate executives really believe that it is important to their company’s success to have minorities in senior executive roles. The findings from the survey – taken between November and December 2008 – showed that 75% of these executives believe that senior executives from minority groups are important in providing new ideas and innovation and better reflect the diversity of customers.
The Power of Perception The poll, conducted immediately following the election of Barack Obama, occurred at a time when there was increased discussion of how the election of the first African-American President of the United States would impact opportunities for minorities seeking to move into the executive suite and on to corporate boards. The findings showed that African-American women in particular face serious challenges in their climb up the corporate ladder. The sample surveyed included respondents from companies with revenue of $1 billion and above annually. Respondents included CEOs, Chairmen/Executive Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents/Directors. The findings showed that African-American women in particular face serious challenges in their climb up the corporate ladder. 31% of the surveyed executives attribute these challenges to weaker or less strategic networks available to African-American women. The issue of capability – or the perception of it – featured strongly, with 24% citing inaccurate perceptions of African-American women's capabilities as slowing or preventing their rise up the ranks. 23% of respondents saw work/life balance demands as the third top barrier to executive success. These findings came as little surprise to the survey commissioners. "Frankly, the findings confirm what we found in our in-depth research completed earlier in 2008," said Carl Brooks, President and CEO of The Executive Leadership Council, the leading organization for the most senior level African-American executives in corporate America. Its Council members – more than 400 executives, one-third of them women –represent more than 280 Fortune 500 corporations. The issue of capability – or the perception of it – featured strongly, with 24% citing inaccurate perceptions of African-American women's capabilities as slowing or preventing their rise up the ranks. Founded in 1986, The Executive Leadership Council is an independent, non-profit corporation that provides African-American executives of major U.S. companies with a professional network and forum to offer perspective and direction on national and international business and public policy issues. It is the preeminent organization that recognizes the strengths, success, contributions, and impact of African-American corporate business leaders. The organisation's earlier research, the Black Women Executives Research Initiative completed in 2008, was a year-long study of success factors and impediments for black women executives aspiring to the most senior positions in America's top companies. That study examined success factors and impediments for black women executives as they aspire to the most senior positions in corporate America and included interviews with 76 black women executives, 18 CEOs, and 38 peers. Key Findings from the Poll A number of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) poll findings coincided with the earlier in-depth research, including:
- African-American women should seek high-visibility, stretch assignments to improve their access to executive positions. (73%);
- African-American women should set career goals and create the action plans necessary to achieve them (67%)
- African-American women should work with executive coaches to prepare for and take full advantage of critical feedback (57%).
Connecting with the Boss  The issue of how Black women connect with their corporate superiors was also evident from the study.
"CEOs and black women executives seem to have a significant disconnect about how they view some of the behaviors and experiences of senior black corporate women," said Ancella Livers, Executive Director of the ELC's Institute for Leadership Development & Research. One CEO was quoted as saying: "There is an issue whether black women have emphasized whether they have taken on the most challenging assignments, but are not getting credit for it and not getting the value for it. You want to anticipate what you want, and what you think is owed to you, and ask for it in advance." This includes demanding constructive feedback to help women improve, something some respondents felt was lacking. As one of the black women executives interviewed said, "I didn't get feedback about why I wasn't considered for the General Manager role. I was given the feedback that 'this position is not for you' rather than hearing, 'this is what you need to do to become the GM.'"
Making the Change When asked what major corporations can do to change the status quo and to increase the number of African-American female executives in their senior management teams, respondents offered a number of concrete suggestions. Some of these changes included:
- "Corporations need cultural change to attract African-American females and females in general."
- "Specific training for women and African-American women by major corporations."
- "There needs to be senior management complete commitment – not just a pet project of the CEO."
The detailed findings cover topics such as relationships, aspiration, feedback and coachability, experience leading to the executive suite, alignment of values, work/life balance, bias and other negative factors. The conclusion also provides a leadership framework for understanding what it takes to advance and discusses the implications for organizations and CEOs. "Corporations need cultural change to attract African-American females and females in general."
Combined with its research, the Institute intends to use the survey results to finalize programs for senior and mid-level black women executives to help them strengthen strategic relationships with senior level men, build networks and increase visibility. "Not only should senior executives cultivate more trusted and strategic relationships with high-potential black women executives, it is important for black women executives to have and execute detailed plans for advancement and demonstrate a passion for the values and culture of their companies," says Brooks. "In spite of the barriers, many black women are skilled and ready to assume the responsibilities of the C-Suite. This work allows us to create a roadmap to help prepare mid-career black women who aspire to the highest levels of leadership in today’s corporations," said Dr. Livers.
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 Reggie Tagoe reports on how a Ghanaian Association in Italy has been transformed into a successful business and social entity.
What started as a normal Ghanaians' Association abroad has now become a big business enterprise and with that, Ghana Co-operative (Ghanacoop) is walking with success. The story of Ghanacoop in the city of Modena, north of Italy, began as one of the Ghanaians Associations in the country. But in 2005 the Association created a business plan. At that time they didn't know they were breaking new ground; all they knew was that they had identified a business opportunity and decided to pursue it with the commitment to succeed. While there were those among them who gave up when they believed that there were no decent returns to be had, some of them dug their heels in, making sacrifices in order to achieve their purpose. These Ghanaians continued to invest their time and money and, recognising their limited knowledge of business creation and management, underwent in-depth training in these areas. Many made big sacrifices, while some even stopped their jobs to fully implement their plan. Ghanacoop – Big Business Trading Now all these efforts are bearing fruit, in fact bearing very sweet and fresh fruit, as fresh as the ones they import from Ghana and sell in Italy. Ghanacoop is now engaged in big business trading, importing exotic fruits, agricultural food and handicraft products from Ghana to Italy whilst exporting Italian wine, pasta and ham to Ghana.  Among its imported fruits from Ghana are pineapples, pawpaw, mangoes, coconuts as well as palm oil, plantain and yam among its agricultural products.
Ghanacoop has established links with Italian megastores and supermarkets such as Nordi Conad, Coop Estense and GS Carrefour, and each week tons of its products are imported into the country. In 2007, Ghanacoop succeeded in making a profit of €1million (one million euros) and according to its President, Thomas McCarthy, Ghanacoop - which employs both Italians and Ghanaians - will hit the €5 miilion (five miilon euros) mark in gross profit in 2008. Proving the Importance of African Immigrants in Europe "Ghanacoop is proof that immigrants are an important resource for the social and economic development of both their host and countries of origin", says McCarthy.  According to McCarthy, noting that the Ghanaian community is truly united and without tribal or ethnic discrimination, "Three factors have contributed to our success and these are unity, dedication and partnership."
The success of Ghanacoop has also been helped largely by its partnership with the Province of Modena and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) through which it has carried out projects in Ghana helping some villages and towns with electricity and water supply and contributing to the purchase of equipment to hospitals, among them Gomoa Simbrofo – a poor village situated some 90 km from Ghana's capital, Accra. Under its project on a 100-acre plot in Gomoa Simbrofo, Ghanacoop aims at promoting the development of social and enviromental sustainable processes for the production of corn, fruits and vegetables with biological certification. Ghanacoop aims at promoting the development of social and enviromental sustainable processes for the production of corn, fruits and vegetables. Ghanacoop also hopes to expand its activities by importing produce from its own farm in Ghana and the organisation plans to promote economic and social development actions that facilitate the construction of schools and the provision of water purification facilities. It also intends to provide the communities with alternative energy from solar panel systems and to discourage the migratory flow out of the region by offering the villagers concrete job opportunities and continuous development through qualifications. Social Responsibility  A fixed amount of the price paid for Ghanacoop's exotic products goes to support implementation of health projects and favouring workers communities in Ghana.
The organisation has created scholarships for their children and supports vaccination campaigns in several villages and, in one of its latest projects, it is financing the photo voltaic implant to provide electricity to different villages. On a more ambitious note, the organisation plans to enter the European market of Fair-Trade certified products. McCarthy is more than grateful to all co-operative bodies that has been of immense support from the begining. "Our special thanks go to Arcadia and Oltrelab Group for having projected the start-up of Ghanacoop together with the Council of Ghana Nationals Association in Italy (COGNAI)," he says. "Today these groups are the key partners behind every activity and success of Ghanacoop." "We want to promote brain return and prove that Africa can develop through its own people returning from the western countries." This co-operative of Ghanaians has now become a model that all immigrant communities would like to emulate and, having succeeded in creating such a successful enterprise, its members want to help other immigrants in Italy to come up with similar projects. "We want to promote brain return and prove that Africa can develop through its own people returning from western countries," says McCarthy. "We would like to help all those who seek our help. Ghanacoop is ready to provide training and orientation to all Associations of immigrants interested in forming co-operatives." Photos by Reggie Tagoe
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 How Julia Doe is making the transition to singing and fulfilling her passion to transform lives.
While TV reality shows might give the impression that a career in music can happen overnight, for most people it involves hard work, dedication and time.
Talented singer, Julia Doe, is an example of how many approach their desire to sing. The third of six children, Julia was born in Kent, England but grew up in Ghana, West Africa. Her musical ability was evident early and from the age of 6 she was sent to the renowned John Teye Memorial Maths and Music School, where she was mentored by the Founder, Rev. John Teye, a gifted musician. Whilst in secondary school, Julia continued to engage in music and the arts through school plays, dancing and talent competitions and showed her early promise with her ability to mimic singers like Whitney Houston and Anita Baker. 1983 marked a major turning point for Julia who, whilst attending a Christian event, made a decision to become a born-again Christian. It was at this time that she met a young Music Director, Tom Bright-Davies, who encouraged her to take her musical gift seriously. After joining a musical group, Julia struggled with the realities of daily Christian living, returning to the UK in 1988 where, as she puts it, she "forgot all about God and music."
Returning to Music However, it appeared that God had not forgotten about her and, in 1993, having decided to return to Ghana, she again met Tom and started attending church, eventually making a decision to surrender her life to Jesus. Julia began singing in her local church, marrying her husband Douglas in 1997.  Julia and Douglas returned to the UK in 2000 and have been members of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) for the past 7 years. Julia is a member of the KICC choir.
Using her talent to make music is, for Julia, the first step in fulfilling what she believes God has called her to do. With a passion to see peoples’ lives dramatically transformed as hers was over 14 years ago, Julia believes that anointed music is a powerful medium through which God gets through to people and transforms their lives. ReConnect Africa met Julia and asked how she has managed to combine her passion for music with the daily realities of building a mainstream career. RCA: Julia, what is your current occupation?
JD:I am a Service Manager for the Newham Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service. This is an NHS service which offers talking therapy to people who are suffering from depression and anxiety. I handle the operational side of the service to ensure that we deliver a service which patients are happy with. Julia believes that anointed music is a powerful medium through which God gets through to people and transforms their lives. RCA: What are your first memories of singing in front of people?
JD: I started singing at the age of 6, when my Dad sent me to the John Teye Memorial School, a boarding school in Accra, Ghana. The headmaster recognised my musical potential and also taught me to play the piano. At that time, the incumbent Head of State, Kutu Acheampong had two of his children attending the school and I would be asked to sing for him any time he visited the school. The headmaster, also a prolific musician, took me with him when he travelled around the country. He would play and I would sing.
RCA: What made you decide to take a career in singing seriously? JD: People had been telling me for years that I had a really good voice and I had always sang at Church and in choirs, but never considered a professional career in singing. A few years ago, my husband reiterated the fact that I should seriously consider taking the singing to a more professional level by recording an album, but I was hesitant, because I had heard so many great singers and felt inferior. However, in one year, five total strangers, at various functions confronted me about what I was doing with this "angelic" voice – and told me how they had been impacted whilst I was singing in the congregation. This led me to start to believe that perhaps I had something to offer. Since I joined our Church choir just over a year ago, I have had so many people come up to me after leading a song to tell me how much my singing had meant to them. Recently, one woman told me how she had lost her daughter and felt comforted when I sang. I realised then that I had been given a gift and if I didn’t use it, I would have to answer for it!
RCA: How much time do you spend rehearsing and singing and how do you fit this in with a job and being an active member of your church? JD: Because of my work and church commitments, I don’t have a lot of time to rehearse formally. I use the time whilst driving to work (3 hours each day) and have set aside 2 evenings a week when I do some voice training. It has, however, been rather difficult to strike a balance because I am usually exhausted by the time I get home from work or church rehearsal. I would be asked to sing for… the incumbent Head of State, Kutu Acheampong any time he visited the school.
RCA: What advice would you give to someone with a talent for singing who wants to turn professional?
JD: Take things slowly and don’t quit your job yet! A lot of ideas and projects start off very small and then increase over time and it can be frustrating to wait. In my case, I am still working full-time whilst trying to promote the singing. I envisage the time will come when I will be financially secure enough to enable me give up my full time job, but until that time, I have to do both. My husband has been extremely supportive and I am in the process of looking for something that will give me the flexibility to work 3 days a week, so I can devote the other days to the music. This support is extremely crucial if you are married.
Julia's debut single release "Light My Way", produced by long time friend and prolific song writer, Tom Bright-Davies, is now available. To purchase a copy of ‘Light My Way’: www.juliadoe.com
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 A global network of South Africa's citizens is set to bring knowledge and skills to the country.
As the economic beacon of Africa, South Africa has proved that it is alive with possibility. Over recent years, the country has seen unprecedented growth and the development of a vibrant and progressive business environment which even the recent global economic slowdown cannot diminish. Yet, like many other countries in the developing world, South Africa has seen many of its best and brightest emigrate to the West. Global South Africans, a new initiative being spearheaded by the South African International Marketing Council (IMC), while recognising this reality, is set on ensuring that South Africa's "flown talent does not have to be lost talent". Global South Africans South Africa's Diaspora may be just as valuable for being abroad as it would have been had it stayed at home, says the IMC, a public-private partnership dedicated to increasing global support for South Africa's young democracy and for the continent of which South Africa is a part. The key, however, is realising this value.
The recent launch in London of the Global South Africans initiative demonstrates the commitment of the IMC to tapping into the power of its citizens around the world. "Once a South African, always a South African," Moeketsi Mosola, Acting CEO of the International Marketing Council, told guests at a dinner to launch the GSA initiative in London organised by IMC's UK country manager John Battersby and hosted by the South African High Commission.
South Africa's "flown talent does not have to be lost talent". Global South Africans (GSA) is today a growing network of talented and successful South Africans who live abroad but still feel deeply attached to the country and want to contribute to the country's growth and success. The Concept of Global South Africans While skilled professionals may be compelled to emigrate for a number of reasons, many retain strong emotional bonds to their countries of origin and, given the opportunity, are keen to contribute to the development of their countries.
The knowledge, connections and goodwill that are abundant in South Africa's Diaspora is what the GSA network is seeking to harness by building a worldwide network of accomplished and well-connected offshore South Africans and their peers who share a strong affinity with South Africa.
The members of the network, says the organisation, are united by a faith in South Africa's future and a desire to share their knowledge, wisdom and networks in support of South Africa's transformation into a prosperous and successful non-racial democracy. A Vital Link between South Africa and the Global Economy The Global South Africa Network starts from the premise that its members are extremely valuable where they are. Members serve as vital links between South Africa and the global economy where they represent successful men and women of all races and backgrounds who are respected leaders in their fields.  This initiative, says its sponsors, is not about simply building a database of members but about actively engaging members through carefully targeted requests for knowledge ideas from stakeholders in South Africa.
"GSA isn't about passing the tin cup," says the organisation. "It's about knowledge transfer." The idea is to empower network members to contribute in ways that suit their talents and desired level of engagement. The network then markets GSA as a resource to South Africans who could benefit from the extraordinary range, knowledge and connections the network represents. GSA is for people whose reward comes from seeing South Africa fulfil its extraordinary promise and enriching their own networks. Serving the Greatest Possible South Africa The Global South Africans network is not about creating a club of expatriates looking to maximise personal business opportunities, but a group of friends of South Africa who are keen to see the country and, by extension, the continent succeed. The network is for people whose reward comes from seeing South Africa fulfil its extraordinary promise. The International Marketing Council of South Africa (IMC) is also marketing the GSA network to government departments, the private sector, academic institutions and NGO's. It is the channel through which requests are routed to members and it helps members make the right connections in South Africa to pursue their own projects and ideas. The ultimate aim, says the GSA, is to mobilise the greater South Africa in the service of the greatest possible South Africa. If you are interested in learning more about the Global South Africans project, please visit www.globalsouthafricans.org
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 How the NICRO UK Trust is contributing to the extraordinary success of the South African programme that turns young people away from crime.
The story of South Africa’s transformation over the past decade has been remarkable in many ways. Its substantial economic investment across sub-Saharan Africa has made the country the economic powerhouse of the continent and an example to the rest of Africa and to other emerging economies.
However, in common with its neighbours, South Africa also faces the challenge of combating crime and its negative impact on the country’s ability to bring about sustainable social development. Particularly troubling for the young democracy is the increasing criminal activity involving young people. In South Africa, as in many other countries, most offenders are young people between the ages of 12 and 25.
Diverting Young People from Crime
An inevitable consequence of imprisoning very young people is the negative influence of their proximity to older inmates in overcrowded prisons.
NICRO - the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders – is a non-governmental organisation that has been working in the field of justice in South Africa since 1910. In the early 1990’s, the organisation pioneered the Diversion Youth Development programme to help turn the lives of young offenders around.
The programme works by steering young offenders away from the formal criminal justice system by making use of alternative sentencing options that are far more effective.
The programme works by steering young offenders away from the formal criminal justice system by making use of alternative sentencing options that are far more effective in preventing re-offending. NICRO’s Diversion programme moves away from punitive and retributive criminal justice measures by placing a focus on educational and development options that promote rehabilitation, reconciliation and healing.
The programme has shown remarkable success. During the 16 month period from January 2005 to April 2006 alone, 16,590 young people were involved in NICRO’s Diversion programmes. With a 93% success rate of offenders not re-offending within two years, NICRO has proved that its method works and can effectively reduce the number of children in South African jails.  This success, says Al Papps, Chairman of the NICRO UK Trust, "is because the deprived young people involved come from very impoverished and deprived backgrounds in the townships in South Africa and respond very positively to the personal interest and attention they are given for the first time in their young lives when participating in these programmes."
NICRO’s programmes work towards giving marginalized and socially excluded youth who are in conflict with the law a chance to acknowledge, understand and take responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
With a 93% success rate of offenders not re-offending within two years, NICRO has proved that its method works and can effectively reduce the number of children in South African jails.
By giving these vulnerable young people the opportunity of learning new skills and competencies and gaining significant insights, the Diversion programme gives them the vision and the tools to turn their lives around to become productive, responsible citizens.
NICRO UK Trust The cost of sending one young person on a Diversion programme is around Ł350 and one of the challenges NICRO faces is attracting the funding vital to its continued success.
In 2002, a small group in the UK, with the interests of the new South Africa very much at heart, set up the NICRO UK Trust for a safer South Africa. The sole purpose of the Trust is to raise money in the UK to help fund the Diversion Programmes.
With overhead and administrative costs met by the personal generosity of one of the Trust’s founding Trustees, Charles Luyckx, and other Trustees claiming no expenses, all the funds raised by the NICRO Trust go straight to NICRO in South Africa.
Mobilising South Africans in the UK South Africans in the UK can help to touch the lives of many young people in South Africa by donating to the Diversion programmes, says Lorna Johnston, NICRO UK Trust’s Fundraising Manager.
 "So often, South Africans think that crime in South Africa is not a surmountable problem. NICRO offers people an opportunity to get involved and make a difference.
Our Youth Development and Diversion Programmes are diverting young South Africans away from the criminal justice system and ultimately away from a life of crime."
By touching the lives of 20,000 young South Africans annually, says Johnston, NICRO is proving that something is being done about crime, and that it works.
Getting involved can be through fundraising as well as through participating in the Trust’s events, says Johnston.
"In the UK we are always hosting exciting events to help us raise much needed funds for our Diversion Programmes in South Africa. We are busy putting together a NICRO UK Team for the Pick n’ Pay Argos Tour in South Africa. We hope that cycle enthusiasts will join our fun team heading over to South Africa in March 2009 to help us raise funds for the Diversion Programme."
"There but for fortune, go you and I" As Al Papps points out, the organisation’s Youth Development programmes have a proven record in giving South Africa’s young people "the good fortune to avoid wasting their lives in prison."
"One of the most well known songs sung by Joan Baez, the American folk singer said "There but for fortune" and one of the most memorable verses in that song goes as follows ....
"Show me the prison, show me the jail,
Show me the prisoner whose life has gone stale,
And I’ll show you a young man with so many reasons why,
There but for fortune, go you and I."
For further information on how to get involved with building brighter futures for the South African Youth, contact NICRO UK Trust Fundraising Manager, Lorna Johnston, at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or 07958 475842
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 A Groundbreaking United States Survey Shows an Extraordinary commitment among Black Women to helping others.
According to the results of a US nationwide survey released by the ING Foundation, while most Black women are confident of their ability to achieve their financial goals, their sense of obligation to others combined with a tendency to spend are complicating their saving and investing efforts. Behind the Savings Curve Nearly half (47%) of the 1,000 Black women surveyed said it is difficult to have their desired lifestyle because of financial obligations to their immediate family, and 68% say that they buy what they want - in a good or bad economy. Among the Black women surveyed who said they were not saving as much as they like, spending too much or having too much debt and financial obligations to their families were the leading reasons why they were not saving more.
According to Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation, this "inclination to spend combined with an extraordinary desire to help others financially has left many Black women behind the curve in terms of savings." On the positive side, however, "the good news is that Black women care deeply about their financial future, have a strong desire to learn more, and manifest many of the qualities critical to investment success." "The research points to a 'Preparedness Paradox,'" Mims said. "Black women have high confidence in their ability to achieve their financial goals, and consider themselves knowledgeable about investing, yet they are behind where they thought they'd be financially." Helping Others The survey was sponsored by the ING Foundation and developed in conjunction with the editors of Essence magazine, the largest circulation magazine for women of colour in the US. The national telephone survey covered 1,000 pre-retired Black women and 454 non-Black women.
The survey evidenced an extraordinary commitment among Black women to helping others. More than half of the Black women surveyed have loaned $500 or more to friends or family in the last year and one-third have loaned in excess of $1,000. Nearly half (47%) of the Black women surveyed said that financial obligations to their immediate family have made it difficult to have the lifestyle they desire. Moreover, more than eight in 10 say that leaving money to their children is an important financial goal, indicating that striking a balance between their personal needs and those of others may be a lifelong challenge for many Black women. This "inclination to spend combined with an extraordinary desire to help others financially has left many Black women behind the curve in terms of savings." The sense of obligation was not restricted to family and friends, with more than 70% saying that giving money to their place of worship is very important; a stark comparison with 42% of all other women. This enormous capacity to help others, while commendable, comes at a price, says Mims. "For many Black women, it appears their financial well-being suffers. Black women need to make their own financial security a higher priority."
Spending and Saving The women surveyed combined the need to help others with a strong disposition to consumption, which could sometimes be conspicuous. Almost seven in 10 Black women say that they buy what they really want, with nearly 40% confessing that they shop to cheer themselves up. Black women consider themselves trendsetters although two in five Black women feel guilty about how much they spend on expensive brands. Black women with credit cards are more likely than other women to carry a balance on their cards, although credit card usage was less prevalent among the Black women surveyed than it was among other women, and 93% of Black women who consider paying off their debts to be an important goal said they were confident in their ability to do so. The survey found that financial support of others in combination with spending patterns and lower income levels result in depressed savings for many Black women. One quarter of those Black women surveyed say they are not saving any of their household income on a monthly basis and 43% report total savings of less than $10,000. Over half of Black women say that they live "paycheck to paycheck." While Black women may lack savings, they possess basic confidence in their ability to invest and a strong desire to learn more. 71% of the Black women surveyed said they are at least fairly knowledgeable about investing, and 76% said they were confident in their ability to choose the right investments for retirement. Nearly nine in 10 say they are more interested in saving their money now than they were five years ago; 73% say the same of investing. Money and Relationships Money matters appear to be a source of contention in the relationships of many Black women and 43% of the married or cohabiting Black women surveyed said they argued about money with their spouse/partners at least occasionally - that compares with 29% of all other women who are married or cohabiting. 37% of the Black women surveyed said that they had "a secret stash of money" and 39% said they occasionally or regularly under-reported the cost of an actual purchase to their spouse. Of the married or cohabiting Black women surveyed, 35% said they would rather do a month's worth of laundry than discuss their finances with their partner and 15% would rather have a root canal. Of the married or cohabiting Black women surveyed, 35% said they would rather do a month's worth of laundry than discuss their finances with their partner and 15% would rather have a root canal. When asked what qualities they are looking for in an ideal partner, 79% of single Black women said a prospective spouse's ability to manage money was very important - 47% of all other women responded that way. Forty-five percent of single Black women said a potential partner's credit score was very important; 19% of all other women said so. However, 60% of Black women said religious background was a very important factor in an ideal partner; only 16% of other women felt that way. Financial Planning Financial security is at the top of the mind for many Black women. In fact, Black women worry more about their finances than their health, appearance, job or personal relationships. Yet the Black women surveyed were less likely than other women to have a financial plan (56% vs. 66%), but Black women are more likely to have a will (43% vs. 32%). When asked why they don't have a financial plan, 73% of the Black women without a plan said they just hadn't got around to it. Other reasons cited by at least half the respondents included they didn't think they had enough money to warrant it (55%), didn't know how to go about it (53%) and were reluctant to disclose all their financial information (51%). Only 23% didn't think it was important to have a financial plan. The survey data should encourage the financial sector to focus on the financial planning needs of this section of society, say the survey sponsors. "Black women are goal-oriented, smart, motivated, and influential, and they have made extraordinary contributions to their families and to their communities," says the organisation. They estimate that within five years, Black households will control in excess of $1 trillion in annual spending. ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services to over 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. |
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 How Ghanaian professionals in Ireland are contributing to change and service at home
The Association of Ghanaian Professionals in Ireland (AGPI) is an independent association of Ghanaian professionals resident in Ireland. The organisation, the brain child of Dr. Vincent Agyapong, was set up in July 2007 and has grown from 5 members to include over 100 Ghanaians. Set up to promote, develop and realize the full potential of Ghanaians resident in Ireland, the Association’s members come from a variety of sectors including medicine, entrepreneurship, business management, law, journalism, finance and transport.
ReConnect Africa spoke to Julius Buameh, the Association’s Public Relations Officer, to learn more about the organization and what it hopes to achieve for its members and for Ghana. RCA: What inspired Dr. Agyapong to set up the AGPI? JB: The Association of Ghanaian Professionals (AGPI) is a dream that was borne out of a desire to contribute to Ghana’s political, social, educational, moral and macroeconomic transformation. It is also a product of the desire to help instil in Ghanaians in the Diaspora a sense of professionalism and patriotism.
RCA: What are some of the challenges faced by Ghanaian professionals living and working in Ireland? JB: Some of the challenges Ghanaian professionals face in Ireland include barriers to integration such as access to affordable further education and funding restrictions, difficulty in progressing in one’s chosen career for some selected professionals and, of course, robust immigration laws. In May, we hosted a delegation from Ghana’s Parliament that visited Ireland including the Speaker and other leaders of the parliament. Visa restrictions make it difficult for Ghanaians professionals to access employment.  For example, spouses of immigrants on work permits are not allowed to work, which can place a huge financial burden on the only breadwinner. Again, because Africans in general have a different way of life, it becomes very difficult for Ghanaian professionals to adapt to the Irish way of life. Most Ghanaian professionals, even though they have lived in Ireland for a number of years, still find it difficult to have access to funding for educational purposes.
RCA: What are some of the initiatives and projects that the Association has launched or is planning? JB: AGPI has organised periodic dinner and information sessions for members of the Ghanaian community in Ireland. We have also held crucial talks with some Irish government officials and key opposition politicians, all with the simple aim of advancing AGPI’s cause. In May of this year we hosted a delegation from Ghana’s parliament that visited Ireland including the Speaker and other leaders of the parliament. Prior to this we had paid a historic familiarisation visit, the first by an immigrant group in Ireland, to the Irish parliament at the invitation of the Deputy Leader of the Irish Labour Party. Currently we are planning seminars and workshops on employment, education, enterprise and healthy living for members of the Ghanaian community in Ireland. We have also identified key sectors in Ghana that we feel we can help make a difference in. For example we are sourcing funding to help improve mental health services in Ghana. We are also in discussion with relevant stake holders about setting up enterprise centres across the length and breadth of Ghana. We are sourcing funding to help improve mental health services in Ghana... and... in discussion with relevant stake holders about setting up enterprise centres across Ghana.
RCA: What are the benefits to members of being in the Association? JB: A significant benefit of membership of AGPI is the sheer satisfaction of being a part of a group of dignified and patriotic Ghanaians with a cherished desire to help with the transformation of our motherland. Other benefits of membership include the opportunity to mentor others and to learn from each other, as well as network with other progressive and like-minded Ghanaians. RCA: What impact would the Association wish to make on its host country and at home in Ghana? JB: The Association is helping Ghanaians in Ireland to realise their full potential through entrepreneurship, education, employment and healthy living.
We wish to equip the Ghanaian community in Ireland with the requisite skills and expertise to be fully integrated into Irish society through full participation in all facets of Irish life. AGPI is also mobilising human, material and financial resources towards the advancement of Ghana including innovative promotion and facilitation of foreign direct investments to Ghana and joint ventureship. This is partly our attempt to transform the seemingly brain drain into brain gain. The organisation has so far made incredible gains on many fronts, especially in the area of awareness creation, that has gained us recognition within both the Irish and Ghanaian government circles.
 RCA: What advice can you offer to Ghanaians and other Africans who may be interested in a move to Ireland? JB: Any Ghanaian or African in general looking to move to Ireland should do so because the Irish are very hospitable. However, they must be aware of some of the challenges faced by immigrants as I have already outlined. Having said that, Ireland is just like home for most Africans - except that the weather can be unpredictable, which in itself adds to the beauty of the country. For further information about the Association of Ghanaian Professionals in Ireland: http://www.agpireland.org/ |
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 While shopping may seem the ultimate pleasure for some of us, when shopping is your profession, it's not always as easy as it seems. Staying in the know about the best of London's high street stores, designer boutiques and vintage shops and styling high-profile clients is no small feat. ReConnect Africa spoke to Zoe Huskisson, 'the ultimate personal shopper' about the challenges and joys of life as a professional stylist. RCA: Zoe, can you explain what exactly a stylist does? ZH: A fashion stylist can work in various capacities; for magazines (which involves styling the fashion pages), organising fashion shoots, and personal styling, which is working with clients - often celebrities - to create a style which flatters. RCA: What inspired you to follow this career path? ZH: I have always had a keen interest in fashion and I genuinely believe that fashion is not totally superficial, because if you look good then you feel good.  I graduated from the London College of Fashion obtaining a BA Hons. Fashion Promotion degree. The course covered journalism, public relations and broadcast. I specialised in journalism and had to create an 84-page lifestyle magazine for my final year project. I really enjoyed the creativity of styling the fashion pages - everything from casting the models, researching the location and deciding on the concept.
After graduating, I worked in various areas of the media including television production and editorial journalism. I was a regular contributor to Pride magazine and also styled TV presenter Josie D'Arby for the cover. I have also had my work featured in the international publication ‘Hello!’ magazine, where I styled the first Muslim Miss England. In the magazine, I had her wearing designs by Elizabeth Emmanuel who designed Princess Diana's iconic wedding dress. RCA: What are some of the challenges in running a business of this kind?  ZH: Being your own boss means you have no-one to blame but yourself if things go wrong. Networking is really important and this might not be as creative as working with a client, but it's vital for business. Initially it can be tricky gaining customers as many people associate personal stylists with celebrities. However, with the popularity of fashion-related programmes such as those presented by Trinny and Susannah and Gok Wan, it is making the industry more accessible. Whether you're a celebrity or not, everyone deserves to look their best. I love a challenge so I do not see this as a negative thing and the positive feedback from my clients far outweighs any big hurdles!
Whether you're a celebrity or not, everyone deserves to look their best. RCA: What have you found to be the benefits of what you do? ZH: I love working with people and this is the perfect job for me. To help a client with their style, I also have to learn about their lifestyle, career etc. It is truly rewarding to see how a new outfit can really boost someone's confidence. I recently styled a lady who was attending the Mama Mia! film premiere- she lived in casual clothes and was totally transformed into a glamorous goddess for the red carpet event. I feel very fortunate to be doing a job that I enjoy. RCA: What lessons can you share with people who would like to do what you are doing? ZH: It's not enough to have an interest in fashion, it's equally important to be a sociable person. Many clients requiring style assistance trust you to be honest, yet helpful.
Keep yourself updated on fashion trends and how a designer look translates to the High Street. This is paramount as clients' budgets can vary from Ł50 to Ł5000! Learn more about Style Elite: www.style-elite.com
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 The Precious Awards in November will celebrate the outstanding contributions that women of colour have made to UK plc in 2008. The Precious Awards return for another year to celebrate Black and Asian female entrepreneurs and those women making their entrepreneurial mark within the workplace. The awards, organised by Precious Online Magazine and Network and sponsored by Pearson plc, will be made at a ceremony in London on 20 November and serve to promote those inspiring individuals that generate ideas and turn them into action and change.
Focusing on Innovation and Achievement "We wanted an awards ceremony that truly focused on the achievements of those women who have taken the plunge and, in many cases, followed their dreams and launched their own enterprises," explains the founder of the Awards, Foluke Akinlose. A journalist and herself a multi-award winner for her Precious Online Magazine and Network for women, Akinlose’s aim has been to profile and celebrate the professional and entrepreneurial achievements of women of colour in the UK. "Positive people doing their own thing inspire us. There is so much talent out there, we want to play our part in exposing it and we hope that people see Precious as a vehicle to global success."  Akinlose knows the power in awards and recognition. "Since winning a Precious award last year, these innovative women have gone from strength to strength," she says.
"Jessica Huie, The Precious Entrepreneur of the Year, has launched her colour blind cards business in the U.S and has a string of high profile TV appearances under her belt including one as an expert on the BBC’s The Apprentice: You’re Fired." The winner of the Precious Best Start-Up Award last year, luxury jewellery brand La Diosa, now stock their products in Harrods. Natasha Faith, co-founder of La Diosa, is justly proud of the Award and what it represents. "What an honour it was to win the Precious Online Best Start-up Award! It was La Diosa's first award and we could never be prouder of the fact that it came from our own community," she says. "Awards like this are what keeps businesses like us motivated. The whole night was a true success and we couldn't be prouder of ourselves or the other star winners of the night." For Angel Jones, the winner of the Best Online Business in 2007, the award was recognition that her gamble in starting her business, Shoe Lagoon, had been the right move. "‘Speechless!' that's how I felt when Shoe Lagoon won the Precious Award for Best Online Business," she says. "After all those months of working hard, sometimes until late at night, and having my social life take a complete nosedive, the thought that someone out there recognised all the hard work I had put in was probably the biggest boost I had since I started my business." Achieving a win at the Precious Awards, she says, has given her even more determination to continue. "It meant so much to me and the award will sit on my shelf and in my heart for years to come. This year I hope to keep growing my business and, with a little determination and the award under my belt, I have a funny feeling that anything is possible!" The Categories  In 2008, Social Enterprise, Creative and Online Entrepreneurs are amongst those set to be honoured.
The categories include: Business of the Year - for those businesses that develop innovations or processes that substantially improve the commercial performance or prospects of the company. Creative Business of the Year - for those whose business is based in PR, design, TV, music, advertising, marketing, film or architecture. Service Business of the Year - for owners of event management companies, hairdressers, high street or local shop owners, and consultancies. Online Business of the Year - for those businesses where 55% of their turnover is gained from online transactions. Start Up Business of the Year - for the business woman who has just started out. Social Enterprise Business of the Year - for the businesses where the main goal is to benefit a social or environmental cause.
Young Entrepreneur of the Year - for a star of the future, running a business and aged under 30.
The Precious Entrepreneur of the Year Award: The Judge’s Prize – for the most passionate and dedicated woman business owner who the judges feel has overcome significant challenges to achieve outstanding business success. Leadership within the Workplace Award - for a women working within a small, medium or large enterprise, who has taken on an entrepreneurial role within the company. Book your place at the forthcoming awards and find out more at www.preciousawards.com. |
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 Ghanaians in Italy hold a National Conference Reggie Tagoe reports from Torino on a recent conference on investing in Ghana for the Ghanaian community in Italy and Italian investors. The two-day event was focused on Investments in Ghana for the Ghanaian community in Italy and Italian entrepreneurs who want to invest in the country. A delegation from Ghana to the meeting was led by Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry. Other members of his team included Robert Ahomka Lindsay, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC); Oppong H. Boateng, District Chief Executive of Sekyere West and Augustine Otoo and Kofi Addo from the GIPC and the Ministry of Trade and Industry respectively. Also present were two Diplomatic Officers from the Ghana Embassy in Rome, Jonathan Bartels-Kodwo, Minister and Head of the Consular Section, and James K. Nyasembi, a Minister-Counsellor. Investing in Ghana The Conference was chaired by Bartels-Kodwo who began by expressing his gratitude to the Ghana delegation for coming to Italy and also thanked the Council of Ghana Nationals Association in Italy (COGNAI) for coming up with the idea of the event, in collaboration with its sponsors. The Chief Executive Officer of the GIPC, Robert Lindsay, gave an extensive presentation on setting up business investments in Ghana and how Ghanaians abroad and all other investors can invest in Ghana’s economy through the GIPC.  Speaking to over 300 participants, he cautioned them about investing in Ghana through family members or people who claim to have the ‘right connections’ to help them establish business in Ghana. "We at GIPC are capable of handling every aspect of your plans in setting up business when you arrive in Ghana," he advised, as he comprehensively and convincingly made clear in his presentation by covering many areas about investing in Ghana. "There are 5 key areas where we try to help people establish their business in Ghana," he said. "One, we initiate and support measures that will make the investment climate better for businesses, both domestic and international. We look at taxation, immigration or any other thing that has to do with investment and ensure that the investment climate is good for the investor. "Two, we promote investment inside and outside Ghana and we do that by going out and sharing the opportunities with business people around the world and inside Ghana. Three, we are taxed to collate, analyse and bring together all trends and analysis to show the performance of our investment community in Ghana with the point to helping them register with GIPC, to ensure that the climate and whatever we are doing meet the needs of our economy. "Four, we also spend a lot of time on the centres which are managed by us and not by the Ministry. We encourage you when you come to Ghana to visit the Ministers but investment processing is not done by the Ministries. Ministries do the strategy and policy, we at GIPC execute the policy and strategy. "There is hope for Ghana and other people outside our country have recognised the massive potential we have. Opportunities are now glaring and people are coming to Ghana to invest." "Five, we are there to hold your hand as you think about investing in Ghana, when you invest in Ghana and after you’ve invested. Our mandate covers everything from giving you a permit to operate in Ghana and, if there are tax incentives, we are the agency that gives you those incentives because we work closely with Customs and Excise", he told them. Ghana - Among the Top 10 Performing Countries in the World The GIPC Chief also explained to the participants, which included some Italian entrepreneurs, a wide range of investment opportunities such as crop production, poultry production - under Agriculture, livestock feeds and fishmeal, packaging; under Agro Processing, Agri-Business, agricultural estates, irrigation and storage facilities. Hotels coach services, car rentals, beach, lake resort developments served as examples under Tourism. Also mentioned in his presentation were Information & Communication Technolgy (ICT), about which he highlighted the production of electrical and electronic products, manufacture and assembly of computer equipment and added services including tranportation, financial, health and education. Robert Lindsay also gave the participants reasons why they should locate their business in Ghana. “Ghana is among the top 10 performing countries in the world and the first in Africa (Doing Business in 2008 – World Report),” he pointed out, adding the country has increased its revenues, reduced inflation and reduced interest rates and enjoyed political stability and a multiparty democracy since 1993. Concluding his presentation, he noted that the registration of a business in Ghana through the GIPC can be done in a day and that a Registration Certificate can be issued after 5 days. Within 82 days of arriving in the country, an investor can start business. The Chief Executive Officer of GIPC also indicated his organisation does not engage in any acts of corruption and that any evidence of such malpractices are dealt with severely. Taking Advantage of the Current Boom The Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, in turn, updated the participants on the current economic situation in Ghana, urging his compatriots to take advantage of the current boom for doing business in the country and to come and invest. "The discovery of petroleum in Ghana, whose benefits will begin when drilling starts in 2010, has, among other factors, brought many business opportunities to Ghana and you must not wait till 2 years from now, because you will be left behind," he advised, adding that, despite the oil find, Ghana has learned a lot from the Nigerian example and will not allow its other industries to collapse. He pointed out that the government is actively looking for investment in its agriculture sector, among others, and offering good tax concessions. "There is hope for Ghana and other people outside our country have recognised the massive potential we have. Opportunities are now glaring and people are coming to Ghana to invest," he said, adding: "my Ministry is trying to ensure that we have an enviroment within which business can be done easily and smoothly and without too many challenges." "Those of you living abroad seem much more exposed than those of us in Ghana in terms of technology....to how businesses are run, your attitude and ability to comply with laws.." He pointed out that Ghana has managed to prepare its economy to receive foreign investors, as well as Ghanaians in the diaspora who want to go back home with good investment plans. “We are also looking for partnerships. Those of you living abroad seem much more exposed than those of us in Ghana in terms of technology; from the machines you can use for poultry and food processing among others, to how businesses are run, your attitude and ability to comply with laws. We have moved from things we could not easily dream about seven years ago and we are getting closer to where we want to be,” said the Hon. Minister. He reiterated an earlier point that there is no better place to invest in Africa now than Ghana and says Ghana is different because there is peace in the country, it has laws that protects investments, and has incentives that enable it to attract outside investments into the country. Furthermore, after paying taxes, whatever money the investor makes in Ghana can be transfered outside the country without difficulty. Land Reform A presentation was also made by Oppong H. Boateng, the District Chief Executive of Sekyere West. He informed the participants that there is an ongoing land reform project in Ghana, called ‘Land Association Projects’, where the Government is trying to acquire large areas of land all over the country to designate as ‘land banks’ for investors. "The government is also encouraging traditional chiefs to use land as equity shares in whatever investment they go into," said the Sekyere West District Chief Executive. A representative of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Tana Anglana, presented a report on ‘Financing and Support to Immigrant Workers’. She also mentioned the formation of a Women’s Organisation in West Africa to help in the socio-economic development of the region. For many participants who asked questions, their major concern was about security, the implications of a change of government, consistent electrical power supply, bureaucratic tendencies and the granting of loans and land acquisition in the setting up of business in Ghana. These questions were expertly handled by the Chief Executive of GIPC, Robert Lindsay, and the Hon. Minister, Agyeman-Manu. A day earlier, the delegation and diplomats from the Ghana Embassy had met Italian and Ghanaian entrepreneurs in Rome for a similar forum. There, 16 Italian companies representatives were present and participants were taken through why they should invest in Ghana and and the various steps involved. Present at that meeting were Dr. Michelle Dell’Utri, Councillor on Promotion, Co-operation and International Relations of the city, Torino, Guido Balotta, Secretary General of the Chamber of Commerce, Torino and Giovanni Maria Ferraris, Council member of the City Council in Torino. For more information on investing in Ghana: www.gipcghana.com |
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 The recipient of the 2007 Odgers Prize, MBA graduate Charles Ifedi, was judged as the student with the highest potential for a management career. The £5,000 prize, sponsored by Cranfield School of Management alumnus Ian Odgers (right) of top executive search company Odgers, Ray and Berndtson, was established in 1987.
After the presentation of the Odgers Prize, Professor Michael Osbaldeston, one of the judging panel members, said, “Charles has had a very successful career to date in Nigeria, both as a consultant and in a start-up company. The panel was impressed ….and confidently expects that he will achieve a major leadership role across the African continent.”
ReConnect Africa spoke to Ifedi, who has now joined American Express, about his career success and how his MBA has made a difference.
RCA: Congratulations on your prize, Charles. Can you tell us a bit about your background?
CI: I am Nigerian. I graduated from University of Ilorin in Nigeria in January 1999 where I studied Computer Science. I graduated with a First Class and won a number of prizes there also, including: Best Graduating Student in Faculty of Science, Best Graduating Student in Computer Science, Best Final Year Student in Computer Science and Best Graduating Student in Department of Mathematics (97/98 session).
I started my career as a software developer while I was still in University and continued after I graduated. I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2000, moved to Accenture in 2001 and went back to PwC after a year. I am also a Certified Information Security Auditor
RCA: You were involved in a start-up company in Nigeria. What was the company set up to do and how well did you succeed?
CI:
Nine months after I went back to PwC, I left again and joined the pioneer staff and management team of InterSwitch Limited, a payment processing company in January 2003. InterSwitch is Nigeria’s leading Transaction Switching and Payment Processing Company, with the largest number of banks, cards, channels, products and customer-base.
I left InterSwitch in Sept 2006 to come and do my MBA in Cranfield. At that time, InterSwitch was driving more than 90% of the banks in Nigeria, over 4.5m cards, 1000 ATMs, 2000 POS terminals and monthly transactions in excess of US$25m. This has significantly increased (e.g. they have 100% of the banks now) and they are the de facto payment processing company in Nigeria. It is currently a highly successful company - started with equity equivalent of US$1.5m but is now worth more than US$15m. At the time of leaving, my designation was Group Head, Business Solutions and I was ranked No. 3 in the company. The key responsibilities of my department included the design, development and management of card and electronic payment solutions, project management and quality assurance, business development and market expansion (Local and International) as well as corporate marketing, sales and technical sales support.
RCA: What motivated you to come to the UK to study for an MBA?
CI:
I chose to come to the UK to do an MBA for a few reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, was to get more international exposure, since I had been studying and working in Nigeria all my life. Although I had travelled abroad quite a bit, I felt coming to the UK would increase my exposure and my network. I chose Cranfield School of Management because I could only afford to give up one year for the MBA, and wanted a school that had a high average "number of years’ experience".
“I believe that with God's guidance and the right balance of hard work and timing (being at the right place at the right time) you can achieve anything...”
Then another focus I had was personal development. This was both individual development as well as skills that I had learnt on the job and never been taught formally - finance, accounting, sales, marketing, strategy etc which I needed for my management role. Then finally, there was also the opportunity to travel and see the world after seven years of working.
RCA: What are the key benefits you have gained from the MBA and from living in the UK?
CI:
At the time I was coming to the UK, I didn't plan to work. I just wanted to study for a year and go back to Nigeria and probably back to InterSwitch. Initially, I applied to American Express for an internship and I was offered an internship in one department or a full-time job in my current department. I went through both interview processes and decided to take the full-time job. They got me a work permit and also a sign-on bonus which would enable me pay off my MBA loan quicker.
All the objectives for coming to the UK for an MBA were achieved. In addition, I don't think I would have gotten the offer if I didn't have an MBA in the UK, so that was a plus.
RCA: What was the most challenging aspect of your entry into the Odgers competition?
CI:
The Odgers prize is not really a competition. Ian Odgers (the founder and chairman of Odgers, Ray & Berndtson) is an alumnus of Cranfield. The company is a selection and executive recruitment company. The Odgers prize is given annually to the MBA student that show the most potential to succeed in business and management.
The process is as follows: all the MBA students are required to vote for one person (excluding themselves) in the class that should be given the prize. The five MBA students with the highest votes are then interviewed by a panel comprising of Ian Odgers, representatives of the management of Odgers Ray & Berndtson, the MBA director, the Head of the Cranfield School of Management and one or two MBA faculty. Then one student is selected based on the interviews.
I guess it depends on the number of initial votes you get from the class of 113 people. I guess this would depend on the leadership qualities, charisma and leadership exhibited within your various teams and in the MBA class in general. I also actually think it was the students that were perceived to be the most intelligent in the class that were voted for...but sincerely I believe it was just God that gave me the opportunity to be there.
RCA: Any advice for aspiring professionals out there?
CI: I’m not sure if I am competent enough to give general advice to aspiring professionals since I am one of them. But I believe that, with God's guidance and the right balance of hard work and timing (being at the right place at the right time), you can achieve anything..."only the person that is prepared, can seize opportunities when they present themselves."
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Migrant workers are expected to send home US$225 billion this year, according to a World Bank study which showed remittances playing a key role in slashing poverty rates in developing economies and representing the biggest source of foreign exchange in many countries. While remittances highlighted migration's positive impact on development, the study also examined the negative effects of the brain drain of educated migrants from developing countries. Five out of 10 college graduates from Sierra Leone and Ghana, for example, live outside their country while many countries in Central America and Sub-Saharan Africa show rates of migration among professionals of over 50 percent. |
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner Prof. Wangari Maathai addresses Africa Diaspora and Development Day 2005 On July 2nd, 2005, while British rock stars took to the stage in London’s Hyde Park, several hundred Africans gathered at the London Metropolitan University to tackle the serious question of how Africans outside the continent can mobilise their own resources to create and sustain jobs, enterprise and wealth in Africa.
Africa Diaspora and Development Day (AD3) is the annual one-day event held by UK-based African Foundation for Development (AFFORD).
Enterprise was the focus for the 2005 event; how Africans can use the skills, experience and knowledge acquired outside the continent to boost employment-creating economic growth in Africa. Featuring a range of master classes and workshops on subjects including enterprise development, employment and careers in Africa, the purpose of this year’s ADDD was to explore the mindsets, structures and mechanisms needed in order for Africans outside Africa to support SME growth in Africa.
 Arriving to a standing ovation, the keynote speaker for the event, Professor Wangari Maathai, Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in Kenya and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, expressed her delight at the commitment of Africans in the Diaspora to the economic and social development of Africa. While acknowledging the efforts of the musicians campaigning in London’s Hyde Park, she urged the Africans present to remain focused on what they are already doing.
Peace and Democracy Professor Maathai paid tribute to the Nobel Prize awarders for recognising that the environment, democracy and peace are inextricably linked. Using the analogy of a 3 legged African stool, she noted that the extent to which any country is willing to invest in all 3 legs – managing resources in a sustainable way, sharing resources more equitably and creating a democratic space that respects the rule of law and human rights – will determine the extent of its ability to develop.
In a keynote speech punctuated by extended applause, the Kenyan Minister spoke of Africa as a continent rich in natural and human resources but impoverished by the exclusion of the majority to the natural resources of the land. Another major cause of poverty, she said, was the inability of African countries to add value to their natural resources and cited the need for skills, information, knowledge and tools as critical to the development of value added processes and services. Touching on the subject of the billions of dollars sent to Africa by the Diaspora each year in the form of remittances, the Nobel Laureate warned that without skills, remittances will not enable people to make productive use of the money sent. Turning to the theme of the day, she noted that 90% of businesses in Africa are small enterprises and urged the conference to identify ways in which skills could be identified to aid such businesses as, with limited opportunities for employment; an enterprise culture is needed as a means of creating wealth in Africa.
“Where are your 10 trees?” Referring to the environment, Professor Maathai urged a change of attitude to the ecosystem. “The Congo Basin forest ecosystem”, she said, “is the second largest in the world and is of critical importance to African and global climate patterns.” She challenged the audience to make sure that each person plants ten trees to replace the carbon dioxide they will use in their lifetime. “Plant trees”, she said. “Ask people to plant trees for you in your village, in your country. Do you know where your ten trees are?”
Fielding questions from the audience after her speech, Professor Maathai insisted that Africans are now in a position to push their leaders, especially since African leaders are now more willing than ever to be pushed. “Democracy will happen when people demand better governance of their leaders and for that they need education and information,” she said. Thanking the organisers of AD3, she closed by urging action and the need to work together, adding; “We met here today and because of this, we have made a difference.”
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According to the World Bank, remittances from Africans living in the diaspora represent the largest flows of money into Africa today, far exceeding official donor aid and foreign direct investment.  Financial resources are not the only options on offer and a number of Africans in the diaspora would also like to offer human resources to support African development. For many who want to share their skills within Africa, a combination of ineffective structures and systems as well as negative attitudes on the ground, often prove a major obstacle.
The African Foundation for Development (AFFORD), a non-governmental organisation founded in 1994 to expand and enhance the contribution that Africans in the diaspora make to Africa's development, has taken on the challenge of harnessing the skills of Africans in the diaspora for the benefit of grassroots entrepreneurs in Africa. March 2006 saw 15 resource persons leave the UK for Sierra Leone, the first country to benefit from this programme. Recognising that for many Africans, particularly the young, entrepreneurial activities are often used as a route to migrate to the West rather than to stay at home to invest their money in a business, AFFORD’s initiative connects experienced diaspora resources with African entrepreneurs to deliver tangible results. The programme has two aspects; training people in Sierra Leone to become trainers in basic business skills and, secondly, providing business planning sessions in Freetown and across the regions through local partners that include the Swazy Jewellers Organisation, SLIBA (Sierra Leone Indigenous Business Association), the Ministry of Youth and Sport, the Young Leaders Group and ENCISS. The project involved extensive planning by AFFORD and was preceded by a three-week feasibility study in Ghana and Sierra Leone, including in-depth discussions with over 100 individuals from grassroots entrepreneurs to established businesspeople, business support agencies, development experts, academics and senior government officials. The selection of the resource people identified for Sierra Leone followed a rigorous assessment day that tested both the technical and soft skills of applicants. Project Aims A key aim of the project, which was funded by Voluntary Services Overseas and its Diaspora Volunteering Initiative, is to develop a resource pool of skilled Africans from the diaspora and in-country to support grassroots entrepreneurs through face-to-face and long-distance interaction. This approach will enhance the skills and confidence of entrepreneurs, helping to develop their business ventures and provide hope along with the creation of much-needed jobs. At the same time, it offers a chance for an often-disconnected diaspora to re-engage with “home” and find a means to contribute to society by improving in-country institutional capacity of small-scale grassroots entrepreneurs and enterprises. “The long term goal is to help these businesses to improve and create jobs thereby reducing unemployment.” One particular outcome of the programme is the intention to heighten awareness of business ventures most likely to have a direct poverty-reducing impact, encouraging Africans outside the continent to channel their remittances in a manner that supports enterprise and helps with job and wealth creation. The project also aims to support gender equity and diversity by providing equality of opportunity to young women entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs with disabilities or living with HIV/AIDS. AFFORD has an impressive record of building capacity, having worked with over 100 African organizations in the UK working for Africa’s development through direct hands-on advice, training, and networking. It has successfully pioneered many initiatives that help Africans in the diaspora support initiatives by Africans within Africa. Project Benefits The programme will deliver a number of key benefits by enabling more young people to draw on business support services to establish their own businesses rather than migrate. Through gender-sensitive training, AFFORD hopes to inspire more young women to set up their own businesses, thus breaking a cycle of poverty. A longer-term benefit is the ability of the programme to foster the flow of remittances into productive investment ventures, creating a wider impact from these flows and a faster reduction of poverty. Christine Matambo, AFFORD’s Programme Officer emphasises that the organisation’s mission over the next three years is centred on enterprise and tapping into the UK diaspora as resources to provide skills, financial and social contacts.  "We are starting with the skills mission and this mission is allowing the diaspora to take time to share their skills, either in their country of origin or from a pan African perspective, to empower local grass roots entrepreneurs," she explains.
"The long term goal is to help these businesses to improve and create jobs thereby reducing unemployment. We’re not talking about large-scale jobs; even if one or two are created by each business, this will contribute to reducing especially youth unemployment, which is an Africa-wide problem" "A Fantastic Experience" The programme has proved an unqualified success and provided a memorable experience for participants. For Manja Kargbo, a resource person who travelled to Makeni with her team, the programme was evidence that business people in the informal sector do know what they need but often simply lack support. “The mission was a fantastic experience that allowed me to look at the informal business sector with fresh eyes and share my ideas with the local participants on how to grow their businesses”, she says. “In the developed world, most who want to start businesses can go to business development agencies for advice and support, or can easily access the internet for information- in Sierra Leone, that is not readily available.' Matambo and AFFORD hope that the financial benefits will flow as relationships are built. “Through these missions,” she adds, “the diaspora and home entrepreneurs will be able to develop a level of trust so that, in the near future, we hope that people from the diaspora will be able to invest financially in these small businesses.” The next enterprise development mission is to Ghana in May/June 2006 and AFFORD are looking for Ghanaians to join the initiative. For further details, contact: Christine Matambo, Programme Officer, AFFORD on 020 7587 3900 or
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Photo: Lisa Anderson |
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AFFORD launches programme to supporting Susu Collectors in Ghana As a component of its MAHDREIA (Mobilising African Home and Diaspora Resources for Enterprise in Africa) programme, the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) is organizing its second Enterprise Mission to Ghana in July 2006.  The programme involves tapping into diaspora skills, knowledge and experience to support the development or expansion of grassroot enterprises in Africa. The UK Enterprise Africa Resource Pool will work on the ground for two to three weeks with identified grassroots entrepreneurs – The Susu Traders - who have already made important strides in their business.
Mentoring for Business Growth The UK Resource Pool will be listening to the ideas and experiences of the Susu Traders and will draw on their own skills and experience to help with developing robust business plans and providing business advice. 84% of economically active Ghanaians operate in the informal sector 84% of economically active Ghanaians operate in the informal sector.Most of them use informal financial systems such as Susu Collectors to handle their cash. “That’s why working with Ghana’s Susu Collectors to help them grow their businesses is also a vital part of helping millions of Ghana’s entrepreneurs to grow Ghana’s economy, improve their lives and create more jobs,” says AFFORD. The project is intended to improve and expand business for the Susu Traders, ultimately leading to creation of jobs and wealth for young people in the country. As part of their strategy, AFFORD hopes to contribute, in the long term, to supporting Africans to harness Africa’s enormous potential and riches for the benefit of Africans in Africa. “The enterprise missions to Africa represent a unique way of tackling the high unemployment levels faced by the majority of African countries,” explains Christine Matambo, AFFORD’s Project Officer. “Leveraging diaspora resources to help grassroot entrepreneurs develop their businesses to a point where they are able to provide even two jobs, would make a significant contribution to employment-based poverty reduction and foster economic growth and development.” The Susu Traders On the July 2006 mission, members of the AFFORD Enterprise Resource pool will work with the Susu Traders to help them improve their business services. Currently, their operations focus on collecting weekly from market women and at the end of each month, the Susu Traders give the market women back their total monthly revenue, thereby helping the market women to save better. In return for these informal banking services, the Susu Traders earn a commission from the market women “The enterprise missions to Africa represent a unique way of tackling the high unemployment levels faced by the majority of African countries.” The Susu Traders are currently undergoing enterprise training under the Barclays Microbanking Programme, which is working closely with the Ghana Cooperative Susu Collectors Association to help local Susu Collectors support local enterprises. The AFFORD mission will also provide post-training mentoring around developing business plans to help the Susu Traders take their business to the next level, improve their creditworthiness and expand their businesses. For further information about the AFFORD mission: contact Christine Matambo at
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'Let’s Stand Together and Change the Image of Africa' Nepad Chief Executive Joins African Heads of Mission to celebrate Africa Day in London  At a special Africa Heads of Mission in London meeting to mark Africa Union Day on 25 May, Professor Firmino Mucavele, the Chief Executive of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), paid tribute to the visions of Africa’s founding fathers, while highlighting the challenges faced by Africa today. Established in 1999, the Africa Union is the successor of the Organisation of African Unity which was formed in 1963 to promote the unity and solidarity of African states, eradicate colonialism, defend territorial integrity and promote international co-operation.
Welcoming the diplomatic delegates and other invited guests, H.E. Samuel Mbei, Dean of the African Union Heads of Mission, introduced the panel of speakers and challenged those present to engage in a frank exchange of views on the way forward for Africa. David Batt, Director of the African Partnership Forum, presented a speech on behalf of the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn. In it he highlighted the steps that had been taken since the report presented by the UK’s Africa Commission and noted that “the role of the AU is essential in finding and implementing Africa solutions to African problems.” The African Union and NEPAD Professor Mucavele reflected on the ideals behind the formation of the OAU and how, 36 years later, the leaders of Africa decided to set up the African Union (AU) to succeed the OAU in order to better face the new challenges of integration on the continent. Professor Mucavele spoke of his own organisation and the philosophy, strategy and progress of NEPAD. “NEPAD is about partnership, ownership and mutual accountability.” He stressed that NEPAD is not an institution in conflict with the AU, but a programme of the AU, developed by African leaders to promote sustainable development and that the organisation is about making smart partnerships for human, social, institutional and economic development. “NEPAD is also a philosophical framework,” he explained. “A programme, a development framework and a philosophical framework.” As a programme of the AU, it aims to promote good governance, rule of law, peace and security; to build institutional capacity and mobilise human, material and financial resources for Africa’s development.
 The need for unity in Africa is paramount, Professor Mucavele said. “We should stand together. NEPAD is about building Africa and strengthening the Africa Union.”
The Professor spoke of his organisation’s mission to help restore self-confidence to Africa and of how unity and partnership among African countries would lead to more appropriate and effective negotiations with the West for development in Africa. In seeking financial resources, he spoke of how Africa could leverage its existing resources to better effect. “The problem of Africa is not about money but sharing what we know. It’s about self-confidence,” he said. “We must use these principles to negotiate with our development partners and to dignify Africa.” The Professor argued that the continent needs to mobilise its human resources in order to have knowledge and value systems and to better leverage its natural resources. “We have them,” he said, “but still suffer from famine – 300 million people living on less than $1 dollar a day.” The continent, he added, also needs institutional resources to harmonise and synchronise procedures and laws so that it can trade. Unity and Partnerships  Unity and partnership was the recurrent theme of the Professor’s address. “Partnerships are key for Africans, but only when we know what we want and we know what we want to do. Then we can negotiate knowing our comparative advantage. We should create new products and markets and harness and generate financial and human resources for development.”
The Professor acknowledged the challenges of corruption within the Continent but also pointed out that corruption is a universal challenge and one that involves complicity from other parts of the world. “We can fight to change the image of Africa but we have to move to new ways,” he said. What is needed to help make the difference for the African continent, he said, was working together to effect increased productivity, efficiency and lower transaction costs on the continent. The role of NEPAD in this process was critical. “NEPAD operationalises the principles of the AU and oversees their implementation. Our emphasis is now on partnership between African countries and regional and continental integration.” Pictures by Bright Malopa. |
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 “Let us be ambitious in what we want for our countries and our continent”, said Gibril Faal, Chair of the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) as he welcomed participants to the organisation’s annual flagship event, the African Diaspora Development Day (AD3).
Describing the event as one that celebrates the contribution of Africans in the Diaspora, Faal urged those present to use the event to learn how to improve the impact of these contributions to Africa. “We come to AD3 aware of the constraints and barriers,” he said. “However the event is one for being solution merchants rather than problem peddlers. That is the spirit with which we come to AD3.” AD3 is an action-oriented, interactive, participatory, and fun-filled day that attracts hundreds of Africans and friends of Africans in lively debate, sharing of ideas, and resolution to action. The topics on the 2006 agenda included the subject of remittances and how these and other investments can support the creation of jobs, identifying the skills, knowledge and experience needed to support entrepreneurs in Africa and how to leverage networks, contacts and influence to lobby against barriers to job creation through enterprise in Africa. Master classes and workshops held across a range of topics including employment skills, fundraising and public speaking, as well as a vibrant African Development Marketplace, added to the variety of the day. “Jobs, not handouts, will create wealth” The theme of the event reflected AFFORD’s aim to create 8 million jobs in Africa. By 2008 AFFORD aims to have mobilized 45 African Diaspora communities and groups in the UK to invest their financial, intellectual, political and social capital to create or support 15 small, micro and medium sized enterprises (SMMEs) that focus on providing employment opportunities for young people in the DRC, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda. Over the next three years AFFORD will concentrate on supporting the African Diaspora in the UK to contribute to wealth and job creation in Africa. “AFFORD is convinced that jobs, not handouts, will create wealth, opportunity, dignity and hope in Africa,” said Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie, Executive Director of AFFORD. “Following our deliberations here today, we shall commit to concrete, practical actions and initiatives in the next year to involve the African Diaspora and others in creating some of those much-needed jobs in Africa.” “The creation of decent jobs that can be performed by poor people is the single most effective way to reduce poverty in Africa.” Economic Commission for Africa RemitAid – Tax Relief for Remittances In his welcoming address, Gibril Faal highlighted AFFORD’s work on remittances, which he described was now being as an important, and arguably better, part of Africa’s development finance. Conservative estimates by the IMF show that Africans abroad sent home approximately $32 billion in 2005. AFFORD has recently launched a policy initiative called RemitAid, which recommends that remittances sent to developing countries qualify for tax relief in the same way that donations to charitable organisations attract tax relief, known as Gift Aid. AFFORD’s RemitAid campaign has started to gain momentum and is attracting support from key stakeholders including some developing country governments, UK money transfer operators, remitters and several hometown associations. This lobbying, said Faal, has also contributed to the recent resolution passed by Finance Ministers of Africa urging Western countries to consider tax relief for remittances. Partnership for Enterprise AFFORD is also focusing on African businesses based in the UK which import goods from the continent, pointing out that if these businesses can be strengthened then they can import more goods which in turn will create more jobs.
AFFORD’s partners for the event, the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), part of the De Beers diamond company, was represented by Innocent Mabusela. He spoke of the event’s objectives as being a platform to create workable ideas for development in Africa. Mabusela highlighted his company’s strong commitment to corporate social responsibility as an integral part of the business, citing the 2000 Kimberley Process as an example of cross-sectoral partnership to address illegally traded diamonds.
 “The need for effective partnership is critical to the promotion of enterprise and investment in Africa,” he said, noting that De Beers is working successfully with Sierra Leone, providing expertise in diamond trading. DTC sees its relationship with AFFORD as part of its policy of identifying key partners “Success can only be achieved with partnerships that deliver concrete results, such as AD3. One of the things we can start doing is being an ambassador for our continent and change the perception of international business about Africa,” he said. Ringtones for Enterprise The Keynote speaker of AD3 epitomised the concept of enterprise. Alexander Amosu is a successful UK-based entrepreneur who made a fortune pioneering the ring tone industry. The North London entrepreneur made his first million at the age of 24 by selling ringtones of the latest R&B and hip hop tracks. From what started as a favour to his brother – creating a ringtone for a mobile phone – Amosu, who originates from Nigeria, went on to set up a ringtone scheme that generated instant revenues. Ringtones today are big business and were worth an estimated $3.5bn globally in 2003. Amosu left university to expand his fledgling company, R&B Ringtones, and within four months had made enough money to recruit 21 staff and hire an office in London.  Amosu went on to sell the company and his latest project is Mobsvideo.com, an online community portal that encourages video-enabled mobile users from 21 countries to request and share film clips.
Amosu’s focus is now on providing support, guidance and seed funding to young entrepreneurs with the establishment of the Alexander Amosu Charitable Trust, through which he hopes to produce a new generation of entrepreneurs from Africa and its UK Diaspora. Having pledged £250,000 of his own money, he is now set on raising £750,000 for the fund. Amosu spoke of the challenge of using his success to impact on Africa. “It’s great being successful in the UK but if you’re not successful at home, then you haven’t really achieved anything,” he said. Describing himself as “a pioneer and not a follower”, Amosu’s Trust aims to provide role models for young Africans and helping young black entrepreneurs by offering direction and advice. His Trust will provide premises, business support and advice from accountants, lawyers and marketing experts for selected entrepreneurs for up to one year. Creating Jobs is about Creating Hope at Home Following the keynote speech, a lively debate by a panel of entrepreneurs was chaired by Kwame Kwei Armah, the noted UK playwright and creator of award winning play, ‘Elmina’s Kitchen’. Events like AD3 highlight the desire of many Africans to move away from the emphasis placed on development aid. As Onyekachi Wambu, AFFORD’s Information Officer pointed out, “At the moment, just giving people aid ensures that nothing sustainable is really being built.” Creating jobs in Africa is about creating hope at home, he said.
“Ultimately, the most sustainable thing one can have is a business and if it’s making money, people will keep it going. If Gordon Brown wants to make an impact on poverty reduction he puts people in jobs and they create a dynamic business sector. So if it works here, why should Africa be any different?” |
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A new survey reveals a third of ethnic minority families in London send money home to Africa and Asia to fight poverty.
 More than a third of ethnic minority households, who responded to a UK-wide survey, sent an average £870 back home to their families living in some of the poorest parts of Africa and Asia last year, according to a new report published today by the UK Department for International Development. The research is the most comprehensive look at the private money transfer habits of Britain's Asian, African, Caribbean and Chinese communities. Nearly half (45%) of the UK's ethnic minority population live in London.
According to reported research by the World Bank remittances have helped cut the share of poor people in Uganda by 11% and by 5% in Ghana. This survey was carried out by ICM Research on behalf of the Department of International Development between February and March 2006 in all 12 regions of the UK. Interviews took place across central and greater London. A total of 28,000 households were approached of which 7,051 responded to the survey.
Key Findings According to Gareth Thomas, UK Minister for International Development, "Sending money home to families in developing countries plays a vital role in helping to tackle poverty, but until now there was little detailed information on what contribution ethnic minorities in the UK made. "This new survey fills this gap, and improving understanding will help banks, community groups and financial service providers offer more options to people wishing to send money home to relatives." Official IMF statistics reveal that $230 billion worth of remittances were sent to developing countries worldwide. The survey highlights the fact that about 38 per cent of ethnic minority households who responded to the survey sent an average of £870 back home in 2005. Of the 50 plus developing countries receiving money from the UK, the five largest recipients were Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Jamaica and Ghana. Other key findings for the survey revealed that: -
The average income of the senders was £22,000 and 70 per cent were between 25-44 years old -
In almost 50 per cent of cases people were sending money to their parents, another 25 per cent to other close relatives like cousins and 15 per cent were sending money to spouses and children; -
31 percent of senders said the money would be used to buy food, 21 per cent said it would help with medical bills and 17 per cent reported the funds would help pay for schooling; and - 80 per cent said the money would make a real difference to the lives
Remittances vs. Investment Many poor countries receive more in money sent back by relatives than they do from overseas companies investing in the local economy. For instance, Ghana receives around 10-15 % of its national income from remittances sent from around the world, compared with around 3% from foreign investment. The survey also indicates that 15 % of people exclusively used informal methods, such as sending money with friends or relatives travelling back home. The Department for International Development helped set up the UK Remittances Task Force which includes members from the British Bankers' Association, Barclay's bank, the Post Office, MoneyGram International, VISA Europe and ICICI Bank. The task force is looking at reducing barriers and costs to remittance flows, improving data and reducing barriers for firms to enter the remittances market. It will present its findings in a report to the government early next year. DFID has provided up to date information on the services offered by different money transfer providers in the UK customers through a website: www.sendmoneyhome.org The survey is available at www.dfid.gov.uk
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London Business School students organised a trip to Ghana and Nigeria during spring break 2006. Gbenga Olatunji of the 2007 MBA class reports on the first trip by the School to the region, an exhilarating and refreshing learning experience. “Over an 11-day period, we visited some of the exciting sites in both countries, met business leaders, participated in volunteer service and found time to have fun as well!” says Gbenga. First Stop, Ghana  The first stop was in Ghana where the group spent a day sightseeing in the capital, Accra. Ghana and Ghanaians are very proud of their history so there were a number of places to see including the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, the art and craft market and the Independence Square. This was followed by a drive from Accra through the central region to Obuasi, home of the famous Ashanti gold mines. Along the way, the students discovered a local palm wine distillery and learnt about brewing local gin, while sampling some fresh palm wine!
In Obuasi, the group was received by AngloGold Ashanti and given a tour of the over 100 year old mine by "Captain" who had been working there for 23 years. He was thoroughly entertaining, and made the long walk quite enjoyable. The group got lessons on blasting and drilling, witnessed some of the training exercises for the miners and walked a distance of 800 feet below surface (although most felt it was a lot further than that!) There was also a visit to the ore processing facility and lessons about the process for extracting gold from the ores and AngloGold Ashanti's environment friendly enzyme based extraction process. Unfortunately, the group didn't get to take any gold with them, but had a lot of fun!
Kumasi and the Ashanti Then, it was off to Kumasi to learn more about the Ashanti history and culture. Kumasi is the home of the Ashanti Tribe of Ghana. Ashanti are famous for their wars, military tactics, Kings and queen mothers, Gold and Kente cloth: a living culture that symbols the much of what people know of Ghana. There, the group visited the Manhyia Palace Museum and the Palace of the Ashantihene (king), the National Cultural Centre, market, art and crafts shops and had some real Ghanaian hot, spicy and delicious food. There was also a visit to the home of kente and adrinka cloth making. A few students tried their hands at cloth making and found it fun! The nightlife in Kumasi was very lively as well and everyone had fun dancing most of the night in the hip clubs. With good music, a young and vibrant crowd, and fun seeking London Business School students, it was a night out to remember. “I could have gone to Japan, the Caribbean or Peru. I chose Africa and I would do it again!" After Kumasi, the group drove back through the Cape to see two brilliant sights in Ghana. The Kakum National Park is comprised of mostly undisturbed virgin rainforest. Excellent walking tours (and a canopy walkway) through the forest provide the opportunity to see much of Ghana’s indigenous plant life, as well as rare butterflies, birds and game (that could include the extraordinary bongo and forest elephant). The brave participants took a walk on the 350-metre long and 35 metre high canopy walk, the only such walk in West Africa. Afterwards, the group visited Elmina Castle, the site of some of mankind's most unfortunate events and the exit point for many hundreds of thousands of Africans shipped off to slavery. The castle, recognised as a World Heritage Monument by UNESCO is a must see for anyone interested in finding out more about the events of the slave era. Back in Accra, the group organised a volunteer event for young entrepreneurs. Working in partnership with Pan African Students Summit, the group held an event to learn about doing business in Ghana, deliver presentations on business planning and raising finance as well as reviewing business plans for entrepreneurs venturing into poultry, tourism and fishing businesses. We also met with officials of Guinness Ghana and GSK to learn more about doing business in Ghana and the challenges faced in their industries. Next Stop, Nigeria After a fairly nail biting race to catch the flight to Lagos, the group was welcomed to Nigeria with a dinner hosted by First Securities Discount House on behalf of Lagos based Alumni and RAB members. Hosted at the chic Saipan restaurant, it was fun to meet this group of successful business leaders and the event continued until almost midnight. Attendees included Alero Otobo, Rilwan Belo-Osagie, Osaze Osifo, Tayo Emdem, Ayo Gbeleyi, Femi Lijadu, Mark Riksen and Orlando Ojo. The first full day in Nigeria consisted of a series of visits to leading businesses in Lagos. The first stop was a visit to Oando Plc where a group that included London Business School alumni received us. The company's presentation highlighted the successful entrance and growth of the company to the Nigerian market and its expansion to West Africa as well as listings in Nigeria and South Africa. It was also a good general discussion on the energy industry in Nigeria. Everyone found a few minutes in-between the presentation to catch the solar eclipse from the 10th floor window.  Then, it was off to Guaranty Trust Bank, where the management team led by a board member gave a presentation on the Nigerian banking industry, challenges and prospects. The bank, which is one of the country's leading banks is considered a Nigerian success stories and is the subject of case studies by Harvard Business School. With little time to spare (and fortunately little traffic), it was off to Shell for a presentation on the exploration and production industry in Nigeria. Finally, a last stop at Coca Cola's Nigeria office where there were discussions with Carl Willis, the Franchise Director for Nigeria.
Next day, it was off to Abuja, the Nigerian capital. Built as a new capital to move away from the congestion of Lagos, it was a very interesting contrast to Lagos. As guests of the Minister for the Federal Capital, we were given a tour of the city and visited the Nike art gallery. The high quality art included works by some of Nigeria's most famous artists. Lunch was an opportunity to have discussions with some of the young people working with the minister to manage Abuja and retain its status as a leading city in Nigeria. Meeting Young Entrepreneurs  Back in Lagos, the team held a second volunteer event in partnership with LEAP Africa. It was another interesting session attended by young entrepreneurs in software, shoe making, textiles, telecoms and several other industries. It was an interesting learning experience for all participants with London Business School students challenging the participants to expand the scope of their business ideas, presenting tips on business planning and providing insights into financiers' expectations. It was also an opportunity to meet Ndidi Nwuneli, who is a widely acclaimed youth leader in Africa.
Then, it was off to a Nigerian wedding! It was a very colourful event with lots of music, beautiful attire, friendly people and interesting activities. Diversity in Action The participants were an excellent reflection of the diversity of the School community. We had British, Finn, Dutch, Chinese, Senegalese, Kenyan, Norwegian, Canadian, Nigerian and South African participants. The diverse nationalities and professional backgrounds impressed most of the companies and professionals we encountered. It was a really good opportunity to showcase some of the selling points of the School.
Organising this trip was another opportunity to discover and explore opportunities provided by the alumni and advisory board resource pool. We received support from alumni based in Nigeria and the UK, while the Africa Regional Advisory Board members assisted from London, Lagos and Johannesburg. As Norwegian MBA student Gustav Ellingsen said after the event, "It was extremely interesting to see first hand what Sub-Saharan Africa is all about. It has certainly given me a new perspective. I could have gone to Japan, the Caribbean or Peru. I chose Africa and I would do it |
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 “ A conference organized by Africans, for Africans, in order to truly and pragmatically address problems on the African continent.” Professor Hyacinth Nwana, Professor Joseph Tah, Dr Rosemary Burnley, Dr Jey Ngole and Dr Asa’ah Nkohkwo of TMG Foundation report on TMG 2006.
The TMG-2006 African Diaspora Conference on Sustainable Development, which took place in Westminster, London, on 22nd July 2006, was organized by a group of African Diaspora under the auspices of TMG Foundation – a registered charity. Sustainable Development is defined in the now-classic Brundtland Commission Report as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland, 1987). If there is one continent in need of it, it must be Africa. However in Africa, what passes for sustainable development is largely still dominated by the Western-driven, donor-led model. So was born the TMG conference. “Africa’s Diaspora is Key to Addressing Africa’s Problems” TMG 2006 was unique in three key ways. Firstly, it was the first of – we hope – a set of conferences organized by Africans, for Africans, in order to truly and pragmatically address problems on the African continent. It was an action-oriented conference – and not one that majored on exposes of Africa ills.  Secondly, it was a conference series organized by African Diasporans – a clear hypothesis we hold firmly is that Diasporans will be key to addressing African problems. This is not only because there are enough Africans in Europe alone to fill a mid-sized African country, but also because for most black African countries, there are more Diaspora professionals per key sector than those back in Africa.
So for example, two-thirds of doctors trained in Ghana are working abroad; similarly, there are 5000 Cameroonian Diaspora doctors and only 3000 in Cameroon. Similar statistics apply to other key professions. Thirdly, the philosophical view we – the organizers - take to sustainable development is different to the classic donor-led model. We advocate “grassroots-based”, “micro projects-driven”, “stakeholder community-involving” and “Diaspora-supporting” initiatives, and we argue they bode much better for African sustainability than “Western-driven” and “donor-led” models.
“Two-thirds of doctors trained in Ghana are working abroad; similarly, there are 5000 Cameroonian Diaspora doctors and only 3000 in Cameroon.” However, we do not pooh-pooh the donor-led model – indeed, we believe they are complementary – one is top-down, big budget in nature and fewer projects – the other bottom-up, small budgets in nature and many projects. Furthermore, we urge the Western donor organizations to facilitate and support the take up of such more sustainable models. Agenda and Participants The conference agenda programme and abstracts of papers can be seen at www.tmgcmr.org. The conference attracted over 150 participants from about ten nationalities: UK, Nigeria, Gambia, Malawi, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Cameroon. The programme allowed for five presentations in the morning including two keynotes. Post a sumptuous lunch were very interactive workshops and a plenary panel session. Of particular interest were presentations that covered real examples of Diaspora-supporting, grassroots community-based, sustainable development work back in Africa, and the keynote on real-world sustainable financing, which generated dozens of questions. The reader is urged, to obtain for a small fee, a copy of the comprehensive proceedings from www.tmgcmr.org.
Feedback and Outcomes The feedback from the 50 questionnaires received astonished us: the conference scored 4.2 over a maximum 5 across a range of 8 questions per questionnaire. Comments urged the Department of International Development (DFID) to consider such grassroots-based models, as well as urged the organisers to make this conference “sustainable” itself – and also take it back to Africa! There have been three key outcomes. Firstly, the acclaimed 200 page proceedings, Nwana & Tah (2006). Secondly, a conference report has been produced (see www.tmgcmr.com) which covers the issues raised from the presentations and three workshops: Developing Sustainable Communities; Financing Sustainable Development and Sustainable Infrastructure. Thirdly, TMG – as a Diaspora group – recognises the challenge presented to us by the delegates, and we look forward to working in partnership with other Diaspora groups to share experiences on grassroots-based sustainable development. Sustainable Projects Either way, we urged the participants of this conference to come back to the next conference to report progress on more sustainable projects which they have set up and got going, inspired by the learning, networking, case studies, knowledge sharing, etc. from TMG-2006 conference. If need be, TMG Foundation will advise on projects. We will measure progress of this TMG conference – not by a publication like Nwana & Tah (2006) – but via reported sustainable projects which we can unambiguously attribute to this initiative. TMG Foundation can be contacted through its chair, Dr. Rosemary Burnley via
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References Brundtland, G-H. (1987), “Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development”, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nwana, H. S. & Tah, J. H. M. [Editors] (2006), Proceedings of the African Diaspora Conference on Sustainable Development – TMG 2006”, London: TMG Foundation. Request from www.tmgcmr.com
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 As South Africa looks forward to hosting the 2010 World Cup, we bring you the text of South African President Thabo Mbeki's speech at the ceremony unveiling the emblem for South Africa's 2010 Fifa World Cup, in Berlin on 7 July 2006:
"It is fitting that, on 9 July, Germany hands over to South Africa the hosting of the Fifa Soccer World Cup 2010 in this city of Berlin. I am saying it is fitting because the Brandenburg Gate, in all its glorious splendour, stands testament to the changing fortunes of Germany from a divided to a reunited nation in a spirit of reconciliation, togetherness and growing prosperity on both sides of the gate. "Indeed, the Brandenburg Gate is now a symbol of German resilience, pride, dignity and joy. As Germans will recall, it was football that played such a pivotal role after the Second World War in redefining and healing the trauma of a devastated nation.
"Who can forget Helmut Rahn's magnificent winning goal that brought victory to the underdogs, Germany, against the favourites, Hungary, in that memorable 1954 Fifa World Cup in Berne? Indeed, the 'Miracle of Berne', as it then became known, was widely considered to be one of the major catalysts in Germany's economic recovery as it ensured a growing and prospering soccer industry. "For Franz Beckenbauer, that historic World Cup day when German hearts beat in unison was not simply a sporting victory. As he says: 'The Boss [as Helmut Rahn was called] contributed to the most important success in German sporting history. Germany became someone again. We gave ourselves the feeling of self-respect again.'" The Miracle of South Africa  "We are confident that the 2010 Soccer World Cup will do the same to consolidate our self-respect and dignity gained when we attained our freedom and democracy in 1994 and in a unique way help our own nation and the continent of Africa also to bask in the miracle of South Africa.
"This will clearly be a special tribute to many South Africans and Africans who have triumphed over the pernicious system of apartheid which even denied a black child the right to play football with a white child. The 2010 Soccer World Cup belongs to the many Africans who in many parts of the world engage in a continuous struggle against racism and xenophobia. "As many of us in this room are aware, every day we take important steps to reunite what was a divided nation. We continue to work together to ensure that every South African enjoys dignity, freedom and justice and that our children grow up in an environment that nurtures their talents, infusing the spirit of resilience and determination even in the face of difficult challenges.
"This is the same spirit that helped us overcome such formidable trials and tribulations as presented by the system of apartheid. In many ways this spirit has for years been best manifested within the game of football as players, administrators and fans defied and outmanoeuvred the apartheid system to keep the game alive." An Inspiration for a Better Future "Mr President, it was football that helped keep the high spirits of those jailed on Robben Island and in other prisons in our country. It was football that helped to boost the morale of those in exile; indeed, football was a source of comfort and solace and an inspiration for a better future for those living in the poorest of circumstances.  "It was 50 years ago, in 1956, when the then Minister of Interior in apartheid South Africa, TE Donges, drew up the first official apartheid sport policy and legally segregated sport in our country.
"However, this could not destroy the determination of our soccer players. In that same year, 50 years ago, black South African players such as Stephen Mokone, David Julius and, in 1958, Darius Dhlomo surmounted all these racist obstacles and signed contracts with Cardiff City, Sporting Lisbon and the Heracles Clubs respectively. "By 1965, Leeds United winger Albert Johanneson became the first black South African to play in an English FA Cup Final. "All Africans, the most ardent of football fans and players, rejoiced in Fifa's decision to impose sanctions against South Africa in 1976 because they understood very well that that action was part of the struggle for freedom. At the same time, while the rest of the world enjoyed the fruits of football fortunes, South Africans, even though enduring forced segregation in sport, also packed football stadiums and with meagre resources kept the game alive. "We are indeed very happy that the resilience, patience and love for the beautiful game by these masses of our people was vindicated, on the 15th May 2004, when President Blatter announced that football's golden trophy would finally be going home to Africa. In that glorious moment, Fifa helped with the process of the restoration of our self-respect and dignity and rewarded all the African football lovers by bringing the beautiful game to the mother continent. "Indeed, the ancient kudu horn resonates across the Tempodrom heralding ardent and passionate supporters of Fifa's beacon of hope, football, to grace the shores of the final missing ring - Africa, the cradle of humanity - in the Olympic ideal of the original Olympic Football Tournament, the forerunner of the Fifa Soccer World Cup."
"The inaugural Fifa Soccer World Cup in Uruguay may well have been the turning point for the enormous success and passion that is so evident in Pele's beautiful game, jogo bonito, across South America. And soon the magnificent Fifa golden trophy heads to the southern hemisphere once again to inspire and uplift a continent, from the gold mines of South Africa to the undulating golden sands of Tunisia. The African Century "We have declared this century the African century. In this regard, few would argue that Fifa, President Blatter and the rest of the executive committee have made an enormous contribution towards the realisation of this goal by taking the biggest sporting event to Africa. "In this way, you have proved that you are the supreme ambassadors of football and through your decision you have communicated a positive message to the billions of young people across the world for whom the golden ball or the golden shoe is the ultimate prayer of hope out of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation. "Indeed, we are inspired by President Blatter's words in Senegal in May 2006 when he said: 'Football is all about hope. Hope of a better world, hope for youngsters, hope that you will be able to give people's lives a purpose, and school them for life.'
"Your excellencies, I am sure that you would understand our joy as Fifa took a clear and correct stand against racism. We who have endured centuries of this cancer are indeed pleased that Fifa is leading the world in its public stance against racism, anti-corruption, anti-doping and drug abuse.
"We are prepared, Mr President, to be your foot soldiers in this struggle and we will do whatever possible to ensure the success of the vision adopted by the Fifa Congress in June, which states: 'Develop the game, touch the world, build a better future.' "Undoubtedly, Fifa is proving, by its word and deed, that the world can succeed against the many and varied global challenges through fair and equitable partnerships based on human solidarity, cooperation, fair play and universality. "Today, we have no doubt that Fifa is Africa's Partner of Hope. Accordingly, as Africans together with Fifa we can let our hearts, spirit, mind and bodies talk the same universal language. But our partnership will not end in Africa. Clearly, in time, our shared purpose and solidarity will touch many people and reach the entire world - from the eager child in Fifa's 100th Goal Project in Senegal and Vila Brasilandia in Sao Paulo to the children of the Solomon Islands and Kazakhstan. Artists on the Field of Play  "The Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire, the Hawks of Togo, the Black Stars of Ghana and the Olympic football champions, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, have caught the eyes of the football world with their talents. We are happy that these artists whose work is displayed in the field of play will join many of their brothers and sisters as South Africa, on behalf of Africa, welcomes the world to the cradle of humanity.
"This will be part of the African football journey that would undoubtedly reach, sooner rather than later, a glorious destination of excellence and dominance. The unveiling of this emblem is part of the continuation of this journey of consolidating the progress, the glorious passion and dazzling display of football in Africa and ensuring that we move forward faster. "We thank especially Fifa, President Blatter and the entire leadership for helping us to move faster on this journey. We thank CAF, particularly that son of Africa, Issa Hayatou, together with his committee for their sterling leadership as we march forward. Today we unveil this emblem because in our march we are led by these giants of global and continental football. "South Africa was given the opportunity to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup because, among others, Molefi Oliphant, Irvan Khoza and Danny Jordaan worked tirelessly on this important project. Indeed, we are meeting today because of the work of our own gifted 2010 African ambassadors: George Weah, Roger Milla, Abedi Pele, Kalusha Bwalya, Lucas Radebe, Philimon Masinga and many others across our continent. "Today, in the Tempodrom, as we unveil the 2010 Emblem, we showcase in the Exhibition Hall a new forward-looking and dynamic South Africa with cutting-edge broadcast technology required by Fifa such as high-definition television via broadband and television on mobile and handheld telephones. This is part of the facilities that will be available when we meet in 2010.  "There are many specialised South Africa groups that have visited Germany since the beginning of the World Cup. These are the people that will be in charge of various day-to-day duties during the 2010 Soccer World Cup. I am confident that the experience that they got from this country would ensure that the 2010 Soccer World Cup will not only be successful but memorable.
"Clearly, what they learned in this country will add to the experience that South Africans have, coming from having been privileged to host, among other international events, the African Cup of Nations, the Rugby World Cup, the Cricket World Cup and the Women's Golf World Cup. A Tourist Paradise "Dear friends, in the same spirit of Fifa's new African 2010 project, we too invite you to 'Win in Africa with Africa'. "We invite football fans of the world to journey to a tourist paradise across our magnificent continent of Africa. For the 2010 Soccer World Cup will stand out as a unique event that celebrates Africa in all its magnificent splendour, richness, vibrancy, diversity and glory. "Just as the sound is powerfully amplified in the spirals of the kudu horn, we see hope, connections and prosperity merging between the ancient roots and the infinite possibilities of tomorrow. May the party in Germany continue to spread the magic and joy and pass this to South Africa, where the vuvuzela, our homemade football trumpet, will welcome football fans from across the world. "Again, dear friends, we come from a place where football is not simply a game but an enduring passion; we come from a place where our hearts beat in unison as we celebrate a shared destiny and love for the beautiful game with the human family. "Africa is ready. Africa's time has come. Africa is calling: Come home to Africa in 2010 - Kommen Sie heim nach Afrika in 2010. "Thank you." |
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 The recent launch of the Capital Campaign by the Achimota Commission 2010 (AC2010) has highlighted the contribution that committed alumni can make to Africa’s educational institutions. ReConnect Africa speaks to Franklyn Ayensu (Class of ’73, Gyamfi House) about the campaign and what they hope to achieve. Formerly the Senior Manager of Investor Relations and Editor of Corporate Publications at AngloGold Ashanti, Ayensu is now based in Washington. RCA: Tell us a bit about Achimota School and why it holds such an important place in education in Ghana. FA: Achimota, from the outset, was created to be one of Africa’s leading secondary schools, in its own way on par with Harrow, Rugby and Eton. Its graduates include three heads of state. Prince Charles paid a special visit to the school in 1977 on the occasion of its Golden Jubilee. That’s why its dramatic decline these past three decades is a particularly telling symptom of a larger problem—the marked deterioration of higher education standards all across sub-Saharan Africa as governments have turned their attention to universal access to primary education. A second reason why Achimota is important is that the school represents a model—a model that makes sense for Africa but now is in danger of dying out altogether. Simply stated, Africa needs more than hewers of wood and drawers of water. It needs to move beyond vocational workers who oversee primary commodity exports. But we can’t fully participate in a knowledge-driven global economy if we over-focus on universal primary education, as vital as that goal is. In the UK, for example, local polytechnics play an important role but you also have Oxford, Cambridge, and London. A country without centres of excellence is unwittingly training a nation of followers. Kwame Nkrumah saw that in the early ‘60’s, but many would argue that we’ve lost our focus on this basic truth, and it’s showing up in the area of secondary education. RCA: Why do you say the Achimota model is in danger of dying out? FA: If I could offer you a quick thumbnail sketch: roughly, from the 1920s to the 1970s, the experiment all over Africa was to invest heavily in higher education to produce a generation of reform-minded national leaders who would adapt foreign systems to local needs. The education part worked well, but national instability prevented Africa from taking full advantage of this massive investment. From the ‘60’s to the ‘80’s, post-Independence economic instability siphoned off much of that extremely well trained talent to the West. Starting in the ‘80’s, however, nations like Ghana finally began to achieve stability—precisely when their governments decided to shift resources away from centers of excellence such as Achimota and toward universal primary education. The result is, we’ve never simultaneously had both stability and top-quality higher education. One or the other, never both. That’s an enormous tragedy because this national experiment never had a real chance to pay off. So now, under pressure from foreign advisors, African governments are tempted to abandon the “rigorous education” model entirely and adopt what is rapidly turning out to be a short-sighted solution to the challenge of national development—concentrating on quantity and access at the expense of quality. Without anyone coming out and admitting it, we’re at the very edge of abandoning all belief in excellence because that path hasn’t offered adequate returns in the past, for the reasons I just outlined. A campaign that successfully restores Achimota would therefore have significance far beyond the school itself. It would say, there is a place for excellence in African development. RCA: What made you decide to launch this appeal? FA: The school is in deep crisis. The physical plant is simply crumbling. The sewerage system has utterly collapsed. Most taps don’t run at all and some parents drive there everyday to take water to their children. Squatters have taken over the sports fields; their washing hangs over bushes right on the campus. The swimming pool? Forget that. It’s been bone-dry for decades. Classes are overcrowded. Reports indicate that some students even have to sit on the windowsill during class. Most important of all, academic standards have slipped badly partly because the staff is overwhelmed. Former students who’ve recently been back to look around say, ‘I hardly recognize the school I once went to.’ Many alumni year groups have made heroic but sporadic efforts in the past to shore up a building here and there, but it hasn’t been enough. Last February, a published interview with the headmistress, Adelaide Kwami, vividly brought home the extent of the crisis. That’s when Michel Bowman-Amuah (Class of ’80, Lugard House), founder of BroadSplash, a US-based network communications services provider, sounded a general call to arms to found a group that would launch a well-coordinated fundraising appeal. And that’s how Achimota Commission 2010—AC2010 for short—got started. We’re essentially a virtual community of 15 alumni on four continents linked by Internet and teleconference calls. We also have a lively discussion forum (
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) that’s open to the public. RCA: What are the objectives for the funds raised? FA: Our mission is dauntingly simple: Under our Capital Campaign Chair, Kingsley Orraca-Tetteh (Class of ’68, Lugard House), a neuroradiologist and professor of radiology at Ohio University College of Medicine, our aim is to set Achimota on the path toward fully restoring the vision of its founders—to create a West African regional center of excellence that will function as a leadership training ground. Our initial objective is to work with Achimota’s year groups, the Old Achimotan Association, private foundations, and friends of the school to raise US$5 million by 2010 in order to refurbish the infrastructure. That’s where the name AC2010 comes from. A second, medium-term goal is to restore the school’s famed academic standards. Along the way, we’re hoping that this appeal does its part to stimulate the creation of a viable donor culture, in which the private sector gives back by supporting public institutions like schools. Besides church tithing, we really don’t have enough of this in West Africa. So we’re hoping to kill several birds with one $5 million stone, and that’s why this effort is so important. RCA: How will the funds be managed and who will decide on the priorities regarding disbursement? FA: How will the funds be managed? Very, very tightly. Our continent is not known as an exemplar of fiscal management. AC2010 is dead-set against fulfilling that image. Our team of accountants, lawyers, number crunchers, and public-sector managers has developed a carefully controlled flow-of-funds system to ensure that every euro, dollar, and cedi is accounted for. All monies are being held in reputable trusts that have established a track record of accountability and transparency. We’re not just sending money overseas into a big pot. Only after each phase of a construction project has been completed and thoroughly inspected by an Architectural and Engineering Standards Board made up of volunteer alumni will a vendor or contractor’s invoice for reimbursement of costs be honored by the trusts. As AC2010, our own overhead is extremely low because we’re all unpaid volunteers who have been working up to 20, sometimes 30 hours a week on this initiative since February 2006, simply because we care about our school. Disbursement priorities—those were drawn up by the National Executive of the Old Achimotan Association working with the School Administration and Board; but I suspect the priorities will be fine-tuned over time as needs assessments are reviewed and adjusted. RCA: What has been the reaction of the school's faculty and administrators to your campaign? FA: Enthusiastic! We are very grateful to be working with a seasoned, caring administrative staff who are results-oriented and who realise what’s at stake. RCA: How are you promoting the campaign? FA: As Malcolm X famously said, “By any means necessary”—including accosting the odd pedestrian on her way to work, grabbing her by the lapels, and screaming, “Have you given yet?” No, seriously—we’re relying on the three big guns of fundraising: a phone campaign; appeal letters mailed and emailed to a database of potential givers; and third, if I may say so myself, a truly informative website (http://www.AC2010.org). The section titled A Crisis in Pictures will need no explanation. I would also like to mention that, in June 2006, Brenya Twumasi (Class of ’78, House 11), a lawyer and college instructor in Psychology, created an eye-opening, 2.5-hour DVD documentary titled A Special Report: Achimota – A Virtual Tour. It literally walks you through the campus and shows you the dilapidation. However, if the BBC will give us a spot on the air in conjunction with Ghana’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2007, we’re extremely unlikely to say no! After all, Achimota started out life as Prince of Wales College. Not to drop a hint or anything like that… RCA: What do you want from your alumni and other friends of Achimota? FA: We want them to know that every single donation counts no matter how small, even if all you can give is a few pounds a month for one year. The website (http://www.AC2010.org) specifies various ways in which people can donate, including Workplace Giving. Above all, remember that Achimota made us who we are today. So my encouragement to alumni and friends is, let’s all pull together and give something back. Achimota’s founders—Kwegyir Aggrey, Alexander Fraser, and Sir Gordon Guggisberg—made tremendous personal sacrifices to enable the school to become a reality. It would be a great shame if, through sheer apathy, we let their dream—the dream of a coeducational boarding school that prepares Ghana’s brightest students for leadership—die without bearing its full fruit. In a way, there are some parallels between donating and starting an exercise and nutrition regimen. The first step is always the hardest! So here’s a little challenge to the reader, if I may: Before day’s end, consider visiting the Achimota Campaign website and giving just 3% of your weekly income. Assuming you work a 40-hour week, that’s barely one hour’s worth of income. Then reflect on the significance of what you just did and see if you don’t feel better for it. If you don’t, we might even consider refunding your money! My guess is that you will. Why? Because somewhere in Ghana, there’s a child who will be able to concentrate on his or her studies that much more fully because you took that extra step to care about them in a tangible, concrete way. You modeled compassion, and in the end, that’s what life is about. RCA: How can people contact you? FA: On the website www.AC2010.org, the Contact Us page lists several names and their contact information. Alternatively, email
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 The recent launch of the Capital Campaign by the Achimota Commission 2010 (AC2010) has highlighted the contribution that committed alumni can make to Africa’s educational institutions. ReConnect Africa speaks to Franklyn Ayensu (Class of ’73, Gyamfi House) about the campaign and what they hope to achieve. Formerly the Senior Manager of Investor Relations and Editor of Corporate Publications at AngloGold Ashanti, Ayensu is now based in Washington.
RCA: Tell us a bit about Achimota School and why it holds such an important place in education in Ghana. FA: Achimota, from the outset, was created to be one of Africa’s leading secondary schools, in its own way on par with Harrow, Rugby and Eton. Its graduates include three heads of state. Prince Charles paid a special visit to the school in 1977 on the occasion of its Golden Jubilee. That’s why its dramatic decline these past three decades is a particularly telling symptom of a larger problem—the marked deterioration of higher education standards all across sub-Saharan Africa as governments have turned their attention to universal access to primary education.  A second reason why Achimota is important is that the school represents a model—a model that makes sense for Africa but now is in danger of dying out altogether. Simply stated, Africa needs more than hewers of wood and drawers of water. It needs to move beyond vocational workers who oversee primary commodity exports. But we can’t fully participate in a knowledge-driven global economy if we over-focus on universal primary education, as vital as that goal is. In the UK, for example, local polytechnics play an important role but you also have Oxford, Cambridge, and London. A country without centres of excellence is unwittingly training a nation of followers. Kwame Nkrumah saw that in the early ‘60’s, but many would argue that we’ve lost our focus on this basic truth, and it’s showing up in the area of secondary education.
RCA: Why do you say the Achimota model is in danger of dying out? FA: If I could offer you a quick thumbnail sketch: roughly, from the 1920s to the 1970s, the experiment all over Africa was to invest heavily in higher education to produce a generation of reform-minded national leaders who would adapt foreign systems to local needs. The education part worked well, but national instability prevented Africa from taking full advantage of this massive investment. From the ‘60’s to the ‘80’s, post-Independence economic instability siphoned off much of that extremely well trained talent to the West. Starting in the ‘80’s, however, nations like Ghana finally began to achieve stability—precisely when their governments decided to shift resources away from centers of excellence such as Achimota and toward universal primary education.  The result is, we’ve never simultaneously had both stability and top-quality higher education. One or the other, never both. That’s an enormous tragedy because this national experiment never had a real chance to pay off. So now, under pressure from foreign advisors, African governments are tempted to abandon the “rigorous education” model entirely and adopt what is rapidly turning out to be a short-sighted solution to the challenge of national development—concentrating on quantity and access at the expense of quality.
Without anyone coming out and admitting it, we’re at the very edge of abandoning all belief in excellence because that path hasn’t offered adequate returns in the past, for the reasons I just outlined. A campaign that successfully restores Achimota would therefore have significance far beyond the school itself. It would say, there is a place for excellence in African development. RCA: What made you decide to launch this appeal? FA: The school is in deep crisis. The physical plant is simply crumbling. The sewerage system has utterly collapsed. Most taps don’t run at all and some parents drive there everyday to take water to their children. Squatters have taken over the sports fields; their washing hangs over bushes right on the campus. The swimming pool? Forget that. It’s been bone-dry for decades. Classes are overcrowded. Reports indicate that some students even have to sit on the windowsill during class. Most important of all, academic standards have slipped badly partly because the staff is overwhelmed. Former students who’ve recently been back to look around say, ‘I hardly recognize the school I once went to.’ Many alumni year groups have made heroic but sporadic efforts in the past to shore up a building here and there, but it hasn’t been enough. Last February, a published interview with the headmistress, Adelaide Kwami, vividly brought home the extent of the crisis. That’s when Michel Bowman-Amuah (Class of ’80, Lugard House), founder of BroadSplash, a US-based network communications services provider, sounded a general call to arms to found a group that would launch a well-coordinated fundraising appeal. And that’s how Achimota Commission 2010—AC2010 for short—got started. We’re essentially a virtual community of 15 alumni on four continents linked by Internet and teleconference calls. We also have a lively discussion forum (
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) that’s open to the public. RCA: What are the objectives for the funds raised?  FA: Our mission is dauntingly simple: Under our Capital Campaign Chair, Kingsley Orraca-Tetteh (Class of ’68, Lugard House), a neuroradiologist and professor of radiology at Ohio University College of Medicine, our aim is to set Achimota on the path toward fully restoring the vision of its founders—to create a West African regional center of excellence that will function as a leadership training ground. Our initial objective is to work with Achimota’s year groups, the Old Achimotan Association, private foundations, and friends of the school to raise US$5 million by 2010 in order to refurbish the infrastructure. That’s where the name AC2010 comes from.
A second, medium-term goal is to restore the school’s famed academic standards. Along the way, we’re hoping that this appeal does its part to stimulate the creation of a viable donor culture, in which the private sector gives back by supporting public institutions like schools. Besides church tithing, we really don’t have enough of this in West Africa. So we’re hoping to kill several birds with one $5 million stone, and that’s why this effort is so important. RCA: How will the funds be managed and who will decide on the priorities regarding disbursement? FA: How will the funds be managed? Very, very tightly. Our continent is not known as an exemplar of fiscal management. AC2010 is dead-set against fulfilling that image. Our team of accountants, lawyers, number crunchers, and public-sector managers has developed a carefully controlled flow-of-funds system to ensure that every euro, dollar, and cedi is accounted for. All monies are being held in reputable trusts that have established a track record of accountability and transparency. We’re not just sending money overseas into a big pot. Only after each phase of a construction project has been completed and thoroughly inspected by an Architectural and Engineering Standards Board made up of volunteer alumni will a vendor or contractor’s invoice for reimbursement of costs be honored by the trusts. As AC2010, our own overhead is extremely low because we’re all unpaid volunteers who have been working up to 20, sometimes 30 hours a week on this initiative since February 2006, simply because we care about our school. Disbursement priorities—those were drawn up by the National Executive of the Old Achimotan Association working with the School Administration and Board; but I suspect the priorities will be fine-tuned over time as needs assessments are reviewed and adjusted. RCA: What has been the reaction of the school's faculty and administrators to your campaign?  FA: Enthusiastic! We are very grateful to be working with a seasoned, caring administrative staff who are results-oriented and who realise what’s at stake.
RCA: How are you promoting the campaign? FA: As Malcolm X famously said, “By any means necessary”—including accosting the odd pedestrian on her way to work, grabbing her by the lapels, and screaming, “Have you given yet?” No, seriously—we’re relying on the three big guns of fundraising: a phone campaign; appeal letters mailed and emailed to a database of potential givers; and third, if I may say so myself, a truly informative website (http://www.AC2010.org). The section titled A Crisis in Pictures will need no explanation. I would also like to mention that, in June 2006, Brenya Twumasi (Class of ’78, House 11), a lawyer and college instructor in Psychology, created an eye-opening, 2.5-hour DVD documentary titled A Special Report: Achimota – A Virtual Tour. It literally walks you through the campus and shows you the dilapidation. However, if the BBC will give us a spot on the air in conjunction with Ghana’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2007, we’re extremely unlikely to say no! After all, Achimota started out life as Prince of Wales College. Not to drop a hint or anything like that… RCA: What do you want from your alumni and other friends of Achimota? FA: We want them to know that every single donation counts no matter how small, even if all you can give is a few pounds a month for one year. The website (http://www.AC2010.org) specifies various ways in which people can donate, including Workplace Giving. Above all, remember that Achimota made us who we are today. So my encouragement to alumni and friends is, let’s all pull together and give something back. Achimota’s founders—Kwegyir Aggrey, Alexander Fraser, and Sir Gordon Guggisberg—made tremendous personal sacrifices to enable the school to become a reality. It would be a great shame if, through sheer apathy, we let their dream—the dream of a coeducational boarding school that prepares Ghana’s brightest students for leadership—die without bearing its full fruit. In a way, there are some parallels between donating and starting an exercise and nutrition regimen. The first step is always the hardest! So here’s a little challenge to the reader, if I may: Before day’s end, consider visiting the Achimota Campaign website and giving just 3% of your weekly income. Assuming you work a 40-hour week, that’s barely one hour’s worth of income. Then reflect on the significance of what you just did and see if you don’t feel better for it. If you don’t, we might even consider refunding your money! My guess is that you will. Why? Because somewhere in Ghana, there’s a child who will be able to concentrate on his or her studies that much more fully because you took that extra step to care about them in a tangible, concrete way. You modeled compassion, and in the end, that’s what life is about. RCA: How can people contact you? FA: On the website www.AC2010.org, the Contact Us page lists several names and their contact information. Alternatively, email
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 A chance meeting with an AIDS orphan inspired singer and entertainer Patti Boulaye to use her celebrity to make a difference to her home continent by setting up the charity, Support for Africa. ReConnect Africa speaks exclusively to the Nigerian-born international star.
RCA: What inspired you to set up Support for Africa? PB: I conceived the idea of Support for Africa at the end of 2000 and established it in 2001. I set it up for many reasons. Over the years, I had served on a celebrity committee for an HIV charity. On one particular visit to Nigeria in 2000, I was taken to an orphanage called the Victory Children’s Centre and met a little boy called Victor, after whom the centre was named. Victor’s mother had abandoned him when she discovered his status. He was 1 year old and dying of AIDS, with only 2 weeks to live. I decided then that instead of going to governments for solutions, I could do something myself for this little boy. Victor died but, with 60 others in that home alone, I decided that there were many others I could help to save. Realizing the size of the problem, I wondered why we could not address this through dispensaries. Growing up in Nigeria, we had dispensaries run by missionaries and others that provided basic health care. When I tried to find some of these dispensaries, I soon realized that none existed. I decided then that I was going to replace them and started raising money to build the first clinic. Harnessing Support  I asked (former British Prime Minster) John Major if he would be Patron of the idea and he agreed - which showed that he had confidence in me! Within 2 years, we had built the first clinic. I hired the Royal Albert Hall in London and put on a show that grossed £70,000. We found a piece of land in Asaba in Delta State, Nigeria, and built the first clinic with the funds raised.
From the beginning, we tried to get the community to take control of the clinic and to make it self-sufficient. This was tough, as they had become reliant on the charity, which was not a sustainable solution. I realized that if this were to work, I would have to build a second clinic and motivate them to compete for our scarce resources. We learned from this dependency risk, and for the second clinic, we changed our approach.  With corporate sponsorship, we were able to build a second clinic in Port Harcourt, River State which I am proud to say is completely self sufficient now. It is not only a health centre for HIV Aids, malaria and other infectious diseases, but also a community centre. Women are taught a trade such as craftwork and given support to promote their products. They then give a percentage of their profits to the upkeep of the centre. They have also raised enough money to build a flat for student doctors. When we visited it the clinic last year, it was so amazing to see all this that I cried.
We have now built a third clinic in Bayelsa State, which opened in June 2005. This is already showing signs of moving into self-sufficiency and following the model of the second. RCA: What have been your major highlights since you started the charity? PB: Since I started this venture, the major highlights have included John Major saying ‘yes’ to being its Patron and also being the only charity allowed to fly our charity flag at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. And, of course, the opening of each clinic is always a highlight and spiritually rewarding. RCA: What impact has Support for Africa’s projects made so far within the local communities and how sustainable do you think this impact will be? PB: The impact the charity has made is that - thank God - others are now thinking of doing the same for their villages, which is what I want to happen. It is wonderful to have Nigerians focusing on access to rural health. The fact that the projects are becoming self sustainable is fantastic, as it is seeing the back of the begging bowl mentality. The biggest programme we are going to fund is de-worming for children and dealing with river blindness. Ours is not a mobile clinic, it is part of the community. The community can hire the clinic to use for social functions like weddings, which helps to create wages for the doctors and for the centre. It also means that they have somewhere they can go and talk in confidence about HIV, which is important. We can give counseling, advice and education although we don’t yet have the resources to treat that disease. The impact of having medical care is incredible – you couldn’t put a price on that. RCA: What would you say have been your main challenges to date?  PB: Trying to change the dependency mindset! It has been difficult and there are still people who think that seeing a celebrity name means we have loads of money! I run the charity without any paid staff or facilities and with only a phone and a computer. Our Vice-President, who is based in Nigeria, is also unpaid and she travels around and supervises the building of the centres. However, she finds it very rewarding and sees it as a blessing to do this work. I do not think there is another charity like ours.
RCA: How do you feel that your celebrity has either helped or hindered your goals in establishing Support for Africa? PB: It has helped in the sense that sometimes I feel that God gave me this success for a reason. My mother always told me that He would let me know when He was ready. She was right because if I had not been a regular supporter of the Royal Albert Hall, I would never have had the opportunity to access this amazing venue. I have been blessed with success and I am trying to give something back. The hindrance comes when people hear my name and think I am making millions of pounds from this. For example, some people thought that I earned millions from the charity event when, in fact, I paid for everything! RCA: How do you combine your career with the demands of running a charity? PB: It’s one day at a time. My family tells me off for sitting up working until the middle of the night, but God does not give you anything you can’t handle. There are times when it gets on top of me but it’s no problem. I have grown-up children now who help when they can; if I have something I need to type, my daughter is often there to help. However, you always have to remember that you can always say ‘no’. RCA: Patti, as a successful artist, parent and social entrepreneur, what lessons would you share with other African women who have to balance career and other commitments?  PB: The word ‘no’ is a good start! You have to prioritise. Sometimes you should not do something and you just have to go by your gut instinct. Women – especially today - have to be logical in our thinking but we should never discard that gut instinct. Learning to take a break and doing everything with a smile and from your heart means that it is never a burden.
RCA: How can ReConnect Africa’s readers become involved with or lend some assistance to Support for Africa? PB: People can help in different ways, depending on their talents and on what they do. We have been able to harness a lot of goodwill to keep our costs down in building the centres. People are constantly shocked at how we have managed to keep our costs contained! People can come and work with us or can sponsor or donate funds to help us with building a centre. If someone can donate a piece of land in a village, we can work together to identify resources in kind and cash – some cement, labour, whatever it takes! For further information about how to contribute to Support for Africa, visit www.supportforafrica.org or contact
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Africa Foundation Stone’s Diaspora Volunteering Initiative Programme brings valuable support to Cameroon. Established in 2000, Africa Foundation Stone is an African-led organization based in London that provides services aimed at different sections of the community in the UK, ranging from homework clubs and sports activities for children from ethnic minorities to training and support for unemployed parents However, as an organisation that was founded by three refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the group’s links with Africa have remained strong. “Since my childhood, I had a dream for my continent. My dream was to see Africans supporting Africa,” says Valentin M. Yombo Djema, Chair of the AFS. “Retour aux Sources (the Diaspora Volunteering Initiative) is the accomplishment of this dream. With this programme, the initiative of tackling disadvantage is coming from Diaspora professionals living in UK and in Europe, in partnership with local NGOs, who are volunteering their skills to tackle discrimination and disadvantage in Africa.” Diaspora Initiative Programme In 2005, AFS joined a new Diaspora Initiative Programme funded by the charity Voluntary Services Overseas to identify and develop volunteers for French speaking African countries. After a visit to Cameroon in September that year, AFS established partnerships with NGO’s and development agencies in Douala and Yaoundé for a pilot programme of 14 volunteers for the two cities. Volunteers were placed on a six-week assignment in Douala and Yaoundé providing community development support in the areas of health, environment and education in line with AFS’s core objectives of fighting poverty and ill health in the UK and Africa. “My role as a volunteer was to visit people living with HIV/AIDS at home and to bring them psychological support and consolation.” In Cameroon, volunteers work with in partnership with AFS representatives and a local NGO. Since December 2005, 13 volunteers have been on the programme and worked in Cameroon with a range of NGOS in the two cities. “We aim to transfer skills by asking volunteers from across Europe to give their time to share their skills with NGOs in Africa.” Valentin Yombo. AFS volunteers have come from countries including Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Congo, Ghana and, of course Cameroon. Volunteers have been mainly based in the UK, although a couple have been based in France. Another aspect of the programme involves working with universities in London and Cameroon and AFS is recruiting lecturers and researchers from the Diaspora to work with universities in Cameroon. Retour aux Sources The organisation provides accommodation for volunteers as well as allowances, airfare, health insurance and visas. The impact to date, says Monica Masawe, the AFS Project Coordinator for Retour aux Sources, has been substantial. “Initially volunteers simply intended to work for the NGOs,” she says. “But there has since been an increased demand for skills and management training and many of the volunteers have provided training for the NGO in management and in writing bids for funding.” The 65 organisations on the ground were already doing a good job under difficult circumstances, says Masawe. “But since we’ve been sending volunteers, most of these organisations now have a clearer understanding of their own strategy and this is increasing their performance in the field.” Training has also made a substantial impact on the issue of HIV/AIDS and those suffering from the disease, says Yombo. “The work of the volunteers has helped to change perception of those infected and their exclusion. Now the training is bringing people together to advocate for a better understanding of the disease and to fight it themselves.” Working in Partnership AFS has been at pains to ensure that the work they do supports local initiatives and responds to local demands and needs. The organisation has collaborated with the Mayors of both cities and involved the local authorities in their work, enabling them to build relationships and to negotiate more effectively. “We now have a clear opportunity for advocacy on health, medicines and treatment for HIV/AIDS,” says Yombo. “Through the programme, we are giving the local authorities an opportunity to understand the priorities of their own people and how they can improve their lives. The project has brought a new connection between the local authorities and the people.” Project in Douala “Retour aux Sources” has already seen some impressive work by volunteers who have worked in Cameroon. Viviane Talkeu’s placement was for six weeks in St. Nicodeme, an association for street children based in Douala Cameroon. Her role involved counselling, IT classes and a photography and theatre project. “My working hours were five days a week from 9am to 6pm,” she says.“In the morning I was carrying out observations, informal discussions and one to one counseling with the young people. During the counselling sessions, young people were encouraged to talk about issues in every their day life and to seek advice for their future plans. Some of the Common issues raised included school material (uniform, books), arguments between social workers and young people, homosexuality, sexuality and STDs.” “Two out of three afternoons a week young people had IT classes, where they were taught basic IT skills and how to use the internet. Drama classes took place two to three times a week. During the last week the theatre group gave a performance, to which young people, work colleagues and management were invited to.” The projects carried out will support the young people in getting used to working in groups, to take responsibility and to have a structure in their every day life. Both Talkeu and her work colleagues benefited from the intercultural and professional exchange. Jacques Noubissie holds a Diploma in Techno-Mechanic Engineering and Computer Integrated Manufacturing. His placement with CERED (Centre d’Etudes de la Recherche Demographique) involved collecting and analysing data from Douala inhabitants, local NGOs and helping them set up local forums. “I had to be flexible and adapt in order to meet the needs of grass root communities and organizations,” he says. I gained a lot of experience from the overseas partners and recognize their professionalism, which showed me that the Diaspora Volunteering Initiative was more a sharing skills scheme.” Back in the UK, Jacques plans to use his experience to help develop youth forums for young Africans in the UK. Pierre Jules Zing-Tsala, a Management Consultant, has also taken part in the programme. “In Cameroon I met the Honourable Mayor of Douala. We talked about the Diaspora Volunteering Programme. He was very impressed and satisfied with the whole scheme. He said that most of the volunteering programmes are run by people from other continents. It is very encouraging to see Africans trying to do something for their people.” “Africa needs help in almost every area. As an African I felt good and I am very proud of what I was doing.” “We hope to expand the programme and work with more volunteers and other French speaking countries,” says Valentin Djema. AFS is recruiting volunteers to travel to Cameroon for to spend between three and six weeks sharing skills and experience with local NGOs throughout 2007. The programme aims to provide managerial and technical training to local partners and NGOs to effectively support disadvantaged people improve their livelihoods and to promote effective network and strategic links among stakeholders, while supporting mainstream HIV/AIDS and gender issues. Interested applicants should send their CV and will then receive a welcome pack with further details about the project. AFS will match the skills of applicants with the needs of the Cameroonian NGOs, who also participate in the selection process. Short listed volunteers will be interviewed and, if selected, will undertake an induction prior to traveling. For further information, contact Africa Foundation Stone via www.africafoundationstone.org or
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March 6th 2007, marks the Golden Jubilee celebration of Ghana as the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to shake off the chains of colonial rule.
Championing African Excellence Not to be noted in history simply as a time of rejoicing, but rather more importantly as a time of reflection for positive action, the theme spearheading this mammoth anniversary -‘Championing African Excellence’ - rests on the following three main objectives: - To celebrate and commemorate Ghana’s landmark achievements as the first country in Black Africa to attain independence from colonial rule;
- To reflect on the evolution, development, achievements and drawbacks of Ghana over the past 50 years; and
- To look forward to the future, to a vision of excellence in all fields of endeavor in the next fifty years toward, and to its centenary birthday as a nation.
“We are going…to create our own African Personality and Identity.” As Ghana, and her friends, both at home and around the globe gear up with events to celebrate and commemorate this landmark anniversary, let us revisit Nkrumah’s declaration as midnight struck on March 5th, 1957. Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, in his address to the nation declared: “We are going to see that we create our own African personality and identity. We again rededicate ourselves in the struggle to emancipate other countries in Africa; for our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.” With renewed vision and vigor, as midnight strikes on March 5th, 2007, it may be appropriate to rephrase Nkrumah’s declaration by adding five critical words, each representing the five decades earned under her belt. Not only is “the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa” but it is also meaningless unless championed by a POSITIVELY CONSISTENT ATTITUDINAL PARADIGM SHIFT among Ghanaians. Long live Ghana, long live Africa! Ghana | London | Thursday March 1, 2007 Ghana’s Golden Homecoming Event Press Conference
Venue: Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum
Time: TBC | Tuesday March 6, 2007 Evensong
Venue: Westminster Abbey
Time: 5pm – 6pm
His Excellency’s Annual National Day
Reception
Venue: TBC Time: 6.30pm | Friday March 2, 2007 Miss Ghana@50 Ball
Venue: State House
Time: TBC | Friday March 9, 2007 Cocoa Day Forum
Venue: London City Hall
Time: 3.30pm – 8.30pm | Saturday March 3, 2007 From Highlife to Hiplife Concert
Venue: Independence Square
Time: TBC | Saturday 17th March, 2007 Ghana Chaplaincy special
commemorative service
Venue: Westminster Central Hall
Time: 11am Ghana @ 50 ball
Venue: Ibis Hotel
Time: 7pm – 2am
For more information on events taking place in the UK: www.ghanahighcommissionuk.com | Monday March 5, 2007 Play – Declaration of Independence
Venue: Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum
Time: TBC Laser Show and Fireworks
Venue: Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum
Time: TBC Homecoming Investment Summit
Venue: Accra International Conference Centre
Time: 9am | Tuesday March 6, 2007 Golden Jubilee Anniversary Parades
Venue: Independence Square
Time: TBC
For more information on events taking place in Ghana: www.ghana50.gov.gh/ghana50 | Washington DC | Atlanta, Georgia | Friday March 2, 2007 Main Launch
Venue: Embassy Chancery
Time: TBC | Sunday March 4, 2007 Interdenominational Service
Venue: Ebenezer Baptist Church,
New Horizon Sanctuary
Time: 3pm – 6pm
| Monday March 5, 2007 Seminar “50 years of Political Independence
and Emancipation”
Venue: Embassy Chancery
Washington DC
Time: TBC | Tuesday March 6, 2007 Ghana Cultural Day
Venue: Atlanta City Hall Atrium
Time: 10.00am – 12.00Noon | Tuesday March 6, 2007 Reception for government officials,
business associates, diplomats and
friends of Ghana
Venue: TBC
Time: TBC Evening Party for Ghanaians and friends of Ghana
Venue: TBC
Time: TBC | Wednesday March 7, 2007 Symposium “Ghana Past, Present
and the Future”
Venue: Auburn Avenue Library
Time: 6pm – 6pm | Wednesday March 7, 2007 School Fair – Career counseling & cultural education
Venue: TBC
Time: TBC | Saturday March 10, 2007 Banquet
Venue: Gwinnett Place Marriott
Time: 6pm – 2am For more information on events taking www.ghanaisfifty.org | Thursday March 8, 2007 Trade and Investment Promotion
Venue: TBC
Time: TBC For more information on events taking place in Washington DC: www.ghana-embassy.org | |
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  From a small group of 10, Star 100 has grown into a strong networking group of Ghanaian professionals in the UK and America passionate about supporting Ghana.
Star 100 is a network of predominantly Ghanaian professionals in the UK and US, who come together to develop business and social relationships for personal benefit as well as for the good and welfare of Ghana. By encouraging members to share knowledge and expertise through networking, the group has been able to facilitate business and personal opportunities for its supporters. The group started in June 2004 with a membership of 10 professionals and with the aim of growing to 100. Today, there are over 400 members in the Star 100 UK branch alone, as well as around 200 in the USA – and the group is still growing. Members come from a wide range of professions ranging from Finance, Management Consultancy, Law, Media and Entertainment to Technology, Civil Engineering, the Public Sector and Property. With so many Ghanaian professionals resident in the UK and the USA, the group’s founders realised that there was a lack of opportunity and a platform for Ghanaians to share ideas, knowledge and the benefits of their business experience. As the number of professionals in the group began to grow, so did the opportunity for them to encourage each other and other Ghanaians to put their thoughts together and to come up with ideas to help Ghana. Monthly Network Meetings  The group meets once a month in their respective countries; Star 100 UK holds its meetings in London while the US chapter meets in New York, to socialise and network. Members also organise conferences and invite host speakers to share views on matters concerning Ghana and the group has played host to speakers such as Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and Professor Frimpong–Boateng.
The benefits of membership are numerous. In addition to the social and business benefits comes the opportunity for individuals to contribute to the good and welfare of Ghana and to have a network of professional fellow members to call on for help in various fields. Philanthropy and Support to Ghana  Over the past three years, Star 100 has taken its mandate forward to include supporting deserving causes in Ghana. The group has undertaken fundraising and succeeded in raising donations of money and equipment to institutions in Ghana. A recent beneficiary was Korle Bu, Ghana’s leading teaching hospital. The group provided equipment including Flow meters and glucometers to Korle Bu’s Baby Unit and organised a health fair in Pokuase Village.
The group considers such charitable donations and activities to be one of the many ways their members can support needy projects in Ghana. Through collaboration with other networks, Star 100 is committed to taking on more projects that will advance the interests of Ghana. Membership of Star 100 is open to all professionals resident in the United Kingdom and the United States who share the aims and objectives of Star 100. For further information about Star 100 and applications for membership: www.star100.org |
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  Despite more than 20 years of life in London, Zaya Yeebo is still passionate about Ghana.
The co-founder of the Centre for Community Development Initiatives, shares how he continues to make a difference in his homeland. Growing up in northern Ghana, and later in the Western region, Sefwi Wiawso, to be precise, has left me with an imprint of what poverty does to people. The lost opportunities, the faces of despair, and yet the constant, quiet struggle to make life meaningful. When I left Ghana for London in the 1980s, this feeling was very much part of my baggage. Working for international organisations based in London left me thinking that the best service one can offer is to contribute to eradicating the excruciating poverty that blights our people and communities. In Ghana today, the most visible examples of marginalisation and poverty are women and children. Newspapers are full of horrific stories of child abuse – sexual and physical. In the rural areas, the marginalisation of women is very much evident as they toil from dawn to dusk to sustain the family in the midst of abysmal economic conditions.
Women and Democracy  Even though some people are snide about those of us who start charitable organisations, that is the road I took. With other like-minded individuals in Ghana and the UK, we started the Centre for Community Development Initiatives. Our counterparts in Ghana also launched the Community Development and Advocacy Centre – CODAC.
The sole objective of both groups was to help eradicate poverty through sustained grassroots programmes and initiatives. For instance, even though the District Assembly structure, in spite of obvious weaknesses, offers a participatory system of democratic governance, the participation of women in this structure is very low, and in most cases absent. Promoting women’s participation in the District Assemblies has been one of our most successful programmes in Ghana. Supported by the UK based charity, Comic Relief, we launched a ‘Women and Democracy’ programme to work with women to enhance their role in the District Assemblies. Based in the UER, this programme offers training, networking, awareness raising, and support to women candidates with technical advice. Generally, we are helping to raise women’s role in the DA system. As Rosemary Kambonga, the programme manager, and now chair of CODAC-Ghana pointed out, “in the 2006 DA elections, while women’s participation at the national level remain at a constant low, this increased by almost 30% in the Upper East Region. This was partly due to our intervention.”
Children’s Rights  Our second area of interest has been children’s rights. In response to the abysmal abuse of children, and in some cases, their total neglect, CCDI worked once again with CODAC-Ghana to implement the Children’s Rights Centres as one stop services for promoting children’s rights mainly through rights awareness, advocacy, and protection. The Centre also works to reduce the incidence of child trafficking. It must be recognised that most kayayee girls in Accra originate from the North. To deal with the root causes of this phenomenon and other forms of abuse means working at the grassroots with mothers, traditional leaders, and faith organisations.
CCDI is now working in partnership with the Ghana NGO Coalition on Children’s Rights and a local NGO, called Advocates & Trainers for Women’s Welfare and Advancement and Rights (ATWWAR) to launch a national Children’s Rights Campaign called the Mmofra Kyefa campaign to raise awareness of the rights of children. The campaign will target hotel owners, parents, and government institutions with responsibility for protecting children. In cases where parents do not have the means, CCDI will bear the cost of prosecuting offenders. However, the initiative is more about prevention and traditional forms of mediation that do not place abused children at further risk.
Using Local Knowledge and Skills In these initiatives, the focus is on using local knowledge and skills through the training of staff, volunteers and community based support workers. This is to ensure that skills are community rooted, is even more urgent as these skills are in short supply. They also provide avenues for encouraging young people to start thinking of voluntary sector work as career opportunities, instead of packing their bags for unpredictable and dangerous journeys to Europe and the Mediterranean. We hope to attract children and young people of Ghanaian and African origin to spend time in rural Ghana to learn and contribute to community development. As Ghana celebrates 50 years of freedom from colonialism and nationhood, we need to re-dedicate our efforts to eradicating poverty. It is the best contribution we can make to build a self-reliant country, a country in which women and children are protected. We need the solidarity of people all over the world because these initiatives are inter linked, and if we want to create a world community against poverty, these small steps are part of a global effort. For more information, contact:
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 Can you always go back to your roots? Playwright Paul Boakye shares his impressions from his trip to Ghana.
So here I am in Ghana, in the middle of the night, with no one to meet me because the London Heathrow to Accra flight is twelve hours late. “Irie, Rasta man!” says the tallest of the taxi drivers trying to handle my luggage outside the gates of Kotoka International Airport. “We Ghanaians love Jamaicans second only to Reggae,” says another. “Not surprising,” says his smiling friend – squeezing my hand and snapping fingers. “Our ancestors were taken there many years ago. Assalamu ‘Alalikum. You are welcome!”
Three hours later, and still reeling from culture shock, I’ve given up searching in the darkness of night for the road to the house of my old friend Kwesi with whom I have come to stay. I can’t help thinking that if I had been riding in a taxi in the middle of the night in England, Jamaica or America, I would probably have been robbed of my luggage, camera equipment and travellers’ cheques by now. Instead, I’m counting the stars in the yard of the bar at the Ebony Hotel, Pig Farm, as recommended by my friendly taxi driver, Amadu. The night is hot and the stars are many. One especially bright is hovering above the head of a man sitting on a stone in the corner of my vision. He is slim, tall, and blacker than the night with a face old and wise as the ground beneath his slipper-less feet. He wears a silver-blue gown of a material that makes him sparkle like the moon in the darkened sky. Resting on a prayer mat at his feet is a shirtless man of equal blackness, fanning himself from enveloping heat and the kiss of mosquitoes. I have a sudden urge to read the Bible, then on second thoughts; perhaps the Qur’an would make more sense here. “Until a small boy came and said, ‘The King is naked! The King is naked!’ You know small boys have much to learn!”
Two men beside me are talking very loudly, but I don’t understand what they’re saying. Not even enough to know if they’re talking about me. Another man has joined. They are definitely not talking about me – at east not now. They seem not even to notice my presence. Am I a ghost, a mere shadow of my former self? Children enter with two barking dogs. The atmosphere changes: “Good evening,” they say one by one. “Good evening,” I smile. Then as quickly as they entered, they leave. The dogs follow. Two of the three men are still talking actively. A fourth man joins them as a fifth man enters to sit alone. “You are welcome!” they all nod to him in unison. “Me dasi!” he replies, and orders a beer. The stars are many and the night is black. Light from the hotel’s kitchen windows cast shadows twisted across the yard. Could I live in this place? Amongst these people? Learning their ways and languages? Two couples to my left are retelling the story of The Chief’s New Clothes. “Eh! ...Until a small boy came and said, ‘The King is naked! The King is naked!’ ...You know small boys have much to learn!”
After ten minutes, they have finished discussing ‘Women’s Liberation in Ghana’ – with the two men concluding, “Women do as much work as men,”...but from what I can see, women are the backbone of Africa. And with that thought uppermost in my mind, I return to my holiday-reading. During the 1980s, it is said, Ghanaian politics went through remarkable transformations from revolution, through adoption of a draconian economic reform programme, and the eventual return to democratic government in 1992. In Big Men and Small Boys: Power, Ideology and the Burden of History in Rawlings’ Ghana, 1982–1994 [1995], Paul Nugent covers the entire sequence of events, situating them in the broader historical context and offering a sustained explanation of what occurred. Since the eighteenth century, he argues, a central theme dominating Ghanaian politics and society has been the relationship between wealth and virtue, and Dr Nugent offers an essential explanation of the ways in which this theme is still predominant today and can be seen in what I like to call the country’s ‘big men/small boy’ syndrome.
Can I live in this country – ‘a small boy’ – and my own man? I would like to run The Mole Game Park in Damongo. I wonder if the current big man, President John Agyekum Kufuor, could arrange it. I wouldn’t ask for much, just a twelve-month trial period, a self-contained bungalow, food, transport, a budget, and some small commission on increased sales. I know I could send profits shooting to the stratosphere. The stars are out and bright tonight. Playwright, essayist, editor, and entrepreneur; Paul Boakye has written for theatre, radio, film, the Internet, academia and magazines. He is the recipient of a Shell National Livewire Business Award, and a member of The Writer's Guild of Great Britain, and The Institute of Project Management.
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 In the 200th anniversary year of the abolition of the African slave trade in Britain, the recent launch of a documentary, ‘A Homecoming for Jobs in Africa’, offers a powerful testimony of how Africans in the Diaspora today are working in partnership with entrepreneurs in Africa to tackle poverty. Produced by award-winning documentary film producer, Ishamil Blagrove Jr., ‘A Homecoming for Jobs in Africa’ tells the story of the SEEDA programme, developed by AFFORD (the African Foundation for Development) as a response to the need in Africa to create jobs and foster enterprise. SEEDA – Supporting Entrepreneurs and Enterprise Development in Africa – reflects the organisation’s focus on enterprise as the way forward for Africa. An audience discussion chaired by playwright, actor and TV personality, Kwame Kwei Armah followed the London premiere of ‘A Homecoming for Jobs in Africa’ and the film has also been screened at Chatham House, home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. Enterprise in Sierra Leone Set in Sierra Leone, the 30-minute documentary follows the arrival of a SEEDA team and examines how the SEEDA Resource People built relationships with entrepreneurs, delivered business training and navigated the social and political challenges of their mission. The SEEDA programme grew out of a consultation process established by AFFORD in mid-2005 with African Diaspora organizations and individuals in the UK. Following feasibility studies to identify needs and to engage partners on the ground, 15 UK Diaspora Resource People visited Sierra Leone and worked with partner associations delivering training in marketing, bookkeeping skills and customer service. Business planning advice and, in some cases capital, offered young people with entrepreneurial flair the opportunity to establish and build small businesses. ‘Africa Needs 8 Million Jobs’ A study conducted by the Economic Commission for Africa estimated that sub-Saharan Africa must create eight million jobs a year just to absorb its growing young labour force. Each individual among the African Diaspora can help create those eight million jobs, says AFFORD’s Executive Director, Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie. “AFFORD is convinced that jobs, not handouts, will create wealth, opportunity, dignity and hope in Africa,” he says. “This, we feel, is the key plank of Africa’s development that the Diaspora can contribute most to in the short term.”  The SEEDA programme harnesses the resources of Africans living in the UK and other parts of Europe to support grassroots entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and thereby to create these much-needed jobs. Through sharing the skills, knowledge and money of participants and funders, the programme has so far supported over 400 grassroots and informal businesses in Sierra Leone and Ghana.
The documentary is a graphic and powerful view of how Sierra Leonean entrepreneurs are given a hand-up and not a handout from Africans in the Diaspora who work with them as business advisors, mentors and friends. Raising Funds for Enterprise Development in Africa At a cost of £2,000 for each Resource Person to spend 2 weeks on the ground, AFFORD is actively fundraising to sustain the programme. Sales from the film and other fundraising activities will help the organization to keep up the momentum built by the teams to date. 200 years ago, Olaudah Equiano and Ignatius Sancho’s The Sons of Africa was the first NGO of the African Diaspora working to abolish the horrific trading in slaves from Africa. Today’s generation of Africa’s sons and daughters is equally focused on ending the debilitating poverty found in so many parts of Africa. According to the Economic Commission of Africa, “the creation of decent jobs that can be performed by poor people is the single most effective way to reduce poverty in Africa.” The impact of the SEEDA programme thus far has proved the power of the African Diaspora to make a positive contribution to achieving this goal. To contribute to the SEEDA programme or to acquire a copy of ‘A Homecoming for Jobs in Africa’, contact Onyekachi Wambu:
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 “Who says that Africans in the Diaspora have no role models?” asks Greg Obong-Oshotse, Editor of a new publication, Positive People. ReConnect Africa speaks to Obong-Oshotse on the challenge of showcasing positive images and lessons from the African Diaspora. RCA: What inspired you to publish Positive People and what are its key objectives?
G O-O:The idea of Positive People came to me in the early 1990s in the course of my frequent trips then from Africa to Europe and North America. I saw the increasing number of Black people living in these parts of the world making useful contributions to the progress of those countries. Yet, not only were they not being recognized, they were also victims of the callous stereotypes rained against Black people from the constant stream of ONLY and ALWAYS negative stories about Blacks in the Western media. The mission of Positive People is a very simple one: to look out for Africans in the Diaspora who are making positive contributions to their host countries and give them due recognition. There are hundreds and thousands of them doing wonderful things throughout Europe and North America. Nigerians, South Africans, Ghanaians, Kenyans, Ugandans, Jamaicans and a host of other African, Caribbean and Black people are literally 'embedded' in strategic centers in the economic, intellectual and sociopolitical nerves of the West. Doing great things for their host countries.
Yet, too often, these men and women are not given the recognition that is commensurate with their contribution. They usually have to wait until they achieve the wildly exceptional before they get a mention and, if it comes at all, a commemoration that is fleeting, and overall few and far between. The mission of Positive People is a very simple one: to look out for Africans in the Diaspora who are making positive contributions to their host countries and give them due recognition. Positive People stands in the gap for these worthy sons and daughters of the continent, and provide a critical balance in how we are seen, especially in a day when role models are few and wanting
RCA: The publication was originally a small insert. What made you decide to move to a full magazine? G O-O:Our readers wanted some more and vendors back in Africa were selling it, even though it was free! However, the small insert idea was a taster. We always knew we would do something much more standard, institutional.
RCA:What is your own background and what led you to publishing? G O-O: My background is fully in journalism and public affairs. I went straight from an honours degree in Political Science from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, in 1981, into journalism. I had been around for quite a bit before I took the job of founding editor of the Daily Independent newspapers in Nigeria in 2001, before moving to London in 2004 as Europe & North America Editor to unfurl a continental flag through Positive People for the Black Diaspora. However, I have also had a telling experience in public affairs, where I espoused ethics in corporate governance, including serving in the late 1980s as the first ever Press Secretary to the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and later as pioneer Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre For Women Development, Abuja, Nigeria. RCA: How do you approach the challenge of promoting positive images of Africans against a climate of ignorance and prejudice about Africa around the world? G O-O: This is precisely what Positive People is doing! By constantly publishing the contributions Black people are making, we neutralise the cruel stereotypes fanned and funneled by the Western media, reinforce Black people as positive role models, and motivate younger upcoming ones to look up, press forward and strike out for the good!. RCA: What are the hopes of you and your team for Positive People magazine? G O-O: That we will bring a fresh breath of cheer always to the hearts of a people too long abused, traduced and denied. RCA: How can Africans in Africa and elsewhere support your goals for Positive People?? G O-O: By taking out subscriptions to Positive People, reading it and feeding us back with ideas of what they would like Positive People to do further and how.
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 IOM is the world's leading migration agency and, since its formation in 1951, it has helped over 13 million migrants. In the UK, IOM runs two voluntary return programmes and since 1999 IOM UK has assisted more than 23,000 people to return home to some 140 countries. ReConnect Africa speaks to Marek Effendowicz about IOM UK’s mission to assist those seeking to return home.
RCA: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) appears to be an unusual organization in terms of the way it operates. What is the origin of the organization and its mandate today?
ME: IOM was set up in 1951 to deal with people who had been displaced after World War 2. It is an international intergovernmental organisation with its headquarters in Geneva. It has observer status at the United Nations, although it is independent of the UN. The organization has 290 offices in 100 countries around the world. Since 1951, it has helped over 13 million migrants in the belief that migration is a good thing if it is dignified, orderly and, above all, voluntary. IOM has pursued its mission of looking after the interests and welfare of migrants since then and will continue to do so.
RCA: What do exactly do your programmes of Assisted Voluntary Return consist of?
 ME: We have two voluntary return schemes. One is for anyone who has touched the asylum system at any stage; whether at application or refusal stage, or if they have disappeared into the community. They are still loosely called asylum seekers. The other category is those who have overstayed their visa or who have been smuggled or trafficked into the country. These people are known by IOM as irregular migrants, although they are more generally called illegal migrants.
Both schemes have the same approach until the point when the migrant reaches their country of origin. As an example, if someone in Glasgow or Edinburgh applies to the scheme and needs a travel document from London, IOM will pay for their trip to and from London and, if all goes well with their application, IOM will advise them of their travel dates and pay for their journey. At Heathrow Airport, we have a team of staff who will hand a ticket to the traveller, just like any other passenger on the plane. There is absolutely nothing to identify a beneficiary of IOM as a beneficiary of the voluntary return programme as they have tickets and travel as a normal passenger. On arrival at the airport in their country of return, if they wish to be met, we can usually arrange for this. In any case, we help to ensure they have resources for onward travel to their homes, which is a crucial aspect of assistance.
Voluntary Reintegration Assistance  The programmes diverge at the point of return home. The VARRP Programme - which is for asylum seekers - is co-funded by the British Government and the European Refugee Fund (ERF). The ERF considers an asylum seeker to be a refugee and contributes to the scheme. This means that at least £1000 worth of reintegration assistance is available in the country of return.
This is not given in cash; it is given in the form of targeted payments to help pay for the returnee’s expenses, e.g. fees for schools for children, a vocational training course or to supplement their salary for a job placement. Nearly 90% of all returnees now use this assistance to contribute to the purchase of equipment and supplies involved in setting up a small business. In addition to the assistance, the IOM office, both in London and in the country of return where we have a mission, helps with business planning and set-up.
‘£1000 will not transform someone’s life but, because it is given in this targeted way, and at a particularly vulnerable and difficult moment of someone’s life, it does actually help - and we have hundreds of stories to attest to that.’
The Programme still requires energy and commitment from the returnee but the intention is that this assistance helps to contribute to a more sustainable return. £1000 will not transform someone’s life but, because it is given in this targeted way, and at a particularly vulnerable and difficult moment of someone’s life, it does actually help - and we have hundreds of stories to attest to that. At times, the British government has further enhanced this sum with time limited enhancements e.g. up to 30 June 2007 the sum was £2,500 of assistance, £500 actually given in cash at the airport. Nevertheless because of the way it is disbursed, it does have a positive impact and contrary to what is misrepresented in the press, this is not the motive for return. RCA: Where do you get your funding from?
ME: Some money comes from the European Union, but the bulk of the money comes from the British government. RCA: So, aren't you really just a government travel agency? ME: To go back to our original mandate, our concern is the welfare of migrants and has been for more than 50 years. We will source money from whichever institution in order to deliver it to migrants. We have no axe to grind in terms of return; whatever the motives of the government in funding, IOM does not take a view on whether people should stay or go. What it does take a view on, is this that the conditions and facilities for those who return is the best it can be - and we do our best to deliver whatever assistance is available. ‘IOM does not take a view on whether people should stay or go. What it does take a view on, is this that the conditions and facilities for those who return is the best it can be.’
As far as we are concerned, when people come to us it is on the basis that they are making a voluntary return. People will come because of pull or push motives; we don’t enquire too closely into their motives. We are not a full service advice service; speak to the relevant advisors or legal support and only come to us when, for whatever reason, you have decided that this is what you want. It is not in our mandate to persuade or dissuade anyone to return. We do not take the view that we know what is best for people. Although we get money from the Government, we are not an agency, but a buffer between the individual and the Government.
RCA: Is return then really voluntary? ME: People return for all sorts of reasons; ‘push’ factors and ‘pull’ factors. These could be about destitution or exploitation in the UK or about letters for removal. Pull factors are not often reported in the media and yet our offices see people every day who would like to return home as quickly as possible. Sometimes it is for family reasons or a desire to return home because they find the social climate, culture, etc in the UK is something they no longer want to be part of. IOM is only here to help people to return home if they wish to do so.
RCA: What can you say to people who are afraid of being put in a detention centre if they contact you? What happens to their application forms? ME: Application forms go to the Government because they have to determine eligibility, check on criminal records and on whether people have applied previously. But the space on the application form asking for reasons for return is often left blank. We have no interest in trying to trace where anyone is living in the UK or in passing that information onto the authorities. All we ask for is for a contact number (typically a mobile) and if that’s a problem, if they are in contact with an agency or third party they trust, that’s all we need so we can advise them of the progress of their application and their travel dates. If people don’t wish to give information about their location in the UK, that’s no problem for us.
RCA: Are you sending people back to dangerous places? ME: Firstly, we send nobody anywhere because we will only help them return if they wish to. There are some agencies that say that IOM should take a view and not help people to return to certain countries. We don’t take a view and think individuals should make up their own minds. People don’t return to a country, they return to their home towns, villages; not whole countries but particular local circumstances and environments which may be safe, whereas others in other parts of the country may not be safe. We have a huge amount of information, especially about countries where we have missions, but we don’t influence people on whether they should or shouldn’t go. Individuals who come to us hardly ever ask about the question of safety, because they know far better than we do about the situation on the ground where they want to return. It’s got to be a voluntary decision by the individual themselves.
IOM UK’s main office is in London with staff members who, between them, speak over 30 different languages. No appointment is necessary to visit this office. All enquiries to IOM are treated confidentially and there is no need for anyone to give their name in order to receive free advice. For further information or to contact IOM (UK), 21 Westminster Palace Gardens, Artillery Row, London SW1P 1RR. Tel: +44 20 7233 0001 Fax +44 20 7233 3001. www.iomlondon.org
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 Sophia Acheampong is the writer of ‘Growing Yams in London’, recently published in the UK by Piccadilly Press. ReConnect Africa speaks to the young author about her Ghanaian heritage, her influences and the conflict of cultures that she reflects in her debut novel. RCA: First of all, congratulations on the publication of ‘Growing Yams in London’. Can you tell us a little about yourself? SA: I’m in my twenties, slightly obsessed with watching Doctor Who (yes, I am waiting for the Christmas special!) and I am currently working on a sequel to ‘Growing Yams in London’.
I studied English at Brunel University where I eventually completed an MA course a few years ago. ‘Growing Yams in London’ first formed part of my MA dissertation; however it took a further year to complete the manuscript and it has altered considerably since then. RCA: The main character in your novel is a British-born girl of Ghanaian parentage. How do you see your own identity today?  SA: I see myself as occupying a similar cultural identity to Makeeda.
I was born and raised in England but my parents were born and raised in Ghana I’ve been lucky enough to have parents who fully appreciated that cultural clashes would occur whilst I was growing up. I am aware of the gaps in my knowledge of Ghanaian culture and history and hope to spend the rest of my life filling those gaps. As I am fortunate enough to have access to many relatives who are willing to pass on their knowledge, I too would like to be able to do the same. RCA: What do you think represent the key challenges for young Africans growing up in a different culture to that of their parents? SA: The key challenge would be forging or maintaining a relationship with your cultural heritage, whilst finding a place for it within the wider culture that you live in. I believe many young Africans in this position are perceived to have an allegiance to the culture they grew up in. The challenge then becomes to be seen as an individual with a respect and appreciation of both cultures. This duality is explored in ‘Growing Yams in London’ using the teenage arena.
‘The challenge … (is)... to be seen as an individual with a respect and appreciation of both cultures. This duality is explored in ‘Growing Yams in London’ using the teenage arena.’
RCA: What have been your own literary influences and how do you think they have helped to shape your writing style?  SA: I’m not sure that literary novelists alone have influenced me. I love Jane Austen’s use of characterisation and books like ‘Head above Water’ by Buchi Emecheta, Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’. Then there are children’s authors like Malorie Blackman, Philip Pullman, J.K Rowling and Meg Cabot. However, hearing a good script or plot on TV or film helps too. My style is fairly descriptive. However within ‘Growing Yams in London’ I incorporate the use of text message and instant messenger as apposed to writing entirely in prose. I did this to reflect the use of technology by teenagers. This aspect of my novel’s structure is not commonplace within its genre, as many authors prefer to write entirely in text message, email, or prose. As we do hear a beep from a mobile phone in films and TV programmes, I think that there is a place for them in novels. RCA: The publishing industry is hugely competitive and it is extremely difficult for new writers to be published. What obstacles did you overcome and what helped you to stay focused? SA: In terms of obstacles, the biggest one for me was not having any knowledge of the publishing industry. It meant that I couldn’t appreciate the time scale involved, and the decisions that are made, prior to an offer being made on a book. After I made contact with my publisher, I had to rewrite my manuscript for them several times before they accepted it. My work had to be in keeping with their house style. That was difficult, as I thought the process would be a lot quicker. In reality, it took two years for them to make an offer, then another year for the book to be published! Even in that final year, I was still writing and correcting a few months before ‘Growing Yams in London’ was released. I stayed focused because I had support from fabulous friends and family, who encouraged me when it got difficult by telling me to get on with it! I have great parents who supported me throughout this process - without them I doubt I would have had the courage to pursue this dream. RCA: What advice would you give to people who are considering writing professionally? SA: I would definitely get feedback on your writing. Also:
- Take the criticism because it all helps.
- Writing can be a lonely experience as it really is just you and that laptop.
- Buy a copy of ‘The Writer’s and Artist’s Yearbook’, published by A and C Black.
- Find out who would be interested in publishing your work.
- Do not be afraid of approaching a smaller publisher.
- If you can get an agent, do so.
- Don’t give up the day job until you can do so comfortably.
- It can be a long journey, so if you do get your work accepted, don’t be too precious about altering your work.
My last piece of advice is to just keep going. If you believe in your work and are willing to work on any flaws, it will happen. ‘Growing Yams in London’ is available through Amazon.co.uk, Waterstones, WH Smith, Borders and Foyles.
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Leading MBA’s experience the new buzz surrounding business in Africa
 Selorm Adadevoh, Wharton MBA Class of 200, reports on the trip taken to Africa by business school students from Wharton and the growing global appetite for doing business in Africa. ‘Thirty-seven students from The Wharton School, Philadelphia, USA embarked on a three week trip to Ghana, Kenya and South Africa this past May as part of a Wharton initiative, the Africa Global Immersion Program (GIP). On this trip, we were exposed to the realities of the new buzz surrounding business in Africa. The Wharton School has been ranked as the #1 business school globally by Financial Times for the last five years and GIP is well known as one of the most prominent examples of Wharton's commitment to international business education. For the last 13 years, GIP has immersed students into India, Africa, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and South America with Africa being the most recent addition.
The Next Chapter for Global Economic Growth | |
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