I came across this video and I was just amazed. It's never too early to teach our children something. These kids are simply adorable!
Wednesday 26 June 2013
Friday 14 June 2013
From an Official Visit to a Leisure Safari!
Isn't it interesting how Obama's purpose in coming to Tanzania took quite a turn before and on cancellation?
Let's take a look at what different media wrote on his visit from before and on cancellation; may be you'll catch my thoughtful drift.
On Obama's coming, much was said with regard to the purpose of the visit and how it would affect political and economical affairs; national and International.
"The president will reinforce the importance that the United States places on our deep and growing ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including through expanding economic growth, investment, and trade; strengthening democratic institutions; and investing in the next generation of African leaders," press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
"The president will meet with a wide array of leaders from government, business, and civil society, including youth, to discuss our strategic partnerships on bilateral and global issues," Carney said, adding that "the trip will underscore the President’s commitment to broadening and deepening cooperation between the United States and the people of sub-Saharan Africa to advance regional and global peace and prosperity." (Yahoo!News|The Ticket; Monday May 20, 2013)
US president will be on diplomatic mission to make up for lost time, and some say the strategic neglect will cost America. And the winners are: Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. Each will be rewarded for its democratic virtues next month when Barack Obama embarks on his first major presidential tour of Africa. (The Guardian, Johannesburg; Tuesday May 21, 2013)
Now comes the cancellation part and we hear...
The WhiteHouse has cancelled a safari that US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were due to take in Tanzania over budgetary concerns, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
The safari "would have required the president's special counterassault team to carry sniper rifles with high-calibre rounds that could neutralise cheetahs, lions or other animals if they became a threat," the paper reported. The Obamas had been expected to spend more than two hours at Tanzania's Mikumi National Park. (The Daily Nation; Friday June 14,2013)
Here we go again, every time President Obama and his family take a vacation, the right wing freaks out. President Obama cancels safari trip in Tanzania because of the cost of security, during his trip to Africa later this month. Of course, he won’t be applauded for it, instead, someone chose to leak that snipers will be on hand to shoot any lions or other wild animals that come near the First Couple.(TheModerate Voice; Friday June 14, 2013)
Believe me, that was just a tip of the iceberg on how wrong it all sounded!
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| Retrieved photo from africanculturedirect.blogspot.com |
Let's take a look at what different media wrote on his visit from before and on cancellation; may be you'll catch my thoughtful drift.
On Obama's coming, much was said with regard to the purpose of the visit and how it would affect political and economical affairs; national and International.
"The president will reinforce the importance that the United States places on our deep and growing ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including through expanding economic growth, investment, and trade; strengthening democratic institutions; and investing in the next generation of African leaders," press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
"The president will meet with a wide array of leaders from government, business, and civil society, including youth, to discuss our strategic partnerships on bilateral and global issues," Carney said, adding that "the trip will underscore the President’s commitment to broadening and deepening cooperation between the United States and the people of sub-Saharan Africa to advance regional and global peace and prosperity." (Yahoo!News|The Ticket; Monday May 20, 2013)
US president will be on diplomatic mission to make up for lost time, and some say the strategic neglect will cost America. And the winners are: Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. Each will be rewarded for its democratic virtues next month when Barack Obama embarks on his first major presidential tour of Africa. (The Guardian, Johannesburg; Tuesday May 21, 2013)
Tanzania’s strategic position in the continent, its abundant
natural resources and countering China’s advances to Africa have been
cited as some of the reasons why President Barack Obama chose to visit
Tanzania in his tour of Africa next month.
Mr Obama, who is the first African American US
President, comes just about three months after new Chinese President Mr
Xi Jinping visited the east African country. (The Citizen, Kenya: Wednesday May 22, 2013; retrieved from Africa Review, Friday June 14, 2013)
When President Obama goes to Africa at month’s end, the first African American president will have a rare opportunity to spread U.S. values to that continent. It would be a shame if his trip instead validated slavery.
By selecting Tanzania as one of the three countries that will receive a presidential visit on that trip, the Obama administration is honoring a government that has been in a multiyear diplomatic dispute with the United States over human trafficking. Now Obama is rewarding Tanzania with a presidential trip. “An official visit from the U.S. president is a gift that is utterly inappropriate after a Tanzanian government official committed horrifying human rights violations just a few miles from the White House,” said Martina Vandenberg, a human rights lawyer who represented the victim, Zipora Mazengo, pro bono.(The Washington Post, June 09, 2013)
When President Obama goes to Africa at month’s end, the first African American president will have a rare opportunity to spread U.S. values to that continent. It would be a shame if his trip instead validated slavery.
By selecting Tanzania as one of the three countries that will receive a presidential visit on that trip, the Obama administration is honoring a government that has been in a multiyear diplomatic dispute with the United States over human trafficking. Now Obama is rewarding Tanzania with a presidential trip. “An official visit from the U.S. president is a gift that is utterly inappropriate after a Tanzanian government official committed horrifying human rights violations just a few miles from the White House,” said Martina Vandenberg, a human rights lawyer who represented the victim, Zipora Mazengo, pro bono.(The Washington Post, June 09, 2013)
Now comes the cancellation part and we hear...
The WhiteHouse has cancelled a safari that US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were due to take in Tanzania over budgetary concerns, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
The safari "would have required the president's special counterassault team to carry sniper rifles with high-calibre rounds that could neutralise cheetahs, lions or other animals if they became a threat," the paper reported. The Obamas had been expected to spend more than two hours at Tanzania's Mikumi National Park. (The Daily Nation; Friday June 14,2013)
Here we go again, every time President Obama and his family take a vacation, the right wing freaks out. President Obama cancels safari trip in Tanzania because of the cost of security, during his trip to Africa later this month. Of course, he won’t be applauded for it, instead, someone chose to leak that snipers will be on hand to shoot any lions or other wild animals that come near the First Couple.(TheModerate Voice; Friday June 14, 2013)
Believe me, that was just a tip of the iceberg on how wrong it all sounded!
Tuesday 11 June 2013
Every Insy Bitsy Counts!
Every word or number starts with a dot,
Every ocean is but a drop in billions of drops,
A journey of a thousand miles began with a step,
Two thousand years began with a second,
A million began with one,
Every lot started at little but just didn't stop.
Storms blew and drought ensued,
Life never stopped breathing,
No matter how far the dessert stretches,
Every ounce of hope, life still fetches.
Every heart beat, every breath inhaled,
It's a fight won and life prevails.
Tuesday 4 June 2013
The Skies Don't Limit!
Explore your potential,
Chase your horizons,
Reach beyond the clouds
Defy gravity!
Monday 3 June 2013
June to Junior (Behind every face there's a story)
The month of June is dedicated to children. The 3rd of June has been dedicated to the underprivileged child, while the 16th of June marks the African Child's day. I consider childhood as the best gift life could give anyone. I bet most of us would walk down that memory lane and laugh at the carefree times we had.
It's really sad when I see a child robbed of their childhood. Some are forced to be parents at such an early age, some are forced to be the bread-earners of their families; while some are deprived of their right live in a safe society by the wars and crimes of society. We forget that the rights of children are the foundation for a healthy and prosperous society.
According to a report by Save The Children this year (2013) states that about 1 million children die per year during birth. Tanzania, being the 3rd country in Africa with the highest rate of children dying at birth, has more than 48,000 children dying every year.
Despite the changes in policies and aids from development partners around the world, the state of children especially in the peripheries leaves a lot to be desired. Children feel the pinch of poverty the hardest. They have to rely on grown ups to take care of most of their needs; and when they are not met they resort to "any means" to get them.
Behind every face, there's a child with a story. We should keep that in mind before we extend judgement. I remember a quote from one of my favorite films "Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb we are bound to others, past and present. And by each crime and every kindness we birth our future" ~ Cloud Atlas. We cannot disassociate our selfishness, our cruel ambitions, our indifference; with the deaths of the children today. By denying them their rights, we kill their spirits, their intellect, their future; we literary kill them.
With the month of June dedicated to children, let's make it a beginning to do every little we can to making our communities safer for children. Give a word of encouragement, praise or even a smile to that child who plays outside your house, or the one that cleans your car at the traffic lights. Take time to visit that nearby local school or orphanage or even a neighbor in need and see how you can help. It doesn't have to be money but even a kind word or advice can go a long way.
Every little act of kindness is hope for a better tomorrow for every child out there. Let's leave humane legacies that will not crumble with time. Kindness, love, honesty, integrity, resourcefulness; should be the pillars of society passed on to our children.
Let us give our children today a chance to tell happy stories to their children on the morrow. Let's begin with "jUne"!
It's really sad when I see a child robbed of their childhood. Some are forced to be parents at such an early age, some are forced to be the bread-earners of their families; while some are deprived of their right live in a safe society by the wars and crimes of society. We forget that the rights of children are the foundation for a healthy and prosperous society.
 | ||
| For these 3, all they've got is themselves. Their father is deceased and their mother abandoned them. The community tries to help them every once in a while but with abject poverty in that area, there isn't much they can do for them financially. |
According to a report by Save The Children this year (2013) states that about 1 million children die per year during birth. Tanzania, being the 3rd country in Africa with the highest rate of children dying at birth, has more than 48,000 children dying every year.
Despite the changes in policies and aids from development partners around the world, the state of children especially in the peripheries leaves a lot to be desired. Children feel the pinch of poverty the hardest. They have to rely on grown ups to take care of most of their needs; and when they are not met they resort to "any means" to get them.
 | ||||||
| Somewhere in Kamsamba, Mbeya. The fourth world is very much visible in these parts. Poverty hit women and children the hardest. |
Behind every face, there's a child with a story. We should keep that in mind before we extend judgement. I remember a quote from one of my favorite films "Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb we are bound to others, past and present. And by each crime and every kindness we birth our future" ~ Cloud Atlas. We cannot disassociate our selfishness, our cruel ambitions, our indifference; with the deaths of the children today. By denying them their rights, we kill their spirits, their intellect, their future; we literary kill them.
 |
| A Child soldier ( retrieved from www.issafrica.org) |
With the month of June dedicated to children, let's make it a beginning to do every little we can to making our communities safer for children. Give a word of encouragement, praise or even a smile to that child who plays outside your house, or the one that cleans your car at the traffic lights. Take time to visit that nearby local school or orphanage or even a neighbor in need and see how you can help. It doesn't have to be money but even a kind word or advice can go a long way.
Every little act of kindness is hope for a better tomorrow for every child out there. Let's leave humane legacies that will not crumble with time. Kindness, love, honesty, integrity, resourcefulness; should be the pillars of society passed on to our children.
 |
| A healthy child is a happy child |
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