Mama Afrika

Miriam Makeba “Mama Afrika” was born on March 4th 1932. Her professional career began in the 1950s with the Manhattan Brothers, before she formed her own group, The Skylarks, singing a blend of jazz and traditional melodies of South Africa. Though she was a successful recording artist, she did not make as much as she wanted to make. Her big break came when she stared inn an anti- apartheid documentary, Come Back Africa in 1959. Makeba then traveled to London where she met Harry Belafonte who made her gain fame in the United States. She released many of her most famous hits there including Pata Pata, The Click Song (Qongqothwane in Xhosa), and Malaika. In 1966, Mama Afrika received a Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording. The album was well known for its political revolution on the fight of black South Africans. In 1963, she testified in front of the UN Committee against Apartheid and her records were banned in South Africa after which she lost her citizenship and rights to return to south. Her marriage to Trinidadian civil rights activist and Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael in 1968 caused controversy in the United States, and her record deals and tours were cancelled. As a result of this, the couple moved to Guinea, where they became close with President Toure and his wife. Makeba separated from Carmichael in 1973, and continued to perform primarily in Africa, South America and Europe. She also served as a Guinean delegate to the United Nations, for which she won the Dag Hammarskjold Peace Prize in 1986.
Nelson Mandela persuaded her to return to South Africa in 1990 and in 1992 she stared in the movie Sarafina about the 1976 Soweto Youth Uprising. In 2001 she was awarded the Gold Otto Hahn Peace Medal by the United Nations Association of Germany, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding". In 2002, she won the Polar Music Prize. In 2004, Makeba was voted 38th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. Makeba started a 14 month worldwide farewell tour in 2005, holding concerts in all of those countries that she had visited during her working life. She is living proof that African women can be very successful if they put their minds and soul to it.

Last Activity

After a long year, the club, "United For Africa" is taking a vacation. The club will have its last activity next thursday at Taj India Restaurant for a final good bye with all members.

Keep in mind that we will host a big conference here at The College Of Saint Scholastica next year. We are not yet sure about the dates but we will keep you update.

Thanks for your ideas, supports and participation in the well development to the club. We will see you next year.

After a long year, the club "United For Africa" is taking a vacation. The club will have its last activity next thursday at Taj India Restaurant for a final good bye with all members. We will be back next Fall for more experience. Keep in mind that we are hosting a conference here at the College Of Saint Scholastica. We are not yet sure about the date but we will keep you update.
Thanks for your ideas, supports and participation in the well development for the club. We will see you next year.

Last Blog

As I write the last blog of mine for the semester, I think back at how much I have learned through this blog. While researching topics to be able to write about Sudan, I learned a lot about what is going on with the country. When we first started this project I did not know very much about Africa at all, but now I have a much better understanding of the country.

While writing my blogs, I did a lot of research to learn what was happening in Darfur. I did not even know that there was a conflict, let alone that it has been going on for many years. I also learned about the people that live there.

As I read others blogs, I learned about the women of Africa. I also learned about what the College of St. Scholastica is doing to help out with the Darfur conflict and what happens during the United for Africa meetings. I realized that everyone can make a difference to help the people affected by the conflict and that it doesn't matter how far away you are. One college can help 140 families.

If you haven't read past blog posts, please do so. You will realize how many things that you did not know, or you will gain an insight of the people and events that are happening.

"Duluth to Darfur" outcome and wrap-up

The "Duluth to Darfur" event was an even bigger success than was originally planned for. The goal was to raise $2500 which would provide 100 families with 2 solar ovens each. The event actually raised $3500 which will provide 140 refugee families with solar ovens. The groups involved in this project were as follows: United Africa, International Students Organization, The Third Wave, Kaleidoscope Multi cultural Club, Social Work Club, Amnesty international, Earth Action, and the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, as well as off campus groups such as UMD, some Benedictine sisters, and some faculty and community members.

This is my final blog for the semester and I thought I would wrap it up with some of the things I learned along the way. I did not really even know about United for Africa before I had this experience. I learned about all the activities that happen on campus to get the students involved, and I also learned that there are several easy things that students can do to get involved without being completely committed to a certain group or club. I really didn't know much about Africa and I didn't realize how much help they need in certain areas.

Like many students I don't have time to commit to a group on campus, so it was interesting to learn about ways to get involved without committing time to the group every week. It was interesting to find out what happens in other parts of the world. Along the same lines of time, I don't always have time to read the paper and find out what is happening. It was nice to quickly learn the important information that I need to know about Africa. It was also nice to learn about the women of Africa, because it is always nice to learn about women who are taking initiative in other countries of the world. The posts about meeting minutes was also helpful because then you can find out what is happening in the club without having to attend all the meetings. It was also interesting to learn what I could do to help other countries. I have always wanted to do something to improve others' lives, but I have not known how to go about accomplishing it. This was a way for me to help, that was easily attainable.

Club dinner
We have $150 for the club to do something together. We will be going to Taj India for supper on May 3 at 6:30pm.

Easter sale
We made $158 but after taking out the cost of buying things we have made $118. We are donating to Duluth Darfur.

Darfur Dinner
Decorations are needed for the even on April 27th at 5:00pm. It was asked to members to come at 3:30pm and help decorate. Anything related to Africa including flags, pictures, tools and so on will be acceptable. It would be very nice if people stay after to clean up afterwards. Help needed to transport the food from the GDR to Somers Main Lounge. The evening is in 2 parts: dinner at Somers Main Lounge at 5:30pm and cultural performance in the Mitchell at 7:30pm. The cost of dinner for students is $10 and just the performance is $5. If you know professors or anybody who is interested in attending please let them buy them from Rhonda Lee or Gary Gordan. The cost is $20 for the general public and that is just the meal. The food is a buffet and it is both vegetarian and meat. KMC, which is another club in the school, is doing the entertainment and they need more dancers because it’s a bigger event and they need more people to fill the stage. For the dinner please wear your traditional clothing. If you don’t have one ask somebody in the group.We need vans for the club dinner and to transport food from the cities for the Darfur Dinner.
The potluck was pushed to April 26 at 6:30pm. There will be a PowerPoint presentation.

New committee members
The new members should meet and decide on when to meet next year and to see how things are done. April 19 at 7:00pm come to the committee meeting. Discuss if maybe another current committee member should be on the committee next year so as to be there for guidance.

There was not too much of new information for the last meeting. We went over what we have discussed the last meeting. So if you want to refresh your memories, go back to the last letter that I posted.

More about the Darfur Conflict

To go along with Amanda's lastest post, I will talk more about the Darfur conflict. You may be wondering how the Darfur conflict started. Well, you are in the right place. The Darfur conflict started in 2003 when a rebel group began attacking government targets. The rebels believed that the government had been neglecting an impoverished region. They also said that the government was against black Africans and in favor of Arabs. The area has had conflicts over the land and grazing rights between the Arabs and the farmers.

So what is the government doing to help resolve this conflict? The governments says that it did sent troops there after the rebel attacks, but according to government, they did not try to get rid of black Africans from the area. The government made air raids of the area by aircraft, and entered the area on camels and horses. While in the area, the government killed men, raped women, and stole whatever they could find. The government says that they were not in control of the group that entered into the area.

Another question that you may have is what has happened to the civillians. Well, millions of civiallans have fled their villages to head to camps near Darfur's main towns. However, there is not enough food, water, or medicine for everyone. It is said that if people travel to far looking for firewood or water, they are killed or raped. Some people decide to travel to Chad, but that area is also attacked by Sudan.

In May there was a peace deal, but not everybody had signed the deal. The government promised to disarm their troops (Janjaweed). The Janjaweed however were never disarmed, and more fighting has taking place since the deal had been signed. There are not enough African Union troops to cover the area.

Darfur Conflict, How Can You Help?

On April 27th there will be an African dinner in Somer's Hall and a show in the Mitchell. The price is $25 and $10 for students to attend both events. You can also just attend one of the two events for $5. All the proceeds will go to purchasing two stoves for a family in the refugee camp. These stoves enables the people to cook by the sun. The tickets can be purchased by calling Gary Gordon at 723-6396 or by emailing him at ggordon@css.edu. If you would like to help, but will be busy that day, you can also simply donate money with attending the events by contacting Gary Gordon.

I know Krystal covered a little bit about the Darfur conflict but I thought I would give more information about it. In the daily student announcement from Gary Gordon, he mentioned a few good statistics. 2,000,000 people were driven from their homes in Darfur by the Sudanese army and their Janjaweed allies because they were on the wrong side of the tribal divide. Another 400,000 were murdered. The survivors (mostly women and children) escaped to 16 refugee camps in Chad. Camp Touloum has 5,000 families.

Darfur, which means land of the Fur, has faced many years of tension over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs, and farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zagawa communities. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3496731.stm) The Darfur conflict is an ongoing armed conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan, mainly between the Janjaweed, a militia group recruited from the tribes of the Abbala Rizeigat (Bedouin Arabs), and the non-Baggara people (mostly land-tilling tribes) of the region. (Wikipedia.com) The estimate of number of deaths is in the hundreds of thousdands by now. As many as 2.5 million are said to have been misplaced by this conflict. The conflict is said to have started when the Darfur Liberation Front claimed credit for an attack on the Jebel Marra District.

Millions of people have fled their villiages to camps near the main towns, but they are struggling to survive because there is not enough food, water, or medicine. Many agencies are working to help Darfur but they are unable to get through because of the fighting. African troops have been deployed to stop the violence but there are too few troops for the amount of fighting that is happening.

Next I would like to inform you of a few ways that you can get involved. There are simple ways that anyone can help. If you ever wanted to make a difference, this would be one good way to do so. The Protect Darfur project lobbies governments to take preventative action to prevent further attacks and seek solutions. The American Jewish World Service is responding with humanitarian aid and advocacy to help end the conflict. These are only two ways to help, but there are many others. The easiest way for St. Scholastica students to get involved is to donate though the school by contacting Gary Gordon. There is a list of ways to help on the following website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography_of_the_Darfur_conflict

Queen Zinga

Queen Nzinga Pande was a 17th century queen born around 1582. She was Queen of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in southern Africa. She was named Nzinga according to tradition because her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. It was believed that children born with their umbilical cord around their necks will be proud and haughty. She was greatly favored by her father, who allowed her to witness as he governed his kingdom, and who carried her with him to war. She lived during a period when the Atlantic slave trade and the increasing power of the Portuguese was growing in the region. Nzinga first appears in the historical record as the representative of her brother, the Ngola Ngola Mbande, at a peace conference with the Portuguese governor João Correia de Sousa in Luanda in 1622. Her mission was to try and persuade the Portuguese to leave her kingdom in peace and to stop taking slaves from the region. It is said that when she was at the meeting with the Portuguese they placed a mat on the floor for her to seat on but to prove that she was an equal to them she asked on of her servants to go down on all fours and she sat down on him. When her brother committed suicide in 1624 she took over the throne and became Queen Nzinga. In 1657, after a long struggle, Nzinga signed a peace treaty with Portugal. After the wars with Portugal ended, she attempted to reconstruct her nation that had been seriously damaged by years of conflict. She devoted her efforts to resettling former slaves and allowing women to bear children. Nzinga died a peaceful death at age eighty on December 17, 1663 in Matamba. Today she is remembered in Angola for her political and diplomatic good judgment, and intelligence, as well as her brilliant military tactics. In time Portugal, and most of Europe, would come to respect her. A major street in Luanda is named after her, and a statue of her was placed in Kinaxixi on an impressive square. Angolan women are often married near the statue, especially on Thursdays and Fridays.

People of Sudan

What do the people of Sudan do for fun? What type of traditions do they have? Where do they live and what do they do for food? These are some of the questions that will be discussed in this blog.

Sudan is made up of over 300 tribes. According to www.Oxfam.org, "About 60 percent of the population are Muslim, 25 percent are animist, and 15 percent Christian." The people of Sudan are also made up of many different ethnic backgrounds, mainly Arab and African. The official language is Arabic, but there are many different tribes that have their own language.





In northern Sudan, the environment is very dry. The people depend on their livestock to help them survive. In the south, the environment has more water and many of the people are farmers and grow their own food.





Like Americans, the people of Sudan entertain themselves with sports, arts and crafts, and music. Soccer is the most popular sport in Sudan. Basketball and volleyball are also among the favorites with the people of Sudan.



Arts & Crafts are also very popular. Traders often make their goods in the marketplace where they sell them. Sometimes tin cans are made into cooking pans or lamps. They also make bags out by punching holes in leather and stitching them. Other crafts are made using strings and beads (often made from colored glass).



Music is also popular in Sudan. The government however tried to stop people from performing. The lyrics of Sudan music is very important to the people. Sometimes at special occasions, new lyrics are made up on the spot.



Meals of the Sudanese are eaten around a large, communal tray. They eat various meats, vegetables, salads, and different sauces. They also eat flatbread. Sudanese drink coffee, which they spice up with cinnamon or ginger. They also drink herbal and fruit teas. Sometimes people put several teaspoons of sugar in their tea.



If you have any questions about the people of Sudan, please leave a comment.

Winnie Mandela

She was born on 26 September 1936 in Bizana, Transkei the area is now known as the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Winnie Mandela is the type of woman who commands attention when she walks into a room full of people. She was one of eight siblings and her mother, Nomathamsanqa Mzaidume taught Home Economics (Domestic Science) at a local school. Winnie experienced her first loss at the tender age of eight when her mother died. Her father worked in the Forestry and Agriculture department of the Transkei government. Transkei is now incorporated as part of the Eastern Cape in South Africa.
Winnie had drive and ambition even in those early years – remember this was during the apartheid years and during a time when women were still oppressed in South Africa: she was both black AND female. Yet she managed to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in International Relations, at one of the leading universities in South Africa, The University of Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg.
After her release form a Kroonstad prison in 1975, she was part of the newly formed African National Congress Women’s League – a movement that till today has a powerful political voice. It was not long before the Women’s League was banned as well – this did not deter Winnie and her female comrades – they continued to struggle against the apartheid laws. Against all expectations, she had been re-elected chairperson of the ANC Women's League several times and her voice is still a strong one. She despises the press who understandably relish any opportunity to elaborate on her lifestyle. This woman, this Winnie Mandela, has spent a lifetime being victimized and oppressed. However she has still managed to come out strong.

Easter Baskets

This week in the Union there will be a raffle to win an Easter basket worth over $40. The entry fee is only $1 per ticket. The proceeds of the tickets are going to the Darfur Solar Pots project. The sale started on Monday, it happened today, and it will happen again on Friday from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm in the student union. The drawing for the raffle will happen on April 4th so make sure you keep checking your email to know if you have won. This a great cause and it only takes a small contribution to make a big difference.

Also happening on Wednesday, April 4th at 7:30 pm in the Mitchell Dr. Jean Comaroff will speak. She has received her B.A. from the University of Cape Town and her Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. She has spent the last 30 years working in South Africa an expert on the legacy of missionary activity on the African continent. Two of her books, titled Body of Power, and Spirit of Resistance and of Revelation and Revolution, have impacted the work of anthropologists, historians, and scholars of religion, music, dance, and medicine. She is currently a professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago.

The three subjects she will focus on are the legacy of missions in southern Africa, AIDS, bodily practices, and the cultural politics of healing rituals, and the damaging impact of neo-Pentecostalism throughout Africa today. Her presentation is titled “Commissioning the Past: Evangelism and History-Making in South Africa.” “For anyone interested in the politics of religion and the legacy of missionary activity in Africa, which is by no means finished, she is a mine of information,” said Dr. Neal Keye, an assistant professor of history at The College of St. Scholastica. “Without doubt many missionaries have done a lot of good, but in many cases they have been up to a lot of mischief and have had some disastrous results.”

This event is free and open to the public, so bring your friends from a different school or bring your family. There will also be a reception to follow. This even is the conclusion of the spring events for the Interreligious forum.

Information taken from http://www.css.edu/x19639.xml and the daily students announcements.

Meeting - Monday, March 26, 2007

We discussed about a lot of things during the meeting. For the couple months, the club has a busy schedule.

Rally For Darfur
It takes place in Minneapolis on Friday 03/29/07 Amnesty is doing it and will try to collaborate and see if you can do it with them.

Potluck with Colleges
For the up-coming conference we need to collaborate with other schools (UMD, LSC, UWS). It will take place on Thursday April 19 @ 6:00 pm in the ICC. Rhonda is going to work on the invitation letter and she will sending it to all committee members and feel free to send it to people you have contacts with that can help in the conference.

Nomination For Next Year
The club voted on the new leadership members.

Movie Showing
"Dairy of Darfur" a student from one of Duluth’s high school would like to show this movie this week. He is aware of the situation in Darfur and would like to help, he has been in touch with a member in Amnesty International to do a collaboration.

Potential Funds for the Conference
Student Senate is willing to offer $40,000 to the CJL if the clubs collaborated and did something (activity) on campus, the conference is one activity.

Update on Conference
Sent Kelly our ides 3 weeks ago and still waiting for the final response about our ideas. But we had gotten an email from Kelly confirming that she has gotten the email. Conference date has been decide on and it will on April 18-20, 2008.

Easter Basket Raffle
The club will have the basket out in the union on M-W-F from 10:00 – 1:00 this coming week. Drawing day for the Raffle will be on April 4. Proceeds will go to Darfur Solar pots but we need to decide whether to give 100% or 50% and keep the other half for the conference.

Darfur Conflict

The Darfur Conflict started in 2003 when a rebel group attacked governments targets. Darfur has had a lot of fights over land and grazing rights, and the start of the Darfur conflict was due to the government supposedly favoring the Arabs over the black Africans.

The Darfur Conflict has been going on for many years, causing millions of people to flee and live in camps. The villages have been destroyed and there has been a lack of food, water, and medicine. According to BBC News, men have been killed and women raped if they go out looking for firewood and water.

BBC News reports that it is impossible to know how many people have died from the conflict. This is due to the lack of researchers and aid workers that are able to get to Darfur. There is also an inability to be able to tell how many have died due to conflict and how many due to starvation or diseases.

There are not enough soldiers deployed to cover the area, which is approximately the size of France. The African Union also does not have money to be able to keep the mission going. Sudan does not want the UN to take control of the peacekeeping mission. They would much rather solve the conflict on their own without the help of the world. The newest plan is to double the amount of soldiers and have the UN more involved.

If anyone has anything to add or to comment on this issue, please add a comment. I am sure that I missed a lot of things about this conflict and hope to inform you when I learn more about the issue.

Stephane - Meeting Discussion 05/03/07

At first, we discussed about what happened the past week which was "The Peace and Justice"'s week. They had lectures such as "Why Afica Matters" and also showed couple documentaries. United for Africa was involed in the process to make it happen, The leaders of the club wanted to thank everybody for their participation.

Continuing with the Darfur theme. This project in collaboration with several other clubs on campus and also at UMD in addition to groups in the community. The contact person is Gary Gordon ggordon@css.edu. The plan is to host a dinner. Money from this benefit will go toward the providing women and children in refugee camps due to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan with solar cook kits. The dinner will combine African food and culture (art, music and dance). Each family will be provided with two pots for every $25.00 raised.

Want to see something different than what the media portrait Africa, go to http://www.4theloveofafrica.com/index.htm and it is provided by Mr. Kevin A Urban.

Easter basket raffle is scheduled for March 26 to April 4. All funds received will go toward the From Duluth to Darfur initiative.

The next SMT conference is slated for April 18 to 20, 2008. St. Scholastica is hosting the event. So we need any possible help to make that event a success.

We encourage everybody to attend panels around campus. They will help people to realize what is going on aroung the world.

Women's History Month at least 2 African women would be featured in our Did You Know...campaign. This week the ladies in the spotlight are Anti-Apartheid leader Nomzamo Winifred 'Winnie Mandela' Zanyiwe Madikizela, South Africa and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia.

For more information Rhonda Lee RLee@css.edu, Awah Foncha AFoncha@css.edu.

Summery of the Club Meeting

For the last meeting at the club, we talked about what we could as a group do during the community day. For now, we do not know exactly what we can do but there is a list of activities. One of the chief member will pick four activities that she thinks are interesting and then, the club will vote by choosing one.

We also talked about fundraising for people in Darfur. Some people came up with an idea of showing a movie about a group of Americans who never leave their country and decide to go to Africa. They recorded their journeys there. The movie is 50 min long and it would only a dollar to watch it and the money of course goes to the people in Darfur.

For next week, the club is planning on setting up table in tower in front of the CJL, Tuesday and Thursday. The purpose is to raise money for the solar pots for women in Sudan.

Women's Day!!!!!: Awah

Well I think everyday is a womans day, but today has been set aside specially to celebrate women and their achievements all over the world. Womens day is a very big deal in Africa! Today I am going to write about Florence Mirembe:

One of Uganda's leading doctors, she has spent her life trying to improve conditions for mothers giving birth. The facts are stark: about 585,000 mothers die a year in the developing world in childbirth - more than one a minute. Her work was recognized by the World Medical Association which named her as one of its Top 60 Caring Physicians. Dr Mirembe also set up Save the Mothers, a charity that fosters partnerships between scientists in the developed and developing world. She is an amazing woman of our times and is showing the world that African women can achieve greatness as well.

International Women's Day: March 8th

As many of you probably know, Thursday March 8th is International Women's Day. The school will have activities happening every day this week in honor of this day. Here are those activities; I hope you can find something you will enjoy.

Today there is a flower sale in the Union from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm. The flowers are Gerber daisies. If there are any of those left, they will be available at Somers Main Lounge during the celebration this evening. The celebration in Somers begins at 3:45 pm and goes until 5:00 pm. There will be free food, and there will also being Hmong Dancers at 4:00 pm. Following the dancing, which will be about 10 minutes, Njoki (Margaret) Kamau, Head of the WS Department at UMD, will be giving a speech about HIV and AIDS. Stop by and enjoy the food, flowers, and company.

Also this evening at 7:00 pm in the Mitchell is "The Pomegranate Seed." This is a one-woman show put on by Cosy Sheridan, and it is free to attend. This play is about finding meaning in the experiences of life. Cosy Sheridan is an award-winning songwriter who has sang at Carnegie Hall. She won the Kerrville NewFolk songwriting award and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival's Troubadour award. This show is park of National Eating Disorder and Body Image Awareness Month and it is open to the public, so bring your friends.

Tomorrow is officially International Women's Day, which is a national holiday in many countries, and it is celebrated all over the world. It is also commemorated at the United Nations. The best way to celebrate this day in your life is to remember the women in your life,
and let them know what they mean to you. It is a day to celebrate those women that have inspired you. There is a link in the comment that was posted from my last post which gives you ways of letting the women in your life know how you feel. On campus this day, we have the t-shirt campaign, so if you bought an equality t-shirt, wear it on Thursday.

Tomorrow evening at 7:30 pm at the Kirby Ballroom at UMD is "The Vagina Monologues." There will be a carpool meeting at the Center for Just Living at 6:45 pm. This event is $3 for students. The theme of these monologues is the vagina as a means of empowerment and individuality for women. A new monologue is added each year to highlight something affecting women in the world.

I'm sure you can find something that you can enjoy, and learn a little more about the issues affecting women all over the world. Also coming up soon is International Week, which goes from March 19 through the 23. The Soweto Gospel Choir is part of that event and there will also be a culture night that week. Keep your schedules open, and check back here for more updates.

Sudan at a Glance

This week's blog will give an overview of Sudan.

Sudan is the largest country Africa; located in the northeastern part of the Continent. The main exports of the country include oil, cotton, sesame, livestock and hides. It also has gold and many areas of land that could be used for farming. Sudan has the most diverse landscapees in Africa. It has mountains, deserts, rain forests, and swamps.

According to BBC News, there are 35 million people in Sudan. The official language of the country is Arabic, and the official religion of the state is Islam. Sudan is not allowed to enforce Islamic law on the country because there are many people that do not speak Arabic and are not Muslim.

The country suffered a civil war that lasted 21 years. The conflict took place between the Muslim north and the Christian south. Many lives were lost during the war. As the country was regaining peace amongst itself, fighting broke out in early 2003 in the western part of Darfur. The conflict started when a rebel group attacked government targets.

That is the country of Sudan at a glance. Future blogs will contain more details about the conflict in Darfur and information regarding the people that live in Sudan.

"Invisible Children" showing in March

To recap recent events, yesterday evening the Peace and Justice series featured Derrick Ashong speaking about Why Africa Matters. Derrick was born in Ghana in 1975. He attended school in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He is currently working on a doctorate in African-American studies and Ethnomusicology at Harvard. He also started and has maintained the record label ASAFO productions. I was not able to attend this event because I was out of town last night, but I know that it went very well, and there was very good attendance.

Next week on Tuesday and Thursday the fundraiser for the refugees in Sudan will continue. Stop by and buy something for someone you love, or just treat yourself to a present.

On March 2nd there will be a showing of the movie "Invisible Children." This movie is a documentary from 2003 that follows three college students through Uganda. It shows the effects of the war on children from the Lord's Resistance Army. Many children in Uganda flee their homes to avoid being abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, who is recruiting them to be trained as soldiers. These children have to walk miles to find shelter anywhere that they can to get away from this.

Invisible Children Inc. is a nonprofit organization that has been set up to help curb this problem by spreading awareness. For more information on the movie or information about donating to the organization go to www. invisiblechildren.com.

Also in early March, St. Scholastica will be celebrating International Women's Day. This day has been observed all over the world since the 1900s. International Women's Day is celebrated with events held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. There will be a free reception at 3 pm on campus in Somers Main Lounge on March 8th. There will also be a raffle coming soon, and another fundraising event set for sometime in April. Keep checking back for official dates and more information.

First African Female President

On my post today I am going to focus on Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and I will tell you all a little bit about her background and how she came to power. Enjoy and celebrate this amazing woman!

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was born on October 29, 1938 and is the current president of Liberia and Africa's first elected female head of state. The Liberian elections commission announced her victory on November 23, 2005, following the 2005 election. She is the third black woman head of state in the world, after Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Sylvie Kinigi of Burundi.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a 68-year-grandmother of six, has already earned the nickname "Iron Lady" and, according to Forbes, is the 51st most powerful woman in the world.
President Johnson-Sirleaf graduated from the College of West Africa (Monrovia), a United Methodist high school. She also received a B.b.c in Accounting at Madison Business College in Madison, Wisconsin, USA in 1964, an economics diploma from the University of Colorado in 1970, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University in 1971.
She returned to Liberia after Harvard to become the Assistant Minister of Finance in President William Tolberts administration. After Tolbert was overthrown, Johnson-Sirleaf went into exile in Nairobi, Kenya, where she worked for Citibank. She returned to run for Senate in 1985, but because she spoke out against President Doe's military regime, she was sentenced to ten years in prison, however she only spent a short period in prison before she moved to Washington D.C.. She returned to Liberia again in 1997 as an economist, working for the World Bank, and Citibank in Africa.
In 1997 she ran against President Taylor but only managed to get 10% of the votes. In 2005 she came back on the scene and started her campaign and ended up with second highest votes of 175,520.This put her through to the runoff vote on November 8 against former footballer George Weah. On November 11, the National Elections Commission of Liberia declared Johnson-Sirleaf to be president-elect of Liberia. On November 23, they confirmed their decision declaring that she had won with a margin of almost 20% of the vote.

Stephane, Meeting Discussion

Hi everyone,
My name is Stephane Tsamba Massala. I am from Gabon, a small country in west central Africa. I am currently a senior at the College of Saint Scholastica. I am getting a degree in Computer Information System and have concentrated my major in web design and development. I am working at a company called 50 Below. My job is to maintain websites in other words, I am updating customers' websites. I usually hang out or go out with my friends. I like to travel too. During the summer, I do some physical activities. I work out, play soccer, basketball and so on... I am a member of the United for Africa since last year. I really enjoy being part of a group, a club or an association that discuss issues that we have where I am from.

My responsibilities in this blog, is to discuss about what has been discussed at our club's meetings. I will talk about the calendar projects, events or fund raising that the club is planning. By talking about it, I hope people to give us more ideas concerning what we are doing. Also, people could give us suggestions on a planned event and projects. I think it is very important to get feedback from an outsider, someone who is not in the club.

Last week, the group talked about :

- Collaborate with Grey Gordon to Fundraise to help refugees in Darfur get Solar Pots: Do a Fundarasier Dinner.

- Community Service Ideas: Volunteer down in the twin cities at "Feed my starving children ".

-Raise awarness by showing a Movie of the Invisible children: Possibly ask professors to make it an extra-credit for students.

- Planning for upcoming Sweet Mother Tour Conference in October 2007 @ CSS.

We are open for suggestions for all themes if people have some ...

Krystal Kinney, What's happening in Sudan

Hi, I'm Krystal Kinney. I am currently a junior at the College of St Scholastica in Duluth, MN. I am pursuing a degree in accounting. While being a full time student, I have also been involved with the softball team, a bowling team, and working part time at Skyline Lanes/Dave's Pizza. During the summer I spend my time working, spending time at my cabin, coaching softball, and spending time with friends and family.

I am not a member of United for Africa here at St Scholastica. For this blog I will be talking about what is happening in Sudan. For quite some time now, there has been a conflict going on, the "Darfur Conflict". Over the course of these blogs, I will try to explain what has occurred with the conflict and any new things that have happened.

By learning what is going on with Sudan, maybe there is a way to help. One way to help would be to buy something in the student union, like Amanda mentioned early, the proceeds will go toward helping the refugees. Also, by learning about what is going on in other places of the world, it will help us realize that the world does not revolve around the United States and that others have problems too.

Amanda Hayle, Events and Activities

        My name is Amanda Hayle. I am currently attending college at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. I am a junior pursuing a major in accounting. I am involved in the Chamber Choir here on campus, and have enjoyed that for the past three years. My home is in Savage, Minnesota, which is about fifteen miles south of the cities. I enjoy the small town feel here in Duluth, but it isn’t really a small town. Some of my favorite times are spending time in Canal Park when the weather is warm and watching the ships come and go. I am not a member of the United for Africa group on campus but I am very interested in learning more about the issues the people of Africa are facing.

        My job in this blog is to educate you on the events and activities sponsored by United for Africa. I will let you know if there are speakers or other activities happening that will help you become more educated on African issues. I will let you know the overall focus of the activities as well as details about what will be happening and how you can get involved. My hope is that these posts will encourage you to become involved with this group. Or if you don’t get involved, I hope you will learn something about the issues that Africans are facing. I will also try to provide some follow-up information about the activities.

        One upcoming event happening on campus is the Treasures From Africa sale. Monday and Tuesday of next week in the Union, United for Africa will be selling handmade products from Africa including jewelry, candles, baskets, and fragrances. This is a great opportunity for you to purchase a gift for someone, possibly for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or maybe you know someone with a birthday coming up. You don’t even need to go very far in the cold to finish your shopping, just stop by the Union and get a unique product that you can insure will be duplicated by someone else. The proceeds from this sale will go to help finance solar cookers for refugees from Sudan.



 

Awah Foncha ( Blog 1)

Hello, my name is Awah Foncha and I am currently a junior at the college of St. Scholastica. I am originally from Cameroon, in West Central Africa and I have been in the United States since August of 2003. I enjoy going to school up here in Duluth, the small town feel makes it easier to study! I enjoy reading a lot, writing not so much. On my free time I love visiting with friends and shopping. I am a news maniac I enjoy watching and reading the news because it keeps me in touch on what is going on around the world, even though many people think that is a strange hobby. My focus in the blog is going to be women in Africa. I am going to focus on the lives of women in Africa and what roles the play in the society politically, economically and socially. I am going to cover women from all over Africa and not just on one particular country. I hope you enjoy what you learn about African women as you read my blog.