Rise Africa

Dislabelled Interview

As we look through the looking glass this April, we picture the continent in some desirable state. Yet still, it’s never enough to keep envisioning. Action and hard work is needed. It is common to hear cries for political leaders to back their words with action. But to some, real change is from the people. In recognition of World Autism Awareness Month this April, Rise Africa met up with Dislabelled; one of such change makers for a chat.

Dislabelled is a non-profit initiative which seeks to reverse the notion that people with varying intellectual and physical challenges are unable to be a productive part of society. The initiative seeks to achieve this by reforming the special education and employment systems in Ghana.

read our interview with Dislabelled 

Talk Africa: “A Thing Apart, A Thing Together”

Is that an African name? What kind of foods do Africans eat? Do you have that in Africa? Is that an African name? Questions like these are a common part of my life once people find out that I am from Africa. I usually try to explain that I couldn’t definitively answer the question because, at most I might recognize a name, or food, from my tribe or other tribes in my country, but as for other countries, other cultures, I had no idea. Sometimes, I wonder why I am expected to.

Sadly, the reality of questions like this is that they assume that all Africans know about all other Africans. Apparently, being part of the same continent makes us all privy to the inner workings of each other’s national nuances, but of course it doesn’t. I know nothing about Egypt other than what I hear in the news, or have studied in school. I know even less about Cameroon, or Cote de Ivor despite sharing a region with them.

Sometimes I wonder if that is only the reality for members of the Diaspora who are outsiders living in other nations, or do citizens of African nations living on the continent experience the same. I know that outside the continent, there is an unspoken assumption that I can, and will speak for other Africans, because we must all be alike, we must be connected. If not how can we all be African?

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BOW-Defied

Rise Africa’s very own Ama Asantewaa is the talented designer behind Alikoto Clothing. The clothing line has set out to fulfill its mission of “Spinning fabric into life” by combining wax print, Ankara, kente, and other fabrics to “create unique authentic designs for those who want to bring definition into their wardrobes.” The clothing designs are infused with traditional African components. Alikoto Clothing’s new bow tie collection, Jill of All Trades, has recently being launched.

JOAT, bow tie collection is for every woman.

“It’s for the schoolgirl who wants to stand out,
the business woman who’s not afraid to try something new,
the party girl looking for that one perfect accessory to pull her look together,
the casual woman looking for a change,
the practical woman; it’s for you.”

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Women in Africa and the Diaspora: “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”

Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the extraordinary story of the courageous Liberian women who came together and persistently protested for peace in the worst days of brutal and protracted civil conflict. . Armed with only white T-shirts, courage, and strength, thousands of ordinary Liberian women demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war through prayer and creative protests.

Shortly after Charles Taylor was elected president of Liberia in 1996, he rapidly descended to dictatorship. Rival warlords attempting to depose Taylor, terrorized, raped, and murdered Liberians sparking a bloody civil war. Determined to bring peace to her troubled country, social worker Leymah Gbowee called on everyday Liberian women from neighboring churches to form the Christian Women’s Peace Initiative. The women formed an alliance with the Liberian Muslim Women’s Organization, created by Asatu Bah Kenneth and together they became the Women of Liberian Mass Action for Peace. 

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The Other Way of Knowing

What kind of education are you receiving?

I have supposedly received the best kind of Education my parents could get for me. Growing up in Nigeria I was enrolled in crèche from the age of about two or three. My parents wasted no time in ensuring that I was integrated into the modern world as soon as possible. I was taken to private schools where the staff had come top of their class, schools that prided themselves on western models and curriculums.

Now, I’ve been to a number of schools and one thing that strikes me is how children are being taught in the exact same way. By this I mean that all over the world we have the same hierarchy of subjects.

MATHS AND SCIENCES

LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

ARTS AND MUSIC

Our educational system came into existence to feed the needs of industrialisation. That was its primary purpose, therefore it only made sense for the subjects of upmost importance to be the ones that would be most likely to get you into the industry. The more knowledge you had of maths and the sciences the more valuable you were to the economy. The more you geared towards the arts the less exploitable you were.

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Paapa hMensa Interview

Paapa hMensa is an African artiste whose music can hardly be classified under any genre. Despite the inability to find a wrapper for his work, a common thread runs through his music. And that is- consciousness. His sophomore album, Songs For Kukua has a particular focus on Ghana and Africa. Paapa believes the continent has reached a psychological point that is past suffering. And that is where this artiste and Rise Africa cross paths.

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European Lens for an African Picture

How clear are the glasses through which you see Africa? Ask a fellow African what his/her favourite novels were as children, and books like Charlotte’s Web, Dr.Seuss, and Tintin will likely be mentioned. I am not any different. My childhood imagination mirrored my favourite Enid Blyton stories and episodes from the Cartoon Network. This imagined world was a sharp contrast to the reality of my everyday life in Ghana during the early 1990s. Had I been exposed to Ghanaian or other African children’s content, I would have developed a stronger appreciation for the society I lived in and a love for the work of African creators. Now, understanding how wide the gap is in my consumption of African literature, I ask myself, “How clear are the glasses through which I see Africa?”

Having realized how unfamiliar I have been with African literature, I wonder how accurate the African story I tell is. How can we say we understand our continent if our view of progress and modernity has been shaped by visions of European society as portrayed in foreign literature? Limiting our exposure to European and North American literature means that we are trained to think in those cultural contexts, and are left unfamiliar with our own African cultural contexts.

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Talk Africa: “Will the House of Cards Fall Down?”

The economic prospects of the continent are looking up according to the World Bank. By 2015, our growth could outstrip the rest of the world and maintain a steady 5% climb. While this may not seem like a lot, 5% is purportedly enough to lift significant citizens, of many nations, out of poverty. Much of that growth has been attributed to high prices of commodities, i.e. all those industries the Chinese government has invested in and currently has a foot in. Still other sources of growth are the programs being implemented by nations, and local governments on the ground.

More interesting is that the cross-continental growth is not based on one model copied over and over for each succeeding nation. For example, Rwanda’s agricultural industry has seen an increase in maize and cereal from 2006 to 2011 as a result of a government program that offered low cost fertilizer to subsistence farmers who pooled their plots of land together with other farmers and specialized in growing one crop. Innovations like that in governance and creative incentive structures based on clear knowledge of a particular nation’s citizens are some of the hallmarks of successful growth programs.

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Above: Founders of the Red pump project Karyn Watkins(African American) and Luvvie Ajayi (Nigerian)

The Red Pump Project

The Red Pump Project® is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls. Our mission is to promote HIV prevention through education and open dialogue about the issues that surround sexual and reproductive health. We do work online and on the ground to motivate action and encourage dialogue about the effects of the disease. -www.theredpumpproject.org

Founded in March 2009 by Luvvie Ajayi (Nigerian) and Karyn Watkins (African American), incorporating fashion into the message of HIV prevention is their way of contributing to the fight against AIDS as they hope to show that “Awareness is Always in Style!”

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Women in Africa and the Diaspora: “The Asylum Seekers”

You flee your country because at the tender age of 10, you realize that being forced to marry and become the 3rd wife of someone 3x your senior is a trap.  Your sister is being forced to work as a sex slave and your mom warned you against leaving the house because rape sits at the front door steps. You’ve managed to avoid genital mutilation but you know what your faith holds by the end of the month.  While the rest of your friends sit at the feet of their father, you were forced to watch rebels dismantle the body parts of yours. The flickering light of hope that you once had is getting fainter by the hour and faith seems to be a distant concept that you can no longer grasp. You were cursed with the biological parts of a woman therefore in the eyes of society you are nothing but a child bearing machine and only needed for what sits between your legs.   

With tears strolling down your cheek bones and a heavy heart, you make the decision to flee to the United States. You heard that education is free, opportunities are endless and you are guaranteed life, liberty, and happiness. This is the bitter reality faced by many women around the world. Every minute, 8 people flee their homeland to escape conflict or persecution and approximately half of all asylum seekers are women. Women are forced to find refuge in the United States and other parts of the world because their governments fail to protect them. They are raped with impunity, forcibly sterilized, ritually mutilated, and sold into sexual slavery. The majority of women seeking asylum who flee to the U.S. are forced to rebuild their lives which can be a very difficult thing to do without proper education, financial support, a home, and family. This is where Asylee Women Enterprise comes in.

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Nneka Meshelle: Making Strides

Nneka MeShelle is an aspiring model who has made great treads in the last three years. She grew up in mid-west United States of America with a strong sense of her African roots instilled by her parents. Born to a Nigerian father and an African-American mother, Nneka has had the opportunity to be exposed to two similar but different cultures. She is set to graduate from Western Illinois University this May, with a Bachelors degree in Supply Chain Management. She has recently appeared on Essence online posing on the Rip The Runway red carpet. Her future modelling projects include doing more BET fashion shows, Rip the Runway 2014, and possibly Victoria Secret.

Nneka’s journey has been one that shows the importance of telling one’s personal story. The moments that made the most impact for her were moments where she took the time to converse with someone about who she is and where she comes from. She explained that modelling relates to story-telling because of the bond you create with people.

“The bonds are created because you are from the same background. I love hearing someone call out, “my African sister.’ We are from the same places, have the same values and we are fighting for the same thing.”

Rise Africa received the opportunity to interview Nneka. Here’s what she had to say… (read interview)

Reflections: Are We Delusional?

Many Africans today are becoming more optimistic about the future of their continent. We are shedding away the dark and grim image of a continent ravaged by war, poverty, famine, disease and general suffering, and embracing a more positive outlook for the continent of peace, development and economic growth, rich heritage, cultural diversity and so on. Both Africans on the continent in the Diaspora are creating more platforms for positive discourse about the continent. Young African entrepreneurs are establishing flourishing businesses on the continent, Democracy is making headway, we are seeing more and more African countries conducting free and fair elections without much incident, we are seeing increased press freedom, Malawi and Liberia both have elected female presidents and a woman was elected the chief of the African union, there seems to be a lot of economic growth in a lot of countries with a growing middle class which is crucial in anchoring African economies. There seems to be a lot of positive developments on the continent lately, which is fueling many people’s optimism about the future of the continent.

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Guest Submission: “Visiting”

Initially, I’d made plans to visit my home country every two years. Now I was finally able to make the trip because I was working full-time and accumulated enough funds to do so. No longer was I unable to afford to go home; no longer did I have to spend 7 straight years as a student in another country because the cost of a trip home would have eaten into my international student tuition.

So, my second trip in two years had to be during the holiday season. Christmas. Naturally. That was the time for family, wasn’t it? And now I could spend it with my own relatives – my own parents and siblings. I could be with them when we had Christmas turkey around a large table and made small talk. I could be with them when we raced down on Christmas morning to open our presents. I would no longer be the stranger, spending Christmas with a friend’s family, opening my token, obligatory present under their tree. I would be with MINE. So tickets bought. Gifts bought. Naturally. Thousands spent. Suitcase packed. And I was on my way.

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Talk Africa: “Walking a Fine Line”

I still remember being cornered by two boys in my class during recess. I had asked to be the pitcher but these two boys didn’t think that was a good idea, so fists and legs were their response, and I went home, another day bruised and tearful. After years of torment, I forced my accent away; I exchanged British terms for American slang, and made friends with teachers who were surprised, but accepting of the little African girl who liked to learn.  

Being an immigrant in this country means accepting two identities simultaneously; one of assumed excellence and one failure. As a person of color, we are assumed to be African American first, and all the assumptions related to Blackness in America are levied on us, momentarily erasing our ethnic identity, and forcing us to represent our brothers and sisters, which is inappropriate in many cases, and simply unfair in others. Once we ‘come out’ as Africans, then we shed the identity of the Black American, and become the starving African child answering for the entire continent. 

I have been asked if I have a hut in the jungle, if I see lions daily, why I speak English, why I am smart, if we wear loincloths, whether there are cities and if so, what things can be found there. If they find out we have McDonalds, they wonder if we have wild game, instead of beef, in our burgers. In trading a western identity for my foreign one, I become a thing on display, present for inspection; an opportunity for Americans to interrogate and understand a real life African. They are amazed at the innovation, and the intelligence, but really I think they are astonished how much I, the African, am like them, the American.

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