Stories about Sub-Saharan Africa from October, 2007
Africa: Coming to a donation box near you
Diary of a Mad Kenyan Woman writes takes a critical look at Western philantrophy in Africa: “I am intrigued by the recent proliferation of web-based giving and I have been keeping a curious eye on sites such as Kiva.org and Heifer International, in an attempt to understand what is going...
Kenya: The “Muslim vote” in Kenyan politics
Amir Ibrahim writes about Muslims and electoral politics in Kenya: “There has been a trend in Kenyan politics and this most prevalent among the media and political classes to speak of the Muslim vote, a collective that needs to be courted and won over by the parties and their candidates.”
South Africa: South African Becomes Rugby Player of the Year
Nich Harambous on Bryan Habana becoming Rugby Player of the Year: “The man is pure brilliance. He equalled Jona Lomu’s RWC record for tries scored (8) and definitely made his mark as one of South Africa’s all time great wingers and rugby players. His potent running rugby, brilliant balance and...
South Africa: Is online business a good idea?
Ramon Thomas believes that there is a future in online business in South Africa: “And even through less than 10% of South Africans have Internet access that is going to change with huge investment in infrastructure for the 2010 Worldcup. Don’t wait any longer, get broadband, get a website and...
Uganda: What Press Freedom?
Uganda Scarlett Lion discusses Press Freedom in Uganda: “While it appears that Uganda has improved in Press Freedom Rankings from 116 to 96 (a big jump), things are without problems in the Ugandan media.”
Zimbabwe: Eyes On Zimbabwe
“Eyes on Zimbabwe is a new feature on Zimbabwe on the Open Society Institute website. They are trying to raise awareness about the crisis in Zimbabwe in advance of Parliamentary, Presidential and local government elections to be held next year,” via Kubatana blog.
Uganda: Poverty and Paris Hilton
Wednesday's Public Poverty Forum in Kampala had one blogger, Tumwijukue, asking, “Did they (re)define poverty? Did they speak of poverty of the mind? Or did they merely use the event as a networking opportunity and an excuse to miss work for the day, rushing to the organizer's table at the end of the forum for the Ushs. 50,000 delegates' allowance?”
Environment: The Greening of Nairobi and Possible Land Grabbing at Mt. Kenya
There is some good news and bad news coming out of Kenya. The good news is the greening of the capital city Nairobi, and the bad news is the unfolding situation where possible land grabbing is taking place around Mt. Kenya. We will be looking at these stories in this...
Nata Blog: A Blog From An African Village
One of the success stories of the power and reach of citizen media in Africa is definitely The Nata Village Blog. It is a blog from Nata village in Botswana.Nata is a village of about 5000 people located on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans, the largest salt pan in the world. The blog is a tool in the fight against the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS in Nata village.
Uganda: Is Uganda the land of plenty?
Basawad asks whether Uganda is the land of plenty: “Uganda is indeed the land of plenty of food and water. I write this, with Uganda that was in the 60s and 70s – in mind. Growing up in Uganda then, I never knew what hunger was, till the age of...
Nigeria: Nigeria's broken moral barometer
Grandiose Parlor argues that Nigeria's moral barometer is broken:”There is ample evidence that the moral and ethical threshold for Nigeria’s political appointees and elected officials is just few notches above zero, if not an outright zero.”
Botswana: Daily life in Nata village
Nata village blog describes daily life in Nata village, Botswana: “While most people in the developed world buy their beef wrapped in plastic at the local supermarket, many Nata residents still have to rely on their skills of slaughtering animals to put beef on the table. The two men pictured...
Burkina Faso: The Tale of Two Anniversaries
Africa Flak discusses the tale of two anniversaries in Burkina Faso: “No matter how Compaore celebrated, the 20th anniversary was always going to sensitive and emotional. Compaore came to power through a coup that struck down and killed his brother-in-arm Tomas Sankara, a populist politician who towards the end of...
Sudan: When Death Becomes Normal
For most of us, witnessing someone’s death can be a traumatizing experience. However, when you’ve been surrounded by it for a long period of time, it’s just “one of those days” and no big deal. This is what SudaneseReturnee discovered after spending years abroad in Europe and upon returning to Juba, Southern Sudan, a place that witnessed two decades of bloody war.
Blog Action Day: Voices out of Africa and the Diaspora
Today many bloggers around the world united to write about one single theme, the environment. The blogs from Africa and Diaspora that participated did so with much variety in style and content. What follows are links and tidbits from Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and other global citizens. Kenya Afrigadget posts...
South Africa: Bring the Brits on!
Following South Africa's victory against Argentina in Rugby World Cup 2007, Lux Mantambo writes: “It was not pretty, it was not the type of game we wanted to see, but the Sprinboks scrambled through and booked their place in the rugby world cup final. Now, bring the English on!”
Africa: Telecommunications harmonisation
Rebecca Wanjiku writes about the debate around harmonisation of the telecommunication sector within East Africa: “Harmonisation is crucial to this process. Harmonisation does not necessarily mean that arrangements in all three countries must be the same, but that they must work together in a way which promotes cooperation and cross-border...
Togo: Elections went well
Arjen Westra's observations about elections in Togo: “For now, everybody still seems to have some tension about the results that are expected later this week. Last night it was extremely quiet everywhere in town. As a local explained it to me: `…people are still afraid of what might happen.` More...
Meet Maggid Mjengwa – Tanzania's Photoblogger
Today, we are introducing you to Maggid Mjengwa. Maggid is one of the leading photobloggers from Tanzania who has been trying to combine blogging, photography and political activism. Apart from being a very active blogger, Maggid is also a well-known columnist for a Swahili weekly in Tanzania, RAI. He shares his time with us to talk about his love for writing and how he got involved with electronic media.
More Reactions to Al Gore/IPCC Nobel Peace Prize win
This a follow up to Georgia's post on reactions to Al Gore and the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Nobel peace prize win. Reactions from America, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa will be included. We start in America with the reaction by Alex Steffen of world changing who wrote…...
First reactions to the Al Gore/IPCC Nobel Peace Prize Win
Here's a quick roundup up some of the initial reactions from the global blogosphere to today's announcement that former US vice president Al Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have won this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
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