Page 78 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 11

COMMUNITY

pleases you let me meet Professor Connecting the dots, then I realize for example when I meet you in
and tell him how he has impacted there’s something that I need to do Kenya, I see you’re like my broth-
my life.' I like the idea of Pan-Af- for my community; giving back to er, you’re like my sister, you know
ricanism. And also, he liked Julius the community. I started to reach there’s no difference until when you
Nyerere and has been inspired by out to high schools, speaking to speak and introduce yourself. When
him as do I. young people inspiring them to do I look at my brother (referring to
At that occasion, I had an oppor- better than their best. I’ve had an my husband behind the camera)
tunity to ask a question. It was not opportunity to move around many he’s like the Tanzanians, he’s like the
easy you know, the moderator was Universities in Tanzania speaking Ugandans, only when you speak do
pointing to the Professors and the about the message of Africa, awak- I notice where you're from. We need
University workers, those with PhDs ening the minds of young people. to embrace this Africanness and see
and doctorates. ourselves as one.
Tell us about the PLO Lumumba
But at the end of that Q & A ses- Foundation. What exactly does Africa is also blessed with young
sion, the Professor noticed that I it do? and energetic people, for example,
was raising my hand and not getting more than 75 percent of the African
an opportunity to ask a question. JN: At The PLO Lumumba Foun- population are young people under
Then he said, “There’s a young man dation we are in the business of the age of 35, you see! So we have
there, he has been raising his hand distributing ideas and inspiration to labor, we have people, and now giv-
throughout and never recognized, I would young people. You know the image ing them the right information they
love to give him an opportunity to ask a of Africa is not good, the statistics can do so much more. Africa has
question.” Then I took that oppor- about Africa are not good. So a 1.2/1.3 billion people which means
tunity, I asked him a question and child born in Africa and listening we can do business, we can trade
I said ‘I have a gift for you; the badge of to that news – toxic news from with ourselves, we have people. And
Africa painted green. If you don’t mind international media - may have no it’s a challenge right now that even
I would love to present it to you.’ Then hope. What we are trying to do is to as we are talking, Africa is not doing
he gave me an opportunity and I restore the image of Africa, shar- business with ourselves. Referring to
went in front of the masses: The ing that there’s greatness in Africa, the words of Ali Mazrui the Profes-
Professors, the vice Chancellor, the that we can do better, we have been sor here in Kenya who once said,
old men of the country, the public greater and we can be even great- “Africa consumes what it does not produce,
and the national media. I presented er. That we can go anywhere and and it produces what it does not consume.”
that gift to him and from there we compete, we have got everything
connected, he gave me his business we need here. The natural resources I read one day some statistics that
card and then we started chatting we are blessed with, if we use them stated that Africa contributes only
and communicating, little did I better it can benefit our community. 2 percent to the world's knowledge.
know that I would be appointed to So we are inspiring young people So you can see we are even con-
be the country coordinator of PLO to think and to also go back to the sumers of knowledge, we are not
Lumumba Foundation Tanzania. message of Pan-Africanism, and producing knowledge. But when you
also like what we have communi- go back in history; education was in-
I grew up in a family and environ- cated earlier, it is very important to vented in Africa. The Dogon people
ment where there were no people remove these ideas of embracing were far beyond their time, Nkoloso
believing in you. But in my High only our nations. from the nation of Zambia, before
School; Cornerstone Leadership the Americans went to the moon, he
Academy, they started to train me At the PLO Lumumba Foundation, wrote a paper about his own plans
in the area. I remember my head- we are championing the message to be the first to land on the Moon
master used to come to me and say, of unity and reconciliation across even before the United States of
‘Jo’, you are the light of the world" Africa; we want to see Africa with- America.
and something I never heard before; out borders, we want to see Africa
'you are the salt of the world.’ High united with one currency, possibly We have people, we have brains; if
School a turning point in my life, with one army. The only way we can we come together and champion
then I went to the University then I liberate this continent is through this, we will take Africa to the next
met Professor Lumumba. unity, and unity begins with me and level. I am here in Kenya in the
you. If we unite in our spirit, like office of Professor PLO Lumumba

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