Profiling Africans who have done great things with their careers in the diaspora, from Art to Academia, Fashion to Wall Street, everyone is covered on this blog. Read about the success stories of our brothers and sisters from Africa in the diaspora
It's one of Oprah's favorite stories ever. Meet Tererai Trent, a woman who traveled more than 10,000 miles to make her greatest dreams come true.
A young girl in rural Zimbabwe, Tererai Trent lived without running water and electricity and had no hope for her future. "I remember very well my father pointing to my brothers and the other boys in the village and saying: 'These are the breadwinners of tomorrow. We need to educate them. We need to send them to school. The girls will get married,'" she says. "And that was just a painful experience for me."
Desperate to learn, this little girl with big dreams secretly did her brother's homework. "I learned to read and write from my brother's books," she says. Soon, Tererai's secret was exposed, and the teacher begged her father to let her learn.
Tererai attended only two terms before she was forced to marry at age 11. By age 18, she was the mother of three. "When my husband realized that I wanted to have an education, he would beat me," she says. "I have nightmares of that time of my life."
In 1991, a visitor changed Tererai's life forever. Jo Luck, from Heifer International, asked every woman about her greatest dream—something many of them didn't know they were allowed to have. "I remember very clearly saying: 'My name is Tererai, and I want to go to America to have an education, and I want to have a BS degree. I want to have a master's, and I want to have a PhD," she says. "And she just looked at me [and said], 'If you desire those things, it is achievable.'"
Hoping her daughter could break the cycle of poverty, Tererai's mother encouraged her to write her dreams on a piece of paper. The 20-year-old placed them in a scrap of tin and buried them under a rock in the pasture where she used to herd cattle. "As a woman without an education, life will continue to be a burden," she wrote. "I truly believe in these dreams, and I hope one day to work for the causes of women and girls in poverty."
Tererai not only broke the cycle—she shattered it. In 1998, Tererai moved to Oklahoma with her husband and now five children. Just three years later, she earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural education. In 2003—the same year her husband was deported for abuse—Tererai obtained her master's degree.
After every achievement, Tererai returned home to Zimbabwe, unearthed her tin of dreams and checked off each goal she accomplished, one by one. In December 2009, the now happily remarried Tererai will realize her greatest dream of all—a doctoral degree.
Tererai is a symbol of hope in her village. On a trip home in 2009, Tererai and her mother encouraged a new generation of girls to dream, giving them pens, paper and tiny metal tins. "It makes me feel happy, but at the same time, it makes me feel empty that there are more women who could have the same opportunity but they are not getting it," she says. "My story is not about me, but it's about what can come out of my story."
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A 16-YEAR-OLD Zimbabwean teenager has become the unlikely face of Louis Vuitton’s autumn/winter 2011 campaign.
Nyasha Matonhodze, who now lives in Northampton, England, joins five other up-and-coming models in the luxury French fashion label’s campaign.
Matonhodze, who was raised by her grandmother, moved to England with her mum at the age of eight.
It was not until 2009 that she got her break in modeling when she walked into prestigious Elite model agency in her school uniform – driven only by a dream.
But only in her wildest of dreams would she have dreamt that just two years later, she would be the face of a luxury brand like Louis Vuitton.
Now she follows in the footsteps of Madonna and Scarlett Johansson who have starred in previous campaigns for the fashion label.
"My eyes filled up with tears and I thought 'Lord you are lucky!'" she said of the moment she discovered she had been chosen to star in Vuitton's campaign, photographed in a vintage car at a disused Brooklyn aerodrome.
"It didn't actually hit me until I was sat in a Rolls Royce sitting eye-to-eye with Steven Meisel [renowned fashion photographer]. He is a wonder to work with, he and Marc Jacobs [Vuitton's creative director] made me feel beautiful".
In addition to the Vuitton campaign, Matonhodze has also been photographed for top US fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar, and Teen Vogue.
"Nyasha is not only very beautiful she has the little extra thing you can’t quite put your finger on," a spokesperson for Elite said, "She is intelligent, graceful and people who meet and work with her instantly fall in love with her. I have no doubt she has the potential to go all the way."
Matonhodze was booked for Vuitton’s autumn/winter 2011 catwalk show at Paris Fashion Week in March, starring alongside veteran models Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
ZIMBABWEAN model Nyasha Matonhodze has been revealed as one of the faces of luxury French fashion label Louis Vuitton’s 2011 autumn/winter campaign. The confident Nyasha’s poise and maturity belies her 16 yearsof age.
It's her statuesque grace (she's five foot eleven) and sweet-as-pie personality that's made her the new favourite of fashion editor Katie Grand, who kick-started Matonhodze's career during her debut spring2011 season when she booked the young model for Louis Vuitton, Emanuel Ungaro, and Loewe — all shows that Grand styles.
After those key catwalk sightings, Matonhodze shot spreads for Harper's Bazaar, Teen Vogue, and V magazine. Better yet, she got the contract with Louis Vuitton, shot by renowned fashionphotographer Steven Meisel and styled by Karl Templer.
This is The Truth About: Nyasha Matonhodze
Born: July 31, 1995
Hometown: Harare
Current City: Northampton, England
Tell us a little about your childhood.
I was born in Zimbabwe and raised by my grandmother in a very cultural, traditional household. It's much different than the British culture where my mom lived. I moved to England when I was eight, so I do stillhave memories of Zimbabwe -- falling asleep in the sand, bathing outside, the warmth of the sun, and just the way of living.
Moving to England, I saw their perspective on Africa and what they think it's like, and it's completely the opposite. I went back to Zimbabwe three years ago and it's so lovely; they're happy with who theyare and their traditions. I love going back home. How did you get discovered?
My discovery wasn't a discovery. At 14, my mum and my stepdad went into Elite Models to see if I could actually model. Since I was 12, I was tall and thin so I would always get the whole "you should be a model,"but I never really developed a serious interest about it until America's Next Top Model. Seriously, that’s when it all changed for me. Everything I wanted was pretty much based off that show.
I went into this career thinking I could be a model, but I never thought I'd actually become one. Once I signed with Elite, I was entered into the Elite Model Look competition, where I became a finalist. Assoon as I turned 16, I walked for Jonathan Saunders [Scottish fashion designer]. You've appeared in spreads for Harper's Bazaar and Teen Vogue, what do you make of it? Do you recognise yourself?
I find it difficult to see myself and think that I'm a model. I feel blessed and honoured to keep getting that next step in my career. I've met amazing people that keep supporting me and pushing me furtherand further. It's like a dream, no matter how good I do, it's still so surreal for me. What can we expect from you in the coming months?
I'm going to surprise you. But I must say that Katie Grand [British stylist] has to be one of the best people I've ever worked with, and I hope that I never stop working with her. She's genius! Who are some of your best model friends?
Ajak [Sudanese model]. Usually you have to try hard to make friends, but with her, we found a comfort zone and just clicked instantly. She's talkative and bubbly, kind of the opposite of me. I adore her. Let's play favorites, what's your favorite: Music: I love soul and gospel music. Music affects people's moods. If you’re going to listen to loud, angry music, you might want to go punch somebody. I like to feel more grounded, earthy. Books: The Bible because not only does it tell people how good they are, but what we can do for others.
Film: Sister Act II, it's such a classic!
Artist: I love photography. I really liked working with Jason Kibbler and Daniel Jackson. Foods: African foods like sadza, especially if my aunts make it. But I also love seafood, and Chinese food with all their intricate spices. Tell us a secret.
I'm goofy. Models are often thought to be these glamorous creatures, but I don't think I'm so glamorous with me sitting on my bum eating Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream at home. What's the last thing you bought?
Well, I didn't really buy this, but I got an awesome trade from Malandrino: a navy jumpsuit, a V-top, and a little cute leather jacket. What's your most favourite and least favourite feature about yourself?
My least favourite feature are my ears; they're so small! For positive, though, a lot of people tell me I have a lot of compassion for others. I care a lot about people and when I help others, God blesses mewith other things. What I hate is seeing a person who doesn't appreciate themselves. Of course I have my insecurities; we all do, so I try my best to make people confident in who they are. What scares you?
Oh my gosh, spiders. I have a little brother who's 12, and every time I see one I make him come over with his sneakers to squash them. He actually used to pick them in his palm and set them outside, and I wouldalways tell him to just squash them. Spiders are just so creepy. Describe your style.
Plain, but bold. I love prints: leopard or any animal print. If I'm wearing black, I want a little bit of pop to my outfit. Life motto?
Morally, I think one should be nice to everyone. There's no reason for anyone to feel like they're on top of the world. I'm sitting here talking to you and I can't believe you're only 16-years-old, as you seem incredibly mature for your age. Are you really 16?
[Laughs] Thank you. I think most of my wisdom comes from my dad and my mum. My dad always taught me the Christian way of life. And for my mother, she was a single mother at 18 who moved to London withoutknowing anyone. She's always worked hard and seeing her overcome so much in life has been an inspiration for me. She's so successful now, and I want to be like her. Tell us something about modeling most people don't know.
If you're not strong-minded, modeling can knock your confidence quite harshly. Every day you're judged on your look, and more so today you're judged on your personality. With that said, a lot of us are 15 or16-years-old, so some girls could really take the criticism personally. What we have to understand is that there's not something wrong with us per se, we just aren't a right fit with the client. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?
I'd have to say the media's perspective on modelling. They always make it seem as if it's an easy task, like models don't have to work hard — I'd like to change that. I want people to see the real side of modelling,and not just the glamorous. Lastly, any goals in modeling?
Enjoy it.
Nyasha Matonhodze's Career Highlights
31 JULY, 1995
Born in Zimbabwe
2003
Moves to England with her mum
2009
She is discovered when she walks into Elite model agency in her school uniform
2009
Becomes finalist in Elite Model Look
2009
Signs contract with Elite Models in Paris and Milan
SEP 2010
Debuts at the spring Louis Gray show in London; also walks for Loewe, Jonathan Saunders, Emanuel Ungaro, and Louis Vuitton
NOV 2010
Appears in Wonderland editorial, photographed by Xevi Muntane
2010
Signs contract with Marilyn Agency
2011
Appears in spring issue of V, photographed by Peter Funch
FEB 2011
Walks the fall Halston, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Emanuel Ungaro, Loewe, and Louis Vuitton shows in New York and Paris
MAR 2011
Appears in editorials for Harper's Bazaar and Teen Vogue
APR 2011
Teen Vogue features Matonhodze as a face to watch
May 2011
She is chosen to appear in Louis Vuitton’s autumn/winter 2011 campaign, shot by renowned fashion photographer, Steven Meisel
(interview by New York Magazine)
28-year-old Zimbabwean Vimbayi Kajese first came to China for a visit in 2004, then moved to Beijing in 2006. She now works as the early morning news presenter at CCTV-9, the English Channel of China Central Television. She is the first African news presenter on the Chinese Mainland and perhaps the whole of Asia too. Her bright smile, eloquent diction and elegant demeanor have impressed millions of TV viewers and Internet users around the world.
While doing her first degree in the U.S, Vimbayi Kajese won an all-expense paid scholarship trip to China. It was on this trip, in 2004 that she first fell in love with the country. She was fascinated by the culture, the food and of course the people. After completing her undergraduate degree, she chose to leave the United States and pursue a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy at China Foreign Affair’s University in Beijing. After graduating from CFAU, Kajese decided to stay in China and develop her career.
On November the 27th 2009, we sat down with Ms Kajese at CCTV.com’s headquarters to talk about her experiences. We got a chance to find out how this beautiful young lady views the world through some of the questions you the viewers have been asking about her.
CCTV.com: When people think of Africa, they think jungle, heat and adventure. But what’s the first thing you tell people when they ask you about your continent?
Vimbayi Kajese: You know, people normally associate Africa with wild life and the safaris. But the true essence of Africa that I’d like to stress first and foremost is the people. Unfortunately, through the one-dimensional lens of the media, we the people have been relegated to the background of the wild life spectacle. The real adventure and beauty of Africa is through engagement with us the people; understanding our vastness in terms of cultural, religious and racial diversity; it's too grand to be summed up in a few words, let alone be represented by one person and or one nation alone.
CCTV.com: You’ve had a global upbringing. In all the countries you’ve lived in and traveled to, which one/ones do you like most?
VK: Besides my home country, I can't say that I have a favorite; each country was pertinent for that stage of development I was in at the time.
For example: in Malawi - I was there as a 4 year old - my relationship with my siblings was solidified; In Belgium, I found my taste for classical & techno music, and my love affair with food especially French fries began; In Zimbabwe - as a teen - I was reconnected with my cultural values, my extended family, and in essence my ‘Zim’ identity; In the US, I truly found myself and honed my skills as a communicator and a writer; And in China, I feel here is where it's all coming together. It’s a big deal for me now at this point in my life… to make China my second home away from Zimbabwe and truly base myself here.
(China is about the 8th country Kajese has lived in, out of almost 30 she’s traveled to.)
CCTV.com: How did you get the job at CCTV?
VK: (Sighing) It took a lot of perseverance. While I was learning how to produce news pieces at one of the big international news agencies here in Beijing, I contacted CCTV in January this year, made calls and sent emails to let them know I was interested. My information got past around, and after many long silences, I wasn't sure if they'd actually put me, a Black woman on the main news. In fact many people, even those that worked here (at CCTV) were skeptical and thought it was highly unlikely, because I was African and it had never been done before. But, after a few screen tests, voice training sessions, prayer, positive thinking and the opening up of this new morning shift (5am – 9am)…eight months later I was anchoring my first program.
CCTV.com: What qualities do you think are necessary to have in order to be a news presenter?
VK: To do this job, it helps to love the news. And boy do I. I never get tired of talking about it. (Smiling) So now that I do it for a living, I can spare my friends having to sit through hours of my news monologues and current affairs opinions. It also takes a confident person who's willing to put themselves out there and someone that speaks with a fairly clear and articulate accent. Being from Zimbabwe and having a Zimbabwean accent, definitely helps in this respect.
CCTV.com: What did you expect when you got job?
VK: I’ll tell you what I didn't expect (laughing)… I didn’t expect that this schedule and literally ‘living in a parallel time zone’, would rule my life. And I must say, it's not been easy on my friendships, and certain relationships, but the people close to me are very supportive and we're slowly getting more in sync.
Also, I wasn’t expecting so much media attention, so soon. In the past month I've been inundated with interview requests and I've had to be quite selective with whom I talk to. I was very hesitant at first; I was even scared to tell my bosses because I'm still new, I'm still learning, I'm still figuring out my own style, and I have a long way to go before I feel I can be a credible spokeswoman for my role as the first African news anchor, let alone CCTV. CCTV has been here way longer than me. I just felt I needed more time to settle in before I deserved any acknowledgment. But, after getting my bosses ‘blessings’, per se to go ahead with the interviews - the reactions and responses have been so encouraging, especially from Chinese viewers and the African viewers that the interviews have attracted. I do feel now that I did the right thing by speaking to the media.
CCTV.com: You read the news very early in the morning. Can you describe your typical workday?
VK: (Smiling) I love talking about my schedule; it makes for great dinner party conversation, because I can’t believe how surreal my life is now. I broadcast between 5am and 9am on the hour, nearly every hour from Monday to Wednesday one week, and Monday to Thursday every other week.
So what this means is that I must be up and out of bed showering and eating breakfast between 2:00 - 3:00am.
3:40 - I’m in a taxi, telling a sleepy taxi driver to speed across the west side of town
4:00 - I’m in makeup
4:30 - If I’m lucky, I may have just a few minutes to check the script
4:50 - script gets printed
4:55 - script gets put in my hands
4:57- positioning myself in front of camera and going over stories with director through earpiece
5:00 - clearing my throat and reading headlines… making edits with my pen as I read the news to you. (Chuckling) Half the time I can’t even see the edits I’ve made on the teleprompter.
6:00 - 9:00 - the process repeats itself 30 minutes before every broadcast…
10:00 - 2:00pm - I arrive home from the subway, eat lunch do an interview, have a meeting or catch up with friends
2:00 – 5:00 – I’m in bed
5:00 – 9:00 – I work out, eat dinner, catch up with work and am back in bed
2:30 am – Wake up!
CCTV.com: What are your biggest challenges on the job?
VK: My biggest challenges are: One, managing my body clock and looking alert very early in the morning; Two, reading for extended periods at a time without a break to take a sip of water or clear my throat; Plus three, I don't write my own scripts. That can be challenging when you don't express yourself in the same way as the author of the script you’re reading. The CCTV newsroom is very international, I always joke it’s like having several dialects of English floating around. It definitely helps keep the writing varied and rich, and I’ve managed to identify a few writers that are familiar with the way I speak…so that helps make my presenting job easier.
CCTV.com: How has this job changed your lifestyle?
VK: These days I don't take things for granted and I’m very thankful for everything. I know it took a lot of generous people, especially in China to get me where I am today. This means that I have to make my health a priority, especially since I’m working against nature's clock.
I can't afford to be sick and especially lose my voice; this means I can't be around smokers during the week when I’m broadcasting. And if I feel a cold coming a long I rush to the doctor and sort it out immediately. Before I would wait it out, but when I get a sore throat, my voice normally disappears for a few days, especially with the air conditions in Beijing. I also work out and eat very healthy and have learnt to take much needed power naps in between those very early morning broadcasts.
Another big change, is I'm now a regular at massages, getting facials, buying tons of skin care products and worrying about pimples; these are things I normally wouldn't have cared about until now.
CCTV.com: How do your parents feel about all this?
VK: My parents are the best parents anybody could ask for. My mom and dad have always been so proud and supportive of everything I do, even if what I’ve wanted to do in the past didn’t make sense to them at first. They watch my every broadcast, even the rebroadcasts. This means, because of the time difference with Zimbabwe, they start watching at 11pm and stay up till like 3 in the morning. (They wake up at 5 am to start their day). They’re hooked, and have everyone in ‘Zim’ AND the whole of Africa tuned into CCTV.
CCTV.com: CCTV International won a Hot Bird TV award and you were the one who got to broadcast this news. What does this prize mean to you, and to CCTV?
VK: You know I was so lucky and honored that that story came on my shift. I was so excited, and I'm sure it showed when I finally got to read it. I wanted to smile the whole broadcast through, but I couldn't, because some of the stories before that were serious and sad. I felt so proud that I was part of something great. My parents were the first to send a congratulations message. It’s just a testament to the fact that CCTV is doing something right. Not everything about the channel is perfect; CCTV is transitioning and evolving, but that award is a definite indication that the channel is heading in the right direction.
I think this award should inspire all of us at CCTV to continuously better our game, so that we can be the first news destination people consider when they want news about China and Asia, and not turn to western media. It also means, being aware of where our audience is and who they are and making sure the ‘China story’ is made relevant to them. The reason I say this is because, China-Africa relations on a government to government level, far exceeds the reality on the ground, that is China-Africa relations on a people to people basis. We (Chinese and Africans) still don’t understand why we’re so important for each other or why we’re even in each other’s countries. So, we (the people) need to catch up with our countries’ bilateral relations and I see the media, especially CCTV playing a big role in this respect. To make the ‘China story’ relevant, for example, we could have an African cultural/travel show that showcases how different Chinese communities, have integrated in our (African) countries; their challenges, their hopes etc. This would be a great way to keep the different audiences engaged, learning about each other, and finding solutions to problems. Then the other side of this type of show could be African communities in different parts of China… the lists of how to make the ‘China story’ relevant are endless.
CCTV.com: How easy was it to stay rooted in your Zimbabwean culture while abroad and how do you feel about adopting another country’s culture as your own?
VK: It was easier for the first half of my life because, no matter where I was in the world, I always came home to a Zimbabwean home, to Zimbabwean food and to Zimbabwean values. So, although I was raised with many influences, my core, and the cultural lens through which these influences are filtered, is Zimbabwean. This is how I was raised. Now that I haven’t lived with my family for nearly 10 years, the best way for me to stay in rooted in my culture is to always to be in touch with home… to always go home. I try and do this twice a year, if I’m lucky. The reason why my siblings and I can even consider ‘Zim’ as our home, is because at some point in our lives, my parents decided to stop accepting job postings around the world, so that we kids could spend a significant time of our lives in a pure ‘Zim’ environment, reconnecting with the rest of our family.
As for adopting part of another country’s culture, I feel what’s the point in being in another country if you can’t integrate it with your own in some way? “When in Rome do as the Romans do”, right? This is why I wear traditional Chinese jackets on TV. It’s my way of showing the world my appreciation for Chinese fashion and culture, and making it a part of my daily life. I now have a lot of international viewers asking me where I get my clothes from, what’s the name of the cut, who the designer is etc.; I also have a Chinese name, ‘Kang Wen Ying’ (康雯颖) that I’ve used for the past six years. Creating these types of cultural intersections makes for great learning opportunities for those that want to learn more about China.
CCTV.com: Besides being the “Face of Africa for China and China for Africa”, what are your current endeavours and future plans to help promoting such relations?
VK: Well, I hope at some point my government sees it fit to post me here as Ambassador. (Laughing) I think I would have earned my ‘stripes’ by then. (Jokingly) It’s just a dream. In the meantime, I volunteer my time building certain organizations that are still in their embryonic stages. For example, I am the PR and Media Counselor for YAPS (Young African Professionals and Students). We essentially are one of those tools that I talked about earlier that can help China-Africa relations on the ground, catch up with the China-Africa relations at the top. We live the China experience, we speak Chinese and we have the technical skills and cultural know-how to work for China-Africa businesses as well as advise incoming delegations from our countries. If you think about it, we are Africa’s Ambassadors when we are here, and China’s Ambassadors when we go back to our countries. We want to promote everything positive about China-Africa relations, to help eliminate misunderstandings between our nations through interactive, entertaining and creative events.
I’ve also been asked to start an African Media Association here in China. We need to create a space to discuss how we are going to rebrand Africa in an alternative light to the media, to China and to the rest of the world.
I’m also involved in CSR, (corporate social responsibility) under the China-Africa umbrella. I volunteer my time with ‘The Charitarian’ magazine as a commentator. I think China is doing a lot to lead the way for emerging markets, and I enjoy thinking up ways and strategies, to advise companies here on how they can do business the right way: by engaging with communities; by developing communities… essentially making sure that the things that I’m passionate about, (woman’s issues, orphans, the environment etc) are taken care of. Eventually, these are the blueprints I hope to one day implement in my own country and others, when these same companies come a’ knocking.
Mr. Alexander B. Cummings is Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of The Coca-Cola Company. The CAO structure consolidates key global Corporate functions in a purposeful approach to effectively support the business operations of The Coca-Cola Company.
Key global Corporate functions include Legal, Human Resources, Global Community Connections, Strategic Planning, Information Technology, Research & Innovation, Science, Global Quality and Product Integrity, Transformational Productivity and Strategic Security.
Born in Liberia, West Africa, Mr. Cummings joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1997 as Region Manager, Nigeria. In 2000, he was named President of the Company's North & West Africa Division. In March 2001, he became President and Chief Operating Officer of the Africa Group, responsible for the Company's operations in Africa, encompassing a total of 56 countries and territories across the continent.
Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Cummings held several positions with The Pillsbury Company in the U.S. In his last role as Vice President of Finance for Pillsbury International, he had financial responsibility for a growing $1.2 billion international branded food business with operating companies in 16 countries.
Mr. Cummings serves on the boards of Africare and Clark Atlanta University. Mr. Cummings also is a board member of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, a publicly traded (Athens and NYSE) bottler of The Coca-Cola Company, and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, also a publicly traded bottler of The Coca-Cola Company (NASDAQ). He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council.
In addition, Mr. Cummings has previously served on the Advisory Board of The African Presidential Archives & Research Center, The Corporate Council on Africa, The African-America Institute, The Center for Global Development's Commission on U.S. Policy toward Low-Income Poorly Performing States (LIPPS), and the following bottling partner entities of The Coca-Cola Company: Coca-Cola Sabco (Pty.) Ltd., Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Egypt.
Mr. Cummings holds a B.S. degree in Finance and Economics from Northern Illinois University and an MBA in Finance from Atlanta University.
Alek Wek it is pronounced Uh Lek was born into the southern Sudanese Dinka tribe in 1977. Named "the-black-and-white-cow" after a tribal good luck symbol, she was raised in a large but close-knit family in the small village of Wau.
Along with millions of other Sudanese, her life was turned upside down by the outbreak of civil war in 1982. After their house came under fire from an unknown group, the Wek family fled. When they returned a month later, they found the village ravaged and its inhabitants living in the local school, without amenities or food.
Eventually, Alek was sent to the capital, Khartoum, where she was joined three months later by the rest of the family. Here, her father, an education administrator, underwent a hip replacement procedure, but as a result of complications following the operation, he died. Shortly afterwards the Weks decided to leave their homeland.
Alek's older sister had moved to Britain before the civil war, and applied on behalf of her family for refugee status. In 1991 Alek and her younger sister were accepted, but it was two years before they were joined by their mother and two more of their nine siblings. The remaining family members were finally given refuge by Australia and Canada.
While living with her sister in England, Alek supported herself with odd jobs outside school hours and sent money back to her mother. She learnt English quickly, and went on to study fashion technology and business at the prestigious London College of Fashion.
The African beauty's big break came in 1995 when she was discovered by a model agency scout while shopping in a London market. She signed to Models One, and it wasn't long before she appeared in a Tina Turner video and on the pages of cutting edge publications Vibe and i-D.
One of the hottest new faces on the scene, she was soon courted by top design houses for their runway shows. Her distinctive looks, so different from the usual catwalk fare, caused a stir in the world of fashion, and garnered a raft of awards, including "Best New Model" at the Venus de la Mode Fashion Awards, 1997 MTV model of the year, and "Model of the Decade" from i-D.
Alek's success has redefined the traditional understanding of beauty, as US chat show host and actress Oprah Winfrey underlined in an interview with the model. "If you had been there when I was growing up, I would have thought of myself as beautiful," the presenter confessed.
Outside her modelling commitments, Alek draws upon her own experiences as a refugee to help highlight the plight of the world's dispossessed and, as a member of the US Committee For Refugees' Advisory Council, campaigns to raise the profile of the humanitarian disaster in the Sudan. http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/alek-wek/
Early life
Onweagba grew up in the suburbs of Lagos, Nigeria with her two brothers and sisters. She is the daughter of a civil servant father and mother who was a nurse.[2] When Onweagba was 16 years old, she won the "Face Of Africa" contest.[2]
She was urged by a family friend to enter into the M-Net "Face of Africa" preliminary screening at the M-Net office in Victoria Island, Lagos.[3] The agency groomed her to be one of Nigeria's entrants for the 1998 competition (now called the Nokia Face of Africa). This despite the fact that, growing up, she had maintained a relative ignorance towards fashion and modeling.[citation needed] With the support of her family and friends, she decided to compete in the inaugural edition of the Face of Africa in 1998. This was the first-ever continent-wide model competition, organized by the South African channel M-Net in collaboration with Elite Model Management.[citation needed] She won the competition.[4] She was just seventeen years old. Elite Model Management awarded Onweagba a three-year modeling contract.
Career
After moving to New York City, where she still lives, Onweagba graced the covers of Italian Vogue, i-D, ELLE, Untold, and Surface; she also was featured in Nylon, Marie Claire, Allure, and other national editions of Vogue around the world.[citation needed] She became the face of campaigns for Gianfranco Ferré, Gap, Express, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor, as well as working for Victoria's Secret.[citation needed] Onweagba's runway experience has been with John Galliano, Christian Dior, Costume National, Chanel, and Giorgio Armani, amongst others, in London, Milan, Tokyo and Paris.[citation needed] She has worked with such notable photographers as Steven Meisel, Nick Knight, and Patrick Demarchelier.[citation needed]
Beyond modeling, she tries to serve as a role model for other aspiring talents in Nigeria, especially young girls.[citation needed] She volunteers her time and her image for such NGOs as LEAP Africa (an entrepreneurship incubator) and NIPRO. She also is continuing her higher education, having studied for an associate's degree in the New York City educational system.[citation needed]
After her three-year contract with Elite expired, she signed with DNA Model Management.[citation needed] A highlight of her career so far was when she was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue four times, from 2005 to 2008.[citation needed]
In 2008, she launched a modeling agency in South Africa, OModel Africa, with offices in Johanesburg and recently in Cape Town.[citation needed] The 2008 winner of M-Net Face of Africa, Kate Tachie-Menson, was awarded a US $50,000 modeling contract by OModel Africa.[citation needed]
Personal life
Onweagba is married to Italian fashion designer Luca Orlandi. They have a 3-year-old son.[1] Onweagba's first name comes from the Igbo language and means "God's Work".[2][5]
Musician. Born David John Matthews on January 9, 1967 in Johannesburg, South Africa. A self-taught musician, he and his family moved around the world throughout his childhood. When he was two years old, they moved to the New York suburb of Yorktown Heights, where Matthews' father, a physicist, worked for IBM. In 1977, Matthews' father died of lung cancer, and the family returned to Johannesburg to be with relatives.
To avoid South Africa's compulsory military service, Matthews moved back to the United States after high school, where he became a bartender at a jazz club in Charlottesville, Virginia called Miller's. It was there that he began to dream about starting his own band.
In 1990, Matthews decided to put together a demo tape and approached his favorite jazz musicians to accompany him: sax player Leroi Moore and drummer Carter Beauford. For bass, he signed on Stefan Lessard, a 16-year-old local prodigy. Violinist Boyd Tinsley was recruited just weeks after the band formed. Early local gigs were an immediate success, and the band quickly developed a devoted following. The band's manager, Coran Capshaw, utilized grassroots marketing to move the band to the national stage.
The Dave Matthews Band was soon playing at frat houses and beach clubs around the country. People began to make bootlegs of their shows and word of the band spread quickly among the college crowd. In 1994, the band released its major label debut, Under The Table And Dreaming, which went to No. 11 in the Billboard 200. The band's second album, Crash, was released two years later, debuting at No. 2. Though the album didn't receive as much critical praise, the band's follow-up concert sold out New York's Madison Square Garden in three hours.
In October 1997, the band put out an official double-disc live album entitled Live at Red Rocks. Without any marketing or promotion, it debuted at No. 3, providing a high-quality and reasonably priced alternative to illegal live CDs that were beginning to flood the black market.
After taking some time off in 1997, the Dave Matthews Band went back into the studio to record Before These Crowded Streets, which debuted at No. 1. The next album was repeatedly delayed before the band announced, in 2000, that they would be scrapping it and parting ways with producer Steve Lillywhite. Though an amicable break-up, Matthews felt that the music sounded tired and the band needed fresh input. They hired Glen Ballard, who had worked with Alanis Morissette and Aerosmith, a few months later. Their next album, Everyday, released in 2001, lived up to its promise. The following year, Busted Stuff delivered a smoother, jazzier sound and a similarly successful debut. Their 2005 album, Stand Up, topped the Billboard charts in its first week.
Matthews made his big-screen debut in 2005's Because of Winn-Dixie with Jeff Daniels and Eva Marie Saint.
After an eight-year courtship, Matthews married wife Ashley in August, 2000. Their twin daughters, Stella Busina and Grace Anne, were born one year later. They had a son August Oliver, born in June 2007.
Actor Djimon Hounsou first gained acting attention in Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997). Born in West Africa, he moved with his family to Paris, France, at age 13. When he left school, he became homeless and spent a couple of years wandering the streets of Paris before being discovered by fashion designer Thierry Mugler. After he resettled himself, Hounsou moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting.
While on the way to stardom, Hounsou appeared in music videos, including those of Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Steve Winwood. After his turn as a rebellious slave in Amistad, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, he found increasingly steady employment on both the big and small screens, becoming a semi-regular on the hospital drama ER and appearing in such films as the historical epic Gladiator (2000). After such high-profile projects, Hounsou's success in the following two years would prove no surprise to anyone who glanced at his filmography. Aside from prominent roles in such high-profile French films as 2002's Le Boulet (Dead Weight) and the following year's Muraya -- l'Expérience Secrète de Mike Blueberry (The Adventures of Mike S. Blueberry), Hounsou's bid for screen stardom was simultaneously on display in such stateside features as The Four Feathers (2002), Biker Boyz, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider -- The Cradle of Life (both 2003).
Maimah Karmo is the Founder and Executive Director of the Tigerlily Foundation, which she
founded after being diagnosed with breast cancer. While going through chemotherapy, Maimah
made a promise to God and her daughter that she would change the landscape of young women
and breast cancer and that she would spend her life working to effect this change. That promise
is Tigerlily Foundation. Tigerlily Foundation’s mission is to educate, empower, advocate for, and
provide hands-on support to young women affected by breast cancer.
Breast cancer changed the way Maimah saw life and the way she lives. After being diagnosed,
and facing her own mortality at 32-years old, she realized she had to create the life she desired
and not wait for life to happen to her. She also realized that a challenge could be a gift.
Through her advocacy, Maimah has been able to touch women and men around the world. She
speaks nationwide, and has been featured in various magazines, including Essence, Ladies Home
Journal, Cure Magazine, Women and Cancer, Washington’s Finest and in numerous webbased
and regional print publications. She has also been featured on Fox 5, WJLA 7, News
Channel 8, the Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and many local and national
radio shows, including on XM and Sirius stations.
Maimah is a member of several national cancer advocacy organizations. She serves on the
Young Survival Coalition’s Diversity Outreach Committee and a speaker for The Breast Cancer
Network of Strength. She is a member of the Intercultural Cancer Consortium and the D.C.
Cancer Consortium. She supports the African Women’s Cancer Awareness Association
(AWCAA), and is on the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) Young Adult Alliance (YAA).
Maimah is a breast cancer grant reviewer, and a supporter of many local and national women’s
health initiatives specific to breast cancer. One of Maimah’s proudest advocacy moments to date
is her work on behalf of the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning
Young (EARLY) Act, along with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman’s Schultz’s Office. This
legislation would provide nationwide awareness, education and funding specifically targeting
young women and breast cancer.
She is also writing a best-seller about how her breast cancer diagnosis transformed her life.
Maimah is a dedicated breast cancer and women’s activist. She has dedicated to helping women
around the world. Maimah believes in living an extraordinary life every day; that is the birthright
of every woman.
They call Chris Aire the ‘King of Bling’ with good reason. Chris dreams BIG! He saw how neglected the urban demographic was and designed styles that helped lead the urban jewelry market into a multibillion dollar industry. Chris keeps his collection fresh and exciting, and always a step or two ahead of the rest. He is responsible for key jewelry trends from his diamond dog tags that were worn in Bad Boys starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, tri-tags, and the oversized Aire traveler timepiece series.
Akosua Busia is an actress, and writer. She was born on December 30, 1966 and is the daughter of Kofi Abrefa Busia, the ex-prime minister of the Republic of Ghana. Her sister is the poet and academic Abena Busia. Akosua grew up in Ghana and attended the prestigious Central School of Drama and Speech in London where she graduated early and went on to star in projects for the stage and screen throughout Europe.. She was also educated at the University of Oxford, England. She graduated early and went on to star in projects for the stage and screen throughout Europe.
She has appeared in films such as Ashanti (1979), The Color Purple (1985), Crossroads (1986), Rosewood (1997), Mad City (1997), Tears of the Sun (2003), and Ascension Day (2007).
Akosua has written The Seasons of Beento Blackbird: A Novel (Washington Square Press, 1997). In addition, she was one of three writers who co-wrote the screenplay adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved, for the 1998 Beloved directed by Jonathan Demme.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is presently a Managing Director of the World Bank.
From June to August 2006, she was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, overseeing Nigeria’s External Relations. From July 2003 to June 2006 she served as Minister of Finance and Economy of Nigeria and Head of Nigeria's much acclaimed Presidential Economic team responsible for implementing a comprehensive home grown economic reform program that stabilized the macro-economy and tripled the growth rate to an average 6 percent per annum over 3 years. Her achievements as Finance Minister garnered international recognition for improving Nigeria’s financial stability and fostering greater fiscal transparency to combat corruption. In October 2005, she led the Nigerian team that negotiated the cancellation of US $18 billion or 60 percent of Nigeria’s external debt with the Paris Club. The debt deal also included an innovative buy-back mechanism that wiped out Nigeria’s Paris club debt and reduced the country’s external indebtedness from US$35 to US$5 billion. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala oversaw Nigeria’s first ever Sovereign credit rating of BB- from Fitch and Standard and Poor’s—a rating that grouped Nigeria with other emerging market countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Venezuela, and Philippines.
Previously, she pursued a 21-year career as a development economist at the World Bank, where she held the post of Vice President and Corporate Secretary. This included two tours of duty (six years) working in the East Asia Region, the last tour (1997-2000) as Country Director Malaysia, Mongolia, Laos and Cambodia during the East Asian financial crisis; two duty tours in the Middle East Region, the last (2000-2003) as Director, Operations (deputy vice-president) of the region. Dr Okonjo-Iweala also served as Director of Institutional Change and Strategy (1995-1997). In this post she assisted with the implementation of the Bank’s reform agenda. From 1989 to 1991 she was Special assistant to the Senior Vice President, Operations, an assignment that enabled participation in high level policy formulation and discussions for countries as diverse as China and Burkina Faso.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was educated at Harvardand has a PhD in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is fluent in French, Ibo and English with working knowledge of Yoruba. She has received numerous awards, including Honorary Doctorate of Letters from University of Dublin, Trinity College, 2007, Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Colby College, 2007 and Brown University, 2006, Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, 2005, Time Magazine’s European Hero of the Year Award, 2004, for her work on economic reform in Nigeria, Euromoney Magazine Global Finance Minister of the year, 2005, Financial Times/The Banker African Finance Minister of the year 2005, This Day (Nigeria’s premier newspaper) Minister of the Year award 2004 and 2005.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is a member or chair of numerous boards and advisory groups, including DATA, the World Resources Institute, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Nelson Mandela Institution, Friends of the Global Fund Africa, and the African Institute of Science and Technology. She has served as adviser to several international investment groups working in emerging markets and lectured on Africa and development all over the world. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was the founder of the first ever indigenous opinion research organization in Nigeria (NOI Polls) in partnership with the Gallup organization, which strives to strengthen democracy and accountability in Nigeria. She was co-founder of the Makeda Fund, a US$50 million private equity fund designed to invest in women-owned and women-influenced small and medium enterprises in Africa.
She is married to surgeon Dr. Ikemba Iweala and they have four children.
Mikel John Obi (born April 22, 1987) is a Nigerian footballer. He is a attacking midfielder who currently plays for Chelsea.
He was born John Michael Nchekube Obinna, the son of a former civil servant. Mikel was playing top-flight football for Plateau United aged 15 and, by 2003, was gaining headlines for his country at the FIFA Under-17 World Championships held in Finland. After a brief spell in South Africa with Ajax Cape Town, Mikel gained global recognition in 2005 by starring at the FIFA World Youth Championship where Nigeria were beaten 2-1 in the final by Argentina.
During the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships, commentators continually misspelled his middle name of "Michael" as "Mikel." He decided to keep the new name, saying that it had a special ring to it.
Controversy regarding transfer to England
On April 29, 2005, a few days after Mikel turned 18, English Premier League side Manchester United F.C. announced that it had struck a deal with Lyn Oslo to sign the player. United's website also claimed that they had done a deal directly with the teenager and that he had signed a contract to join them. Mikel's agents were bypassed as the club persuaded the youngster to sign a 4 year contract without representation. Lyn Oslo allegedly sent a fax to his agents abroad, claiming their services were no longer required by Mikel. Reports said the deal was initially worth £4m,[3] and would see the player arrive at Old Trafford in January 2006. Rival Premier League side, Chelsea F.C., later issued a counter-claim suggesting that they already had an agreement with Mikel and his agents, but Lyn Oslo denied this claim. However, subsequent reports indicated that Chelsea claimed to have been involved in arranging the player's original move to Europe with a view to signing him at a later date.
Mikel expressed his delight at joining United in a hastily arranged press conference, where he was pictured holding up a Manchester United shirt, which bore the squad number 21. Following his signing of the contract to join Manchester United, there were claims from Norway that he had received a number of threatening phone calls from unknown sources. Mikel was assigned a security guard and moved to a safe hotel. However, on May 11, 2005, the midfielder went missing during a Norwegian Cup game against Klemetsrud; he had not been selected for the match but had been watching from the stands. Whilst the player was believed to have left with one of his agents, John Shittu, who had by now flown in to meet Mikel, his disappearance sparked massive media coverage in Norway and also provoked a police enquiry after the Lyn Oslo director Morgan Andersen made claims in the Norwegian media that Mikel had been 'kidnapped'. These claims were later repeated by Manchester United's assistant manager Carlos Queiroz, who accused Chelsea of being involved in the alleged 'kidnapping'.
It subsequently emerged that Mikel had travelled to London with his agent John Shittu. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson considered travelling to Oslo to visit Mikel, but decided against this after Mikel was reported to have left the country. Staying in a London hotel, and some nine days after disappearing, Mikel stated on Sky Sports News that he had been pressurised into signing the contract with United, claims furiously rebuffed by both Manchester United and Lyn Oslo. Mikel also claimed that he had asked the clubs for a week to think about it, but that this request was refused and the clubs pressured him into signing without his advisors being present. Mikel's claims, if true, would mean that Manchester United had acted in breach of FIFA and FA rules. Mikel told the British media that Chelsea were the club he genuinely wanted to sign for. In response to these events, United made an official complaint to FIFA about the behaviour of both Chelsea and the player's agents, John Shittu and Rune Hauge, already infamous for his role in the George Graham bungs scandal. FIFA replied to this complaint in August 2005 stating there was insufficient evidence to bring a case against Chelsea FC.
In the summer of 2005, Mikel played for Nigeria at the FIFA U-20 World Youth Championships held in the Netherlands. He had an excellent tournament as Nigeria reached the final, where they were unlucky to lose 2-1 to Argentina. Mikel won the silver ball after being voted the tournament's second best player.
Following the tournament, Mikel failed to return to Lyn Oslo, and the club lodged a complaint with FIFA. On August 12, 2005, FIFA ruled that Mikel should return to Lyn Oslo to see out his contract with the Norwegian club, whilst they would decide at a later date whether the contract he signed with United should be upheld or cancelled. After a delay of over a month, Mikel complied with the FIFA decision and returned to Lyn Oslo in early September 2005 after a three month absence.
Transfer to Chelsea resolved
Rather than leaving FIFA to determine the validity of the contract signed with Manchester United, Chelsea FC intervened by volunteering to settle the transfer saga through negotiation with Lyn Oslo and Manchester United.
On June 2 2006, Chelsea, Manchester United and Lyn Oslo reached a settlement to resolve the future of the player. Mikel's registration was to be transferred from Lyn to Chelsea; Manchester United agreed to terminate their option agreement with Mikel. Under the terms of this agreement Chelsea agreed to pay Manchester United £12million, half paid upon the finalisation of the contract and the other half in June 2007, and Lyn £4million, half payable immediately, and half payable in June 2007. As a result of this settlement, all claims in this matter were withdrawn. On July 19 2006 Chelsea were granted a work permit for the midfielder after they completed the £16million signing in June 2006. On July 31 2006 he stated that he prefers to be called Mikel John Obi instead of John Obi Mikel, as he had most commonly been called.
International career
Mikel made his debut for Nigeria's senior team on August 17 2005, when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 friendly win over Libya. He did not play for the national team again prior to being named in the squad for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. In Nigeria's first group game, which was against Ghana, Mikel was an unused substitute. However, he was introduced into the second game, against Zimbabwe, early in the second half. Within ten minutes of coming on, he had supplied both the corner that resulted in Christian Obodo heading the game's opening goal, and scored Nigeria's second goal. He made his first international start in Nigeria's final group game, a 2-1 victory over Senegal. As of February 7 2007, Mikel has earned five international caps and scored one international goal. During the cup, Mikel said that he had been instructed not to make any public comments about his club career.[14] FIFA is to investigate claims that Mikel had received death threats.
2006 - 2007 season
On September 12, 2006, Mikel made his first start for Chelsea in the Uefa Champions League against Levski Sofia and took a powerful shot which the goalkeeper failed to save and Didier Drogba pounced on the rebound. Mikel received many positive comments for his performance in the match. However, since being sent off in a match against Reading on October 14, 2006, Mikel was fined on three separate occasions by Chelsea for turning up late to training. At the time Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was also believed to have strong reservations about his lifestyle outside of Stamford Bridge and the club were reportedly considering offloading the player. Mikel was dropped for over a month, during which his father Michael voiced his concerns over his son's behaviour. After improved punctuality and showings at training sessions, Mikel earned a recall for Chelsea's Champions League group away game against Werder Bremen on the November 23, 2006. Mikel scored his first goal for Chelsea in their 6-1 FA Cup victory over Macclesfield Town on January 6, 2007. He also scored against Nottingham Forest in the following round of the competition. During Chelsea's triumph in the League Cup in 2007, Mikel was sent off in injury time after clashing with Kolo Toure, the incident was followed by a huge fracas, in which Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal was sent off, Francesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard were booked and Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger were involved in a kerfuffle on the pitch.
source: wikipedia.org
NBA Legend DIKEMBE MUTOMBO was born in the capital city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mutombo is the seventh of ten children born to Samuel and the late Biamba Marie Mutombo. He arrived in the United States in 1987 on an academic scholarship to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In his second year at Georgetown, Coach John Thompson invited the 7'2" Mutombo to try out for the university's renowned basketball team. After joining the team, Mutombo re-directed his pre-med ambitions and graduated from Georgetown with dual degrees in Linguistics and Diplomacy. Mutombo is fluent in nine languages, including five African languages.
Dikembe Mutombo is the first Youth Emissary for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and he also served on the Advisory Board for the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health and presently serves on the boards of UNICEF, National Constitution Center and Opportunity International. In 2009, Mutombo was appointed as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador.
Honored with USA Weekend Magazine's "Most Caring Athlete Award," and from FOXSports.com as the most generous athlete in the world, NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo of the Houston Rockets has long been dedicated to improving the health, education and quality of life for the people in his birthplace, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Created in Atlanta, Georgia 1997, the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation is attempting to eradicate many childhood diseases that have virtually disappeared in developed countries while those diseases are still life threatening to children in the Congo everyday.
Having played basketball in the NBA for the better part of a decade, Mutombo spends the off-season traveling throughout Africa on behalf of the NBA, performing at free basketball clinics for as many as 2,000 children per day. Giving back has always been a trademark of Mutombo ever since he entered the NBA in 1991. A former spokesman for CARE, the international relief agency, Mutombo visited the Somali refugee camps in Northern Kenya in 1993 and traveled with NBA Commissioner David Stern and Georgetown colleagues Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning to Cape Town and Johannesburg.
In 1996, Mutombo paid for the Zairian women's basketball team's trip to Atlanta for the Olympics and also picked up the tab for the track team's uniforms and expenses. Recently, Mutombo and Hall of Famer Bob Lanier led a contingent of current and former players who served as coaches for the Basketball Without Borders Africa initiative, which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was the second year of the program and the 100 participants were selected from more than 20 countries in Africa, based on their basketball skills, leadership abilities and dedication to the sport. In addition to the on-court instruction, the program featured extensive community outreach and incorporates educational seminars addressing important social issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention and education.
The highlight of the trip was the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation's dedication of refurbished dormitories at Ithuteng Trust, a school for troubled and underprivileged youth in Soweto that Mutombo first visited during the summer of 2003 for the first Basketball Without Borders camp. Children who once slept on the floor and did not have bathrooms now have a safe and comfortable place to live.
Dikembe Mutombo is the first Youth Emissary for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and as an Atlanta Hawk, he was actively involved with Strong STARTS (Schools Taking Action to Reach Troubled Students). He also served as a spokesman for the Atlanta Hawks Team Up program, often visiting children at local hospitals and held a basketball clinic with on-court drills for the Georgia Special Olympic athletes.
In August 1999, Mutombo and his delegation which included the CBS News Senior Correspondent for 60 Minutes, the late Ed Bradley traveled to Kinshasa, DR Congo on a medical fact-finding mission. As part of the Polio Eradication Campaign in the Congo, Mutombo administered oral polio vaccine to newborns at the Kalembe-Lembe Pediatric hospital and distributed t-shirts with a written personal message encouraging parents to get their children immunized. Despite civil unrest and electricity cuts during the two weeks of the National Immunizations Days, 8.2 million children under the age of five were successfully vaccinated against polio in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o: A Profile of a Literary and Social Activist.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, currently Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, was born in Kenya, in 1938 into a large peasant family. He was educated at Kamandura, Manguu and Kinyogori primary schools; Alliance High School, all in Kenya; Makerere University College (then a campus of London University), Kampala, Uganda; and the University of Leeds, Britain. He is recipient of seven Honorary Doctorates viz D Litt (Albright); PhD (Roskilde); D Litt (Leeds); D Litt &Ph D (Walter Sisulu University); PhD (Carlstate); D Litt (Dillard) and D Litt (Auckland University). He is also Honorary Member of American Academy of Letters. A many-sided intellectual, he is novelist, essayist, playwright, journalist, editor, academic and social activist.
The Kenya of his birth and youth was a British settler colony (1895-1963). As an adolescent, he lived through the Mau Mau War of Independence (1952-1962), the central historical episode in the making of modern Kenya and a major theme in his early works.
Ngugi burst onto the literary scene in East Africa with the performance of his first major play, The Black Hermit, at the National Theatre in Kampala, Uganda, in 1962, as part of the celebration of Uganda’s Independence. “Ngugi Speaks for the Continent,” headlined The Makererian, the Student newspaper, in a review of the performance by Trevor Whittock, one of the professors. In a highly productive literary period, Ngugi wrote additionally eight short stories, two one act plays, two novels, and a regular column for the Sunday Nation under the title, As I See It. One of the novels, Weep Not Child, was published to critical acclaim in 1964; followed by the second novel, The River Between (1965). His third, A Grain of Wheat (1967), was a turning point in the formal and ideological direction of his works. Multi-narrative lines and multi-viewpoints unfolding at different times and spaces replace the linear temporal unfolding of the plot from a single viewpoint. The collective replaces the individual as the center of history.
In 1967, Ngugi became lecturer in English Literature at the University of Nairobi. He taught there until 1977 while, in-between, also serving as Fellow in Creative writing at Makerere (1969-1970), and as Visiting Associate Professor of English and African Studies at Northwestern University (1970-1971). During his tenure at Nairobi, Ngugi was at the center of the politics of English departments in Africa, championing the change of name from English to simply Literature to reflect world literature with African and third world literatures at the center. He, with Taban Lo Liyong and Awuor Anyumba, authored the polemical declaration, On the Abolition of the English Department, setting in motion a continental and global debate and practices that later became the heart of postcolonial theories. "If there is need for a 'study of the historic continuity of a single culture', why can't this be African? Why can't African literature be at the centre so that we can view other cultures in relationship to it?" they asked. The text is carried in his first volume of literary essays, Homecoming, which appeared in print in 1969. These were to be followed, in later years, by other volumes including Writers in Politics (1981 and 1997); Decolonising the Mind (1986); Moving the Center (1994); and Penpoints Gunpoints and Dreams (1998).
The year 1977 forced dramatic turns in Ngugi’s life and career. His first novel in ten years, Petals of Blood, was published in July of that year. The novel painted a harsh and unsparing picture of life in neo-colonial Kenya. It was received with even more emphatic critical acclaim in Kenya and abroad. The Kenya Weekly Review described as “this bomb shell” and the Sunday Times of London as capturing every form and shape that power can take. The same year Ngugi’s controversial play, Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), written with Ngugi wa Mirii, was performed at Kamirithu Educational and Cultural Center, Limuru, in an open air theatre, with actors from the workers and peasants of the village. Sharply critical of the inequalities and injustices of Kenyan society, publicly identified with unequivocally championing the cause of ordinary Kenyans, and committed to communicating with them in the languages of their daily lives, Ngugi was arrested and imprisoned without charge at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison at the end of the year, December 31, 1977. An account of those experiences is to be found in his memoir, Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary (1982). It was at Kamiti Maximum Prison that Ngugi made the decision to abandon English as his primary language of creative writing and committed himself to writing in Gikuyu, his mother tongue. In prison, and following that decision, he wrote, on toilet paper, the novel, Caitani Mutharabaini (1981) translated into English as Devil on the Cross, (1982).
After Amnesty International named him a Prisoner of Conscience, an international campaign secured his release a year later, December 1978. However, the Moi Dictatorship barred him from jobs at colleges and university in the country. He resumed his writing and his activities in the theater and in so doing, continued to be an uncomfortable voice for the Moi dictatorship. While Ngugi was in Britain for the launch and promotion of Devil on the Cross, he learned about the Moi regime’s plot to eliminate him on his return, or as coded, give a red carpet welcome on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta Airport. This forced him into exile, first in Britain (1982 –1989), and then the U.S. after (1989-2002), during which time, the Moi dictatorship hounded him trying, unsuccessfully, to get him expelled from London and from other countries he visited. In 1986, at a conference in Harare, an assassination squad outside his hotel in Harare was thwarted by the Zimbwean security. His next Gikuyu novel, Matigari, was published in 1986. Thinking that the novel’s main character was a real living person, Dictator Moi issued an arrest warrant for his arrest but on learning that the character was fictional, he had the novel “arrested;” instead. Undercover police went to all the bookshops in the country and the Publishers warehouse and took the novel away. So, between 1986 and 1996, Matigari could not be sold in Kenyan bookshops. The dictatorship also had all Ngugi’s books removed from all educational institutions.
In exile, Ngugi worked with the London based Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners in Kenya, (1982-1998), which championed the cause of democratic and human rights in Kenya. In between, he was Visiting Professor at Byreuth University (1984); and Writer in Residence, for the Borough of Islington, London (1985) and took time to study film, at Dramatiska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. (1986). After 1988, Ngugi became Visiting Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Yale (1989-1992) in between holding The Five Colleges (Amherst, Mount Holyoke, New Hampshire, Smith, East Massachusetts) Visiting Distinguished Professor of English and African Literature (Fall 1991). He then became Professor of Comparative Literature and Performance Studies at New York University (1992 –2002) where he also held the Erich Maria Remarque Professor of languages, from where he moved to his present position at the University of California Irvine. He remained in exile for the duration of the Moi Dictatorship 1982-2002. When he and his wife, Njeeri, returned to Kenya in 2004 after twenty-two years in exile, they were attacked by four hired gunmen and narrowly escaped with their lives.
Ngugi has continued to write prolifically, publishing, in 2006, what some have described as his crowning achievement, Wizard of the Crow, an English translation of the Gikuyu language novel, Murogi wa Kagogo. Ngugi’s books have been translated into more than thirty languages and they continue to be the subject of books, critical monographs, and dissertations.
Paralleling his academic and literary life has been his role in the production of literature, providing, as an editor, a platform for other people’s voices. He has edited the following literary journals: Penpoint (1963-64); Zuka (1965 -1970); Ghala (guest editor for one issue, 1964?); and Mutiiri (1992-).
He has also continued to speak around the world at numerous universities and as a distinguished speaker. These appearances include: the 1984 Robb Lectures at Auckland University in New Zealand; the1996 Clarendon Lectures in English at Oxford University; the 1999 Ashby Lecture at Cambridge; and the 2006 MacMillan Stewart Lectures at Harvard.
He is recipient of many honors including the 2001 Nonino International Prize for Literature and seven honorary doctorates.
