Circumspecte

Dear God, How do I put this? You blow my mind. You have millions of people to cater for, and yet you make time for little me. True, sometimes I get impatient (make that most times), but you keep your promises and deliver right when I need it. Although you have proven over and over that things will be beautifully done in YOUR time, I sometimes ask myself “why, when, and how long will this take?” And what do you do? You gently – or if necessary, sternly – remind me that you will never give me more than I can handle and what you have not yet delivered is to prevent me from harm or prepare me for something better. You have blessed me more than I could ever ask for. Normally I would write a “At 24 I have learned that…” piece, but not this time. This time, I just want to say thank you. So in no particular order of importance... 1- Thank you for answered prayers. For delivering exactly what I asked for a year ago. I was confused, hurting, and doubtful. I asked for peace of mind and yo...

A TED spin on the birds and the bees So, the TED Global talks are taking place in Oxford, England this year and as I was looking around at their latest pool of videos, I came across this short "Talks in Less Than 6 Minutes" piece. What's the topic of discussion? "The Talk". Now, in case you didn't know, "The Talk" is just parent code for the subject of sexuality. Other variations in code include "the birds and the bees", "the stalk story", and so on. Anyway, this is quite a funny piece, but very real. It made me think about how everyone back in junior high was so excited as we slowly progressed towards the end of the integrated science textbook. What was at the end? (and now that i think about it, why was it at the very end?): the human sexual reproductive system. The topic of sex seems to be such a big deal, especially for adolescents. I remember that some of my classmates even bookmarked the date we were supposed to cover ...

DiasporaCamp DC 2010 - Financial innovations for African small & medium-scale enterprises On July 25, 2009, about 80 young Africans and people interested in Africa congregated in Washington, DC for BarCamp Diaspora '09 to exchange ideas on entrepreneurship, innovation and development under the theme "Investing our talent where it counts. Through a breakout session at the event about healthcare in Ghana, a healthcare-focused NGO called REACH-Ghana was formed. Many attendees also have partnered to work on ongoing projects as a result. On July 24, 2010 at the Kenney Auditorium, School of Advanced International Studies - Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC, the conversations continue again, bringing together the African Diaspora to exchange ideas on doing business in Africa. DiasporaCamp is a BarCamp with a focus on African Diaspora, primarily African affairs and issues. A BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering where attendees meet for discussions, demos and network...

Dear United States of Africa, It's been a good 50 years since the day you were born from that mustard seed of hope. You've come a long way since then. Today (July 2, 2060) historians are trying to pinpoint exactly the moment you were birthed. Was it the day ECOWAS, COMESA and all the other economic unions finally became one - the African Economic Union (AEU) - and adopted the Afco (African currency) as the nation's currency? Or rather, the day Afrikaans was accepted as the standard language linking all across the motherland? No, it must have been the hour when Africans - both home and abroad - cast their votes in that historic and highly contested presidential election. One that led to ascension of one visionary and exemplary leader to the position of President of the U.S. of Africa. They have it all backward. If you ask anyone from my generation - I'll be 74 in a fortnight or so - they will tell you that mustard seed of hope was planted the day South Africa won the b...