Circumspecte

It's my great honor to introduce this young lady to those of you who might not have heard of her, and for those of you who have, to hopefully share one or two things that you probably didn't know about Deborah Ahenkorah and her journey so far. The Visionnaire Series begins. -- Privilege Vs Responsibility At 24 years, Deborah Ahenkorah is living proof of the heights a person can reach just by trying. A native of the Eastern Region, Deborah grew up with her parents in Ghana’s capital Accra. She attended North Ridge Lyceum, and later enrolled at Wesley Girls’ High School in Cape Coast. Consequently, she proceeded on scholarship to Bryn Mawr College in the USA, for her university degree. “I had no reason to want to come back to Ghana. I’m going to America, why would I want to come back to Ghana? But in the four years that I was in school various experiences, you know, switched my mind 180 degrees,” Deborah recounted. According to the self-proclaimed adventur...

Finally, the first interview of the Visionnaire Series with Deborah Ahenkorah of the Golden Baobab Prize is all set! Stay tuned for the full showcase right here on Circumspect! In the meantime, here's a small teaser/preview, what I call the "Visionnaire Development Minute", on Debbie's thoughts on, well, development in Africa. Agree, disagree, have something to add? Please do share! Enjoy! Circumspect: How do you think the advent of e-reading will influence Africa’s literary landscape? Deborah Ahenkorah: I think the discourse around e-reading everywhere in the world is so fascinating, because without a doubt, e-reading is the future. No matter how you spin it, it is the future. But what’s interesting about it is how is it going to become the future? What is the process and what path is it going to take for it to get to the future? The western world is far, far ahead of us in that discourse, or in that journey of e-reading from a concept to the reality, like the ...

My anticipation about writing a post on international women's day (March 8) has been building up so much, but now that I'm here, for some reason, I can't decide which route to take. I kid you not when I tell you that I have written and rewritten this at least 3 times! First, I was thinking of talking about feminism. But I think that deserves a post on its own. Then I thought about writing about how exasperated or "overdosed" I've been feeling about all this "woman" or gender business in development, but that started sounding too textbookish. So now, I'm just going to go with the flow. I'm going to talk about what being a woman means... to me :)  Growing Up...Against the "Norm" Going with the norm, I probably shouldn't be here. I should probably be married by now, maybe onto my second, third, or even fourth child. I shouldn't be living alone, miles away from my parents and family. Heck, how dare I make certain "importa...

To days when yes was yes, and no was no, and maybe made sense even when the month wasn't May and there were no bees to be found. To the final run of teeth through school girl hair in anticipation of seven o'clock when cartoon network assumed its rightful place on GTV. To afternoons watching "Hindi Movie" while munching on rice and beans, with salad, spagetti, gari and everything in between. To vacation classes that had less to do with science and math and more to do with mingling with boys-boys, girls-girls and a cross-section of the two. To waiting in restless anticipation for the weekend in order to escape school. And then waiting in anticipation for Monday to return to school. To kingsbite chocolate, nkate boga, and coke; worthy prizes for good behavior, hardwork, and treats from visiting family and friends. To times when internal rivers gushed over things like who got to sit at which dining table chair and who got to be (claim) which power ranger To ...

So apparently, CNN decided to switch up its look online. It has a more streamlined look with more social media features and what-not. Social Media is taking over! Anyways, I like the new look, although it’ll take me a while to get used to the glaring red header. The key video on the Africa page today is on prostitution in Kenya, and specifically, teenage prostitutes. Two of the girls spoken to first participated in the sex trade at 10 and 11 years respectively. During World AIDS Day in 2003 (Dec 1 st .) myself and my fellow peer counselors at Wesley Girls High School went on an education and outreach trip to basic schools in neighboring villages in Cape Coast. At one of the schools, we got to talk to some of the children, who were in primary school, and who were generally below 12 years old, and one of the girls told us her story. She was from a very poor background and her parent could barely afford to feed her much more pay her fees. She would go about three days without a rea...

My dearest sweetheart, We probably haven’t met yet (or maybe we have), but I already have you in my mind’s eye. I already know the shape of your eyes; deep-set dark brown almond eyes that light up whenever you smile or laugh. Laugh, that laugh! Pearls of joy dropped down by Mother Earth. Your skin; rich and luxurious; smooth and soft. An endless invitation to touch, hold, and comfort you. That nose. Some people worry about the nose; it’s either too large or too small, and never quite perfect enough. But I have no worries there. As cute as a button your nose will be. And your lips. Slightly upturned, probably your most convincing feature, especially when you pout in indignation, when I tell you “no, you can’t have more candy.” And the rest of you. Every exquisite inch. I seriously cannot wait to meet you my dear one. There’s a lot you will learn. Yes, you will most definitely go to school, but you will learn even beyond and outside the confines of the classroom. Perhaps the ...