Each day, one million South Africans get a text message that reads something like this:
Frequently sick, tired, losing weight and scared that you might be HIV positive? Please call AIDS Helpline 0800012322.
It’s part of Project Masiluleke — which means “hope” and “warm counsel” in Zulu — a plan to use mobile phones to encourage South Africans to test for HIV. It is believed to be the largest mobile communication campaign for health promotion ever attempted.
South Africa has an estimated six million people infected with HIV, according to the United Nations. And almost 90 percent of South Africans have mobile phones with plans that include free “please call me” text messages.
Encouraging people to get tested is a challenge in a country where stigma and shame accompanies a positive diagnosis. Project Masiluleke will offer South Africans discretion and privacy to get tested, treatment options and counseling.
Initial results have been encouraging. During three weeks of usability testing in October, Project Masiluleke helped increase daily call volume to the National AIDS Helpline in Johannesburg by nearly 200 percent, according to National Geographic.
As CNET reports, “This isn’t the first time cell phones have been employed in the battle against AIDS. In August, a catchy ‘condom, condom’ ringtone made its debut as part of a three-year ad campaign aimed at making condom use more socially acceptable in India.”
Project Masiluleke is another good demonstration of how mobile phones can be used for the public good. Let’s hope it encourages South Africans to take control of their health and pursue the care they need.
Nigeria President Umaru Yar Adua has asked his lawyers to sue an Abuja-based newspaper after it reported the president was seriously ill and has not been seen in public in the past two days. Gilbert da Costa has more for VOA in this report from Abuja.
A Nigerian presidency statement said there was no truth in the report in the Leadership newspaper and it was part of a plot to embarrass the president and destabilize his administration. It said the president had persistently faced, what the statement described as, malicious rumors and outright falsehoods about his state of health.
President Umaru Yar ‘Adua is known to have a chronic kidney problem. His health has been a source of constant speculation in the Nigerian media and opposition politicians have voiced concern about whether he is fit enough to govern.
Abuja-based lawyer and political analyst Maxi Okwu says there is a need for clarity on the state of the president’s health, and that suing a newspaper is not the way to do it.
“The threat by the president to sue a paper for making a statement on a matter of public interest is an empty threat,” said Okwu. “Let him not hide behind the fact that he has immunity from personal prosecution or litigation against his person to intimidate a public institution like a newspaper that should inform the public. The matter of his health is a matter for public interest, and it is because he shrouded it in mystery that the matter is escalating.”
Recently, a privately-owned television station was shut for days for reporting that President Yar’Adua may step down due to ill-health.
In the middle of last year’s electoral campaign, Mr. Yar’Adua had to be evacuated to Germany for a few days with a health scare. He has since returned to Germany on several occasions for medical check-ups.
President Yar’Adua’s victory in April 2007 polls has been challenged at the Supreme Court by his two main rivals.
Eighteen months into his presidency, Mr. Yar’Adua is struggling to make good on promises to establish law and order and use the country’s oil wealth to make it one of the world’s top economies.
CAIRO, EGYPT (AFP) – Sunni Islam’s highest authority has approved a woman’s right to fight back if her husband uses violence against her, Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported on Monday.
The declaration by Sheikh Abdel Hamid Al-Atrash, who heads Al-Azhar University’s committee for fatwas, or religious edicts, comes after similar rulings by religious leaders in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
“A wife has the legitimate right to hit her husband in order to defend herself,” Atrash was quoted as saying.
“Everyone has the right to defend themselves, whether they are a man or a woman… because all human beings are equal before God,” he said.
Over the last few days, Saudi Sheikh Abdel Mohsen Al-Abyakan stressed the fact that a wife should resort to “the same kind of violence” as her husband used against her, whether it be with a leather strap or a wire cable, the paper said.
Prominent Turkish Muslim preacher and writer Fethullah Gulen went one step further and ruled that a woman should return the violence with interest.
“She should give back two blows for each one received,” the paper quoted him as saying.
Rights groups quoted by Amnesty International say that 35 percent of Egyptian women killed each year die as a result of domestic violence. –AFP
DENVER, COLORADO – Art for Ethiopia, our fundraising art sale/auction for Children’s Heaven that was held this past Saturday, November 8th in Denver was a SMASHING success!!! Not only was the event attended by hundreds of people, but we were able to exceed our own fundraising expectations and raise over $12,000!! Hanna Fanta, director of Children’s Heaven, was moved to tears when she found out how much people contributed towards her project of building a permanent community center for her girls’ programs. We were also moved by everyone’s generosity as well as the time commitment, enthusiasm, and dedication shown by the volunteers and board members who made the event happen. Special thanks to Tracy Stevens for planting the seed of inspiration that blossomed into this amazing event. Also thanks to volunteers Shawn Rodda, Emily Barr, Katie Bell, Becky Mitchell, Greg Cradick, Valerie Photogoddess, Jasmine Champion, Ellen Yeiser, Lisa Wells, Katie Bradford, Heidi, and Hanna Fanta for all you did!! And thanks to Board members Dawn and Paige for travelling out to the event. It was great to have you here!
Here are some stories from Hanna’s children to give you an idea of what these girls face every day in their lives:
Tigst Shewangizaw age 10 lost her mother and lives with her older sister who is eleven. Her 11 year old sister is the one who is taking care of her and herself. Tigist has lost a lot of weight because of malnutrition for she has no one to look after them. She wants to be a doctor.
Asefu H/Mariam, age 11, lost both her parents and she now lives with her aunt. When we met her she works during the day time and goes to school at night. Assefu baby sits her niece and does chores in the house. We made a deal to her aunt for her to go to school during the day time. She now goes to school during the day time and is very happy. She wants to be a teacher.
Bethlehem Jafar, age 11 lost her father and lives with her mom. She was raped when she was seven years old. She did not get any help to cope with the tragedy. Bethlehem has aggressive behaviour because of the incident. She wants to be a pilot.
Haymanot Sisay, age 11, lost both her parents. She is HIV+ and gets sick more often. After her parents died, she started to live with her aunt. In her new family she gets a lot of stigma and labor work. She used to work hard and do many chores in order to live with her aunt and be able to go to school. Her aunt finally wanted her to leave her house for no reason and she is now staying at Children’s Heaven shelter for she has no one to take care of her. She wants to be a singer.
NEW YORK — About six months ago, my then seven-year-old daughter, Tibarek, awakened early one morning and called to me. “Jilly, I had a dream. Joe Biden won! And that means that if he wins, Obama will win, too. So, you don’t have to worry!” I told her that her dream was wonderful and I hoped she was right. “Kids just know these things,” she said. “Adults just have to listen to us sometimes.” Jill Vexler, a New York City-based anthropologist, with
Tibarek, her seven-year-old adopted daughter from Ethiopia
My prescient daughter was right and Wednesday, I awakened her to say, “OBAMA WON!” “Stop kidding me!” she responded with a smile. “You’re sure?” And we, like the vast majority of Americans, started our day with a profound smile.
I’m still digesting Obama’s victory and what it means to me. Each time I hear someone on TV, I think “Oh, that’s what it means.” Optimism. Potential. The fruits of hard work. The core of what America means to the world. My elation that a man of high intelligence, calm and caring has won is reinforced by the flood of emails from friends around the world who are SO excited with us – the friend in Amsterdam who was invited to FIVE parties to watch the results, the friend in Tel Aviv who sees a new day in the Middle East, my “sister” in Mexico City who is crying with emotions for future generations.
But there’s a profoundly personal joy in Obama’s victory that I haven’t quite articulated but it goes something like this: Because I am Tibarek’s mom, I feel an extra connection to the joy of the African American and African communities here and all over the world that a black man is the new leader of America. I am overjoyed that Tibarek has been in the United States during this formidable time, when women leaders are the norm, Spanish is the language she hears and is picking up, and black faces are those of our leaders.
She voted with me for Hillary for senator and Obama for president; we canvassed for Obama in Pennsylvania; we talk about policy and fairness. I love it that she will see little girls who look like her living in the White House. I am proud to have participated in activities which show her in the importance of being involved. Tibarek helped her mother
canvas in Scranton, Pa.
Each time I hear Obama talk about world cultures, diversity in America, intercultural understanding, his comfort with true multiculturalism simply exudes from his words. And herein, I feel an almost secret connection, perhaps my own little invention of understanding. Obama’s anthropologist mother brought him up in a world where different cultures, looks, languages, religions and nationalities were daily fair. This was formative. We hear his even-handed comfort with culture in every utterance of foreign policy and take on domestic diversity.
I am Tibarek’s anthropologist mother who also lives in that world, with a huge embrace of “other” as the norm. Tibarek’s Ethiopian mother entrusted me to take her beyond their limited resources, expand her world, grow and blossom. I promised her I would and am taking this amazing person along for every possible opportunity that comes our way or that we can create. From knocking on a door in Pennsylvania, I figure she’ll soon be knocking on another door on Pennsylvania Avenue for a play date.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (Xinhua) — To the sound of horns, the revving of engines by the assembled construction vehicles and much applause from the delegates, the start of the construction of the new conference center of the African Union (AU) in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa was officially declared on Monday by Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC).
Wu was in Addis Ababa to mark the start of the construction of the conference center and the 25-storey office block, which will provide much-needed working space and conference facilities for the pan-African body. His trip also included an official visit to Ethiopia.
The conference center complex will house a 2,550-seat big conference hall, 500 office spaces, a medium conference hall, five meeting rooms, 30 caucus rooms, a multipurpose hall with a capacity of accommodating 3,000 people, an amphitheatre with 3,000seats, a digital library and archives center, a medical center and various public spaces for utilities such as banks, post and airline ticket offices, among other features.
At the ceremony to mark the occasion, AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping hailed the new construction as a symbol of the strong cooperation and friendship that exists between Africa and China.
” It is an honor and privilege for him to welcome you all to this historical occasion to mark the start of the construction of the AU conference center project,” Ping said.
He said African leaders have long cherished the idea of having a facility which can accommodate the needs of the AU, and which befits the organization’s status.
“The idea of endowing the AU Commission with a modern conference center and office building facilities befitting its status has always been in the hearts of African leaders for long.”
Ping said in this connection they should therefore be proud of having the assistances of the Chinese government for its commitment to design, construct and fully finance such big facilities as a gift to Africa.
The gift from the Chinese government comes at an opportune time when the AU Commission needs more space, he said. “Indeed, this is a wonderful gift from a true and long time friend of Africa. The presence of the high-level Chinese delegation on this occasion is a testimony of the fact that China has attached great importance to its commitment to the success of this project and to its historical and long time friendly relations with Africa,” said Ping.
“We are indeed very grateful for that.”
Ping thanked Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian government and different government departments for facilitating the construction of the center through the provision of land and other services.
He also expressed his gratitude for former AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare, who initiated the process with the Ethiopian and Chinese authorities.
The idea of the construction was first discussed three years ago.
He pledged the AU Commission will do everything possible to ensure the successful completion of the project as scheduled and would facilitate its tasks.
“Africa will highly value this gift as a special one and honor it with heartfelt appreciation and, it will definitely set the relations of Africa and China on a solid foundation in bearing more fruits of interests for both sides.”
In his speech, Wu Bangguo said the start of construction of new AU conference center is another symbol of closer China-Africa friendly relations.
He recalled the historical 2006 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, saying that the summit strengthened the partnership, friendship and cooperation between Africa and China.
At the summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced China would build a conference center for AU to support African countries in their efforts to strengthen themselves through unity and support the process of the African integration.
The design of the complex, which includes historical aspects of African culture and tradition, was presented to the 2007 AU summit in Ghana’s capital Accra.
The foundation stone for the new conference center was laid in the same year. The work of construction is expected to take three years.
