Obviously, Rainatou Sow, founder of Make Every Woman Count (MEWC) has been busy for a very long time. But she is still not tired. Matter of fact, she is even more relentless in her pursuit of justice and equality for women now more than ever – her goal, “to provide a spectrum of platforms and tools for African women, grassroots, activists, international organizations and women’s rights groups.”

She is fighting a cause that in many ways seems personal. Her childhood she says, was ordinary, but the abuses she witnessed in her community spurred her to action.  When the African Union announced that the decade (2010 – 2020) was being dedicated to the African woman as the African Woman’s Decade (AWD), she sprang into action, propelled by the lack of a space where African women’s voices would be front and center.

MEWC was founded in December 2010, just two months after the after the launch of the African Women’s Decade. It is a young African women-led organization, established to promote and advocate for the empowerment and rights of African women and children, and to promote and raise awareness of the AWD movement. The organization’s main goal however, is to become the main hub of information for promoting participation of African women in all areas of life – social, political, and economic development.

The African Women’s Decade was launched by the African Union in October 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya, with the theme, “grassroots approach to gender equality and women’s empowerment.” As part of its contribution to the AWD agenda, MEWC publishes a yearly report summarizing the progress African countries have made regarding women’s rights and gender equality on the continent. The report will be published every year throughout the 10-year period of the African Woman’s Decade

As is the case with most non-profit organizations, Make Every Woman Count has its own share of challenges – mostly financial. The organization is managed by a staff of volunteers and is kept afloat mostly by in-kind donations. For MEWC to continue to offer its services and achieve more of its goals, the organization will need to raise about £200,000 “to carry out its vital work and help MEWC take its next step in developing as an organization,” according to Rainatou Sow. To help raise the funds, the organization has launched a three month fundraising campaign from January to April 2013.

Despite its financial limitations, MEWC has excelled when it comes to diligently publishing the yearly report which summarizes the progress African countries have made regarding women’s rights and gender equality on the continent. It has also successfully organized conferences every year to mark the anniversary of the African Women’s Decade. It is a great opportunity to spread the word about the work Africans are doing to advance women’s rights on the continent.

The work Making Every Woman Count does is great, but the laborers and givers are few. Yet, Rainatou Sow has great hopes for the future of African women and sees MEWC’s objectives as largely attainable. She believes that the various African governments have an important role to play and says, “we need to ask African Governments to be accountable, and take responsibility in keeping their promises, so as to push African governments to work harder on women’s issues; those who have not ratified the various legal framework to ratify, those who have already ratified to put money aside for implementation with concrete action plans such as clear gender budgeting as well as allocating more funding for food security, human security , better education /health care for sustainable development and that less money be allocated to military expenditure. “ She also believes “we have to continue to collaborate at the local, national and regional level, to breach the barriers and enhance the dialogue with the Gender Directorate of the African Union and various ministries or institutions of our countries.”

I couldn’t agree more. For women’s initiatives, such as the worthy one Rainatou has diligently pushed for the last two years, African governments need to get fiscally involved, and community engagement must be encouraged – that means getting men and boys involved too. Once men see that what benefits women benefits them also, only then will organizations such as MEWC really make significant headway.

In the meantime, Rainatou and MEWC are doing the best they can to achieve their goals, regardless of the obstacles. It is this fighting spirit, along with her heart of courage, caring and perseverance that makes her our March 2013 goddess. To read more about Making Every Woman Count and the many ways you can get involved, visit their website at http://www.makeeverywomancount.org/

Michaela DePrince

Michaela DePrince has been labeled the “war orphan-turned ballerina.” Of course, we all like a sob story that ends in triumph, but for Afrikan Goddess the one thing that stands out about Mabinty Bangura’s (her given name) story of triumph are her parents. They took a sick refugee from Ghana and turned her life around. What an inspirational story of unconditional love, miracles and a testament of what the human spirit can do to change the lives of others. In the spirit of Christmas, this special feature is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. DePrince of Vermont and now living in New York City, even as we profile the life and triumph of Michaela DePrince of Sierra Leone.

Looking at Michaela DePrince today, one can only wonder how she ever got labeled as “number 27” in the Sierra Leonean orphanage where she spent her growing years. She is a beautiful girl! Number 27 was the number reserved for the least liked, least loved, and least important person in the orphanage – that number 27 assignment brought with it abuse from the very people who were supposed to care for her.

Michaela dePrince was born in Sierra Leone on January 6, 1995. All she has of her biological parents are childhood memories. Her father was shot to death when she was only three years-old, and her mother starved to death almost immediately afterwards. She was later abandoned at an orphanage, but that orphanage would also turn out to be her blessing in disguise. Despite the harsh treatment she received at the hands of the women who cared for the orphans, Michaela knew she would someday live her dream of becoming a ballerina. She knew it the moment she first came across a picture of a ballerina on a magazine cover. She quickly ripped the picture off and hid in her underwear, vowing to one day move and look just like the woman in the picture.

She made that dream come true, and today, she is soaring high on the international stage as a world-class ballerina. She is nicknamed the Ballet Princess because of her love of classical ballet and her last name, DePrince.  Just watching her on her tippy-toes, dressed like an angel and spinning gracefully with her arms above her head, you wonder how anyone could ever have been cruel to her. But thank God, kindness was never very far away.

Michaela was adopted by an American couple, Charles and Elaine DePrince, in Ghana in 1999 when she was four.  When Michaela and Mia (Mia was Michaela’s best friend at the orphanage – she was number 26 – they were adopted together by the DePrinces) talk about their parents, they’re usually referring to their adopted parents, the ones who rescued them from the horrors of war and starvation and cared for them and loved them to success.

Inspired by a video of the New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker, Michaela began taking ballet lessons when she was four and a half years old.  Her mother Elaine encouraged her to work hard if she wanted to achieve her dream. She was trained at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, and at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre.  According to Michaela, “I feel like I grew up at the Rock School, because I began taking lessons there before I was five years old.”

In the summer of 2012 Michaela was invited to join the American Ballet Theatre and the Dance Theatre of Harlem performance company.  She chose the Dance Theatre of Harlem for the 2012-2013 ballet season.  Her first opportunity to dance internationally came when she was invited to the Netherlands in November 2011 to dance the role of Palmyra in the DDD production of Abdallah and the Gazelle of the Basra in the Netherlands.

In July 2012, she finally got her shot at a professional debut in a classical ballet.  She was invited to South Africa to dance with the South African Manszi Ballet Company where she danced the role of Gulnare in its production of Le Corsaire.  Michaela described the Le Corsaire as “a very difficult but magnificent ballet.” Who knows what’s next for this determined ballerina? There are still roadblocks she must overcome where her skin color is concerned, but Michaela DePrince lived through parts of a civil war, endured harsh treatment in an orphanage, lives with the skin condition virtiligo, and witnessed the brutality of war rebels in ways she says she does not wish to recall, so, what’s a little racial ignorance to this rising swan?

Photography: Christophe Knausz and Makeup by Estelle Binant

Here at AFRIKAN GODDESS MAGAZINE, we love stories of dreams and triumph. It’s why we cover them every month. These stories of triumph, perseverance, and driven women who rise victoriously, are what make what we do all the more worthwhile. We share these stories in the hopes that our readers will be touched, and be encouraged to fight their own battles a little harder and maybe even, a little longer. Before Samar Khoury took to catwalks and photo shoots, she dabbled in a few things here and there. But she knew that it would take something more if she was going to find the mother she lost many years ago in the Congolese war. So she turned to modeling and acting in hopes that as many times as she shows her face, in as many places as possible, one day, somehow, her mother would recognize her face and come looking for her. She knows there will be challenges along the way, and that she will deal with continuous dashes of hope. But she is not deterred, and something tells us she’ll keep going until she reaches her goal. We hope she does too. Meet Samar Khoury, the beautiful model who is rapidly rising to the top and who is undoubtedly close to her dream.

Tell me a little bit about yourself – where you were born and about your life growing up.

Couture Designer : Adebayo Jones , hat designer: Lyze Hats, makeup by:FaceQuizite & Faces of Bodin and Photography by StudiMO

I currently live in London at the moment. I was born in the Republic Democratic of Congo in Lubumbashi to a Congolese mother and a Lebanese father. I have two sisters and a brother. In the early 90’s my parents escaped the war by way of a military plane and we landed in Brazzaville. I remember entering Kinshasa for the first time by boat with my mother and my sister. My father had to stay in Brazzaville to rebuild his business. When my father came back in Kinshasa after a year or so he sent me and my sister to live and study in Beirut, Lebanon for about five years. During those years, I and my sister did not see our parents. In late 90’s, however, we were reunited with them but not for long. Another war occurred. During the conflict between Congo and Rwanda, I got separated from mother. It’s been over 10 years now that my mother’s been missing. I do hope to find her one day…

I’m so sorry to hear that. That must be really hard for you. Tell me about your mother. You have held out hope that you will someday be reunited with her. How is your modeling career linked to this hope?

Photographer: Murat Ozkasim, Designer dress: Versace and makeup by Sminks Makeup/Artistry

I had a vision that my mother will see me one day and say: ‘That’s my daughter’. I do hope that my modeling career will help me find closure in my life. If today she calls me or sees me, I will recognize her. By increasing my exposure in modeling, I have a chance to be recognized hopefully one day and raise my story about my missing mother.

Describe your journey to becoming a model. What was it like, what were some of the challenges? What was your inspiration?

In Early 2010 I started to socialize more, thanks to my old friend from Lebanon who made me open a Facebook account. I joined few online modeling castings and I attended social events in London and Paris. I had to discipline myself by maintaining by body shape, sleep at least six hours and making sure I received my acne treatments. I found it hard to maintain it but I was determined to be the best of me in each modeling assignment. My inspiration of course is my mother. I feel closer to her because in each of my modeling images I carry some of her features. ‘For me she is living through me’

Photography: Christophe Knausz and Makeup by Estelle Binant

Before you began modeling in 2010, what were you up to? Were you pursuing other dreams? What were those dreams and what happened to make you change to pursue modeling?

I was trying to find myself. I did not know which types of jobs would suit my personality so I worked in several high street retail shops as a retail shop assistant. I volunteered as a helper in Elderly homes as well as in a classroom for special needs students. I also worked for the British Red Cross as a sales representative and in a laboratory for a Pathology department.

I wanted to save money to do a Master’s Degree in order to pursue my dream to becoming a Pediatrician, but in late 2009, I received a message from Kinshasa, Congo saying that ‘my mother was being held as a hostage.’ At that point I realized that I needed to push myself to have a voice. I made a resolution in the New Year 2010 that I would change my lifestyle, so I started to socialize more. Along the way I met photographers who advised me to continue modeling.

Many people have misconceptions about models that are usually not at all flattering. Have you come across any such misconceptions? How do you respond to them?

Photography by Koshmo and Hair by Lathaniel Couture

Well, during castings it can be harsh at times! They will look at you and judge you by your walk, height, body shape, portfolio, and/or simply your face. For example, I went to a fitting casting in Paris for an Italian designer and she told me to my face that I was fat and that I should do glamour modeling, not fashion!  It is a fact that I get rejected more times than I get booked! But, in my opinion fashion is not only for skinny models. It is how a model can bring the clothes on her body to life and make it sellable to the public! Modeling is not the easiest job as people think – by just standing there and looking ‘pretty’. It takes talent and effort. Art modeling is hard work and is very respectable. It is not the easy option either to make money by just removing your clothes. Do not generalize that all models are the same!  Models have brains too and probably others just don’t know how to use it!

Absolutely! Which brings me to your brilliance. You speak three languages – French, Arabic and English – and that’s impressive. What other exceptional things don’t we know about you?

Thank you! I believe if I had never gone to Lebanon, I would have never learnt how to speak Arabic as my mother tongue is French. And coming to London, I had to learn how to speak English so I feel it is part of my life’s path. Apart from modeling, I studied Biochemistry in Kings College University where I also studies French Business studies as my optional unit.

You’ve been involved in some very exciting projects in the past and have also been the recipient of some very fascinating awards. Tell me about the hair images you did with Vidal Sassoon Academy and the awards you won with them.

Vidal Sassoon Academy was the first hair salon to cut my afro hair shorter and color it red and purple. It seems that each hairstylist from different hair salons gets inspiration of my hair from the previous hairstylist’s work. Anyway I was always open to cutting and coloring! Some of my hair modeling images entered the finals of the British Hairdressing Awards and got published in Black Hair, Black Hair and Beauty magazine, and Ghana Newspapers. My modeling image with Lathaniel Couture salon won the Weave Stylist of the Year Award and Black Beauty Sensational Hair Awards in 2011. I modeled for Josh Hair & Beauty salon and they won the Sensational Icon Weave Genius in Afro Hair Beauty 2012 Live Show and also won by Hair by Sleek Afro Hair & Beauty competition ‘Hollywood Trends’. Recently, some of my hair images entered the finals of British Hairdressing Awards and I will know the result by the end November!

Well, good luck! You’re going to win it! You recently participated in Congo Fashion Week. Tell me about your experience there and how it has affected your perspective of the modeling and fashion industry in the Congo specifically, and Africa as a whole.   

Photography by Anna Zandman

It was one of the highlights of my life. I must say landing to Congo Brazzaville brought back memories of when I was with my parents and my sister escaping the war from ‘Zaire’. I was a little girl at the time. This time I was a woman and a model catwalking in the first edition of Congo Fashion Week. What an honor and it is fate! My sister joined me in Congo Brazzaville from Paris to share the experience with me and she said: ‘sister it is a sign’. I have uploaded some videos taken by my sister of my catwalk at Congo Fashion Week on YouTube. I must say that going back to Congo I felt safe and so proud! Before, I used to hear stories about rape, guns, blood, and war, but this time the Congo Fashion Week team was celebrating fashion in Congo and fashion in Africa. It was nice to be a part of something else besides politics for a change.

Do you have a favorite African designer? Who is he/she? 

Adebayo Jones is my favorite designer. His couture clothing line makes me feel High Class, Sophisticated and Elegant. I felt privileged to model his collections in Congo and in London. If it was not for the Congo Fashion Week, I don’t know when I would have ever met him. I am looking forward to future collaborations with Adebayo Jones Luxury!

What are some of the big projects you have lined up?

Well, I am going to the Philippines in late October for almost a month to be part of a reality TV show for Fashion One with Bigfoot productions.  After that I would like to pursue an acting career. Meanwhile, I am looking forward to more collaborations with more talented and creative teams in the fashion, film, music and video industry. I would also like to do more fashion shows and photo shoots.  And I would like to travel the world and hopefully be represented internationally one day!

What are some of the humanitarian/charity works you are associated with, or involved in? 

Photography: Adebola Owolabi and hair stylist: Kirby de-Bords

I recently attended an event called Unplugged Africa. I was invited by the team from ‘Save the Congo,’ a charity organization. I would love to be more involved in charity work in Lebanon and Congo in the future with an emphasis on medical research.

Do you have anything you would like readers to know that I may have neglected to touch on?

Yes. I want to state what great respect, support, and unconditional love I have for my sister. She put her life in Paris on hold and came to support me in Congo during Congo Fashion Week and stayed to help me as we traveled in and out of Rwanda and Kinshasa in search of our mother.

My motivation for modeling comes from the pain of missing my mother and from those who discriminate against me because of my color. I am showcasing versatility through my modeling images and representing the beauty and love of my parents.

Thank you for having me!

To learn more about Samar Khoury, visit her website at http://www.2facegemini.com/, or on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/internationalmodelsamarkhoury. 

Imagine you wake up one day and feel a lump in your breast. It bothers you, but your doctor says it’s nothing to worry about; it’s just a cyst. You have no family history of breast cancer, so this must be accurate. Then imagine that even so, you still can’t sleep for days because this cyst, that is nothing to worry about, is keeping you up all night. You schedule an appointment for a second opinion only to be told that you have stage two breast cancer. You have a lovely daughter who depends on you; she is only three years old. There are other people who love you. And, worst of all, the man who asked you to marry him now sees this as the perfect opportunity to break up with you. What would you do?

This was exactly Maimah Karmo’s life on February 26, 2006, and she describes it as the day her “whole world flipped.” She even remembers the exact time. It was 4:45 p.m., when life as she knew it came to a brief standstill before rapidly heading in a totally different direction. She had two choices. She could either curl up in a corner and cry herself to sleep day and night, while doing nothing and feeling sorry for herself, or she could fight and turn this negative change into something positive. She chose the second option. And thank God she did, because today several young girls and women are grateful she chose to fight.

Maimah tells how it all happened, and what followed after, best:

“six years ago, something happened to me that ripped my life apart. I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. I had a beautiful 3-year old daughter and my entire life in front of me – or so I thought. With those words, “you have breast cancer”, everything I knew ceased to exist anymore. The world as I knew it was a different reality. I had to learn fast. I had to adapt. I had to figure it all out – I had everything to lose – including my life. While undergoing my second round of chemotherapy, one night, I made a promise to God to give him my life in service. Next morning, my entire life was different, and Tigerlily Foundation was born. Although I was still sick, I felt stronger than I ever had; bolder than I’d ever felt and most of all, I felt a fearlessness about life I’d never known.”

Although Maimah lacked the financial resources to start a foundation, so resolute was her resolve to make a difference that, for two years, she dipped into her own pockets to fund the Tigerlily Foundation. Today, the foundation is well-known as a breast cancer foundation that not only exists to educate, but also provides personal assistance and services to breast cancer patients before, during and after treatment. Knowing first-hand what the journey entails, Maimah wanted her focus to be people-centered.

With services such as the buddy bags program, providing meals and financial assistance to patients and their families during cancer treatment, Tigerlily’s existence has become about more than just being another breast cancer foundation focused on research and awareness. It exists to love and care for the women while they are still here and alive, struggling to make meaning of their diagnosis and all that goes along with it.  The foundation also offers services such as the Chemobuddy Program which provides volunteers to drive patients to and from treatments, or to just support them with calls, visits and cards.  That’s the part I love the most about Tigerlily Foundation – the aspect of the human touch.

Tigerlily Foundation was founded in November 2006, after Maimah’s second round of treatment, just eleven months after her diagnosis, and it has been thriving ever since. In May 2008, the foundation held its first fundraiser and has since reached out to over 7000 young girls and women, educating them about breast cancer. In 2009, Maimah was invited to speak at the Capitol Hill where she introduced the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young (EARLY) Act. She was also honored by L”Oreal Paris at its 4^th Annual Women of Worth Awards. In 2010, she was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women. The committee, which was established by the Affordable Care Act, will work to develop initiatives to increase knowledge of breast health and breast cancer, particularly among women under the age of 40 and those at higher risks for developing the disease. In 2011, Maimah was honored at the Running Start’s 5^th Annual Women to Watch Awards. She has also been featured in prominent publications and on TV networks across the United States.

Maimah Karmo has lived more in the years after her diagnosis with stage-two breast cancer and the treatments that followed than she ever lived in the years before. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that she is now living her life in service to others, bringing smiles to long drawn, tearful faces and planting hope where there once was none but fear and doubt.  She has impacted lives!

Sometimes, it takes drastic measures to wake us up from our slumber. And many times, it is needed. For Maimah it woke her up to her potential, and today she is grateful to have lived through the pain and awareness, and she “would not give back the experience.” Her soon to be released memoir, Fearless: Awakening to My Life’s Purpose through Breast Cancer (book launch is on October 24 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC), chronicles her journey from Liberia, as a refugee, to the United States, her diagnosis of breast cancer, watching her life fall apart, and how she learned that the biggest challenges can be gifts.

But while breast cancer awakened in Maimah her life’s purpose, it also awakened in her a deeper realization:

“I realized that my cancer wasn’t just about my body and the awful cells that threatened to destroy it. Cancer starts to permeate our lives long before we even know it exists. It can affect our minds at youth, it permeates unhealthy relationships, it keeps us in jobs that make us miserable, it keeps us in unhealthy battles with food, weight and body image. Life cancer can take away your peace and infiltrates your life, so that you are no longer the confident, strong, fearless individual that was born into the world. So many people are afraid of cancer – as I was and to an extent still am at times; but the thing that I fear most is not living and merely existing. That is a sure and slow death. So, the morning my life changed, I made a vow to live as loudly as possible. I would jump into the things that made me afraid, I would risk everything to feel, to live and to love. Most of all, I would be fully present in life and give of myself so that others may have the incredible joy I feel every day of my life.”

What powerful words from a fearless woman who did not allow life’s challenges and fears to keep her from living up to her full potential of touching lives and making a difference in her community. She is truly an Afrikan Goddess!

To learn more about this fearless and courageous woman, visit her website at http://www.maimahkarmo.com. To learn more about Tigerlily Foundation, visit http://www.tigerlilyfoundation.org. And to learn more about her upcoming book launch, to RSVP and to purchase a copy of her memoir Fearless, visit http://maimahkarmo.com/book.html.

She describes it as a quiet day towards the end of May 2005. That was the day Sylvie Maunga Mbanga’s life was changed forever. What started as a quiet day at the office soon turned into an afternoon of chaos. It began with a phone call from a friend. “The war is coming!” He yelled. He asked for Sylvie and everyone to get the office and stay put, but they were already in the office – unaware of what was happening on the outside. Minutes later, Sylvie received another call. This one was a desperate call from her close friend, Ann-Marie. This call led Sylvie towards her apartment building across town. What transpired as the minutes and hours ticked by is something no one should ever have to live through.

There were several close encounters with death throughout Sylvie’s attempt to escape to safety, from her office to her apartment to meet Ann-Marie, to Ann-Marie’s family home. Yet none of the encounters were as chilling as the one Sylvie recounts about what happened at Ann-Marie’s plush manor house in a quiet suburb of Bukavu.

Huddled in a room in the home, Sylvie and Ann-Marie listened to the approach of the militia soldiers. Upon their arrival, they rounded up the women in the surrounding compounds and ordered them to undress. Then they heard the crack of a gun, a child’s scream at the sight of losing his mother to a bullet, and, eventually, footsteps headed in their direction. They knew they were next. What happened in the minutes that followed was simply an ACT of God. Sylvie still cannot explain what made the soldier stop turning the door handle to the room in which they were desperately clinging to each other for dear life. The two of them had said their prayers; they begged God for a miracle and assured each other that “today is not our day to die,” even if their eyes said they only hoped today was not their day to die.

Two years later, Sylvie would be assigned to the Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation’s (ICCO) new office in Bukavu. Her new workplace would be inside what was once Ann-Marie’s family home and her office would be that same room in which she once huddled and prayed for God to spare her life. Sylvie was beyond words when she realized where she ended up that day. However, she did not let fear and hauntings of the past hold her from taking the position as the new program coordinator for ICCO’s anti-sexual violence program.

As program coordinator of the anti-sexual violence program, Sylvie has committed her time to working with survivors of sexual assault who were not as lucky as she was. As a trained lawyer, she works to ensure social justice and equality are paramount in her community, especially for women. Sylvie’s main focus is to assist the survivors and to lobby the local legal and social systems to be better proactive in their prevention methods and in their responses to sexual abuse victims and war survivors. However, in a place like Congo, the challenges are many. 70% of the women in some parts of the country are rape victims. Many of them are afraid to name their perpetrators and some are afraid for anyone to even find out that they have been raped. The courts are not that effective either. All this can be frustrating when other challenges such as lack of resources and traditional beliefs are thrown in, but Sylvie has devoted her life to doing what it takes to make sure that things change for the better. She remains defiantly optimistic.

And things have changed since 2005. And thank God, things are continuing to change. It is Sylvie’s dream that the Congolese people would find a way to become a unified nation, one that works together towards the good of themselves and of each other. For now, it is safe to say that her work has not been, and will not be, in vain and that the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo will definitely find a way to work towards progress and stabillity for the good of all.

Click this link to read a production blog Sylvie wrote for an episode of Law & Order Special Victim’s Unit.

Please tell me a little bit about yourself. Who is Koketso Moeti?

I would describe myself as someone who is very aware, not only of what is happening directly to me, but beyond my circle of association too. I am a lover of current affairs, books and an aspiring writer. I am also a dreamer and a believer. I believe that we can create a world that is much kinder and compassionate

I am a woman. To me this goes beyond mere gender. I see is as a role and I take it quite seriously as a South African because it bears a lot of implications. It is also the foundation from which my other roles such as that of mother are built. I love life and the challenges it brings – as well as the uncertainty of what the next day holds, it gives me quite a thrill.

What inspired you to create ROOIGROND? Was there a particular event that led you to establish this wonderful organization? What does ROOIGROND mean?

ROOIGROND is an Afrikaans word, meaning ‘red ground’. It is what the area was named by the Afrikaans regime which ruled South Africa, prior to our democracy in 1994.

There is no particular event. The establishment of Operation: ROOIGROND came about because I have always believed that there are many ways that one can make a meaningful difference. This coupled with my interest in the human mind and human behaviour led me to this field. Looking around me and even my own personal experiences drove me to believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way things are done and that there is something I can do to change things.

What is the mission of ROOIGROND?

Operation: ROOIGROND is about facilitating positive change in the community of the ROOIGROND Informal Settlement; by utilising education and knowledge as a means to alleviating poverty; eradicating substance abuse; unplanned pregnancies and the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well as encouraging the formation of partnerships between the community and others. It is also a beautiful way of allowing the community to explore the endless ways in which they can help themselves.

The aim of this project is to establish a library in the community, to provide the community with a place where they can study, gain knowledge, and have access to information. This is a very important part of eradicating the problems in the area and breaking the negative cycles. I believe this will encourage learning and will grant access to information that will lead to a mental shift within the community.

We also aim to have a fully functioning community centre. This centre will be utilised for educational sessions that will cover topics such as substance abuse, family planning, HIV/AIDS and many other issues that are problems in the community. It will also serve as a rape counseling centre and fulfill a large number of tasks within the community. The positive consequences of having such a centre in the community include, amongst many others, a decrease in issues affecting the area due to an increase in knowledge about these issues; it will have a positive effect on the self esteem of the community and make a positive impact on their self determination, as everything undertaken at the centre will be for the purposes of empowering the community.

“ However, Operation: Rooigrond goes beyond building a library and facilitating positive change. It is about making a difference, bringing hope where there’s none. It is about lighting up a spark in people’s lives, a spark which they in turn would carry to another person leading to a fire within the community; which is bound to spread out and reach society at large.”

Describe how your life’s experiences and background have reflected in the work you do at ROOIGROND.

Growing up was rather interesting and impacted on the work I do today. Even as a child, I could see that something was wrong, that the birth of our democracy made very little impact on the lives of many in the former homelands. This coupled with my avid reading compelled me to explore how we can make a better world for all. Often we believe that the only people who can make a difference are the rich, I’ve always believed otherwise, that there are other ways that one can make a meaningful difference and that this should be explored.

You discovered how the use of technological advancements helps to bridge the gap between the voiceless and those with voices, the haves and the have-nots; what else have you discovered about the use of technology in relation to its fight for the causes of the disadvantaged? And do you believe this discovery is fundamental to future progress when it comes to bridging that gap?

It is indeed fundamental. Never before have we had access to information the way we do now. This in turn has increased access to opportunity and a world of knowledge in the form of things that in many ways assist us in creating a more equal society. I do however feel that we are not exploiting this tool to the maximum and still have a long way to go. But, we have already made great strides in this regards – particularly when it comes to mobile technology, which is the most used in Africa.

You must have experienced many setbacks on your journey to making a difference. What challenges have you encountered in building and sustaining the mission and goals of ROOIGROND?

Personally, my biggest challenges have been that many people are not supportive of my work. There is a misconception of it and it is perceived to be ‘anti-government’ or ‘controversial’, rather than ‘pro-people’ and ‘pro-justice’. Also, my work is something I take very seriously, however striking the balance between being a mother and my work is not always the easiest thing to do. Professionally, it has been a serious lack of resources and the constant need to build capacity within to ensure the greater impact of our programme.

How does ROOIGROND benefit the cause of women and children in particular?

By empowering the community women have been able to learn about the range of public services available to them at no cost, as well as how to access these services – such as social services grants, protection orders, and citizen registration documents such as IDs, amongst many more. This in turn has empowered their families as a whole.

Also, with regards to children, we have successfully established an Early Learning Centre which serves to not only provide an early childhood education to children who would otherwise be without- but also provides them with a place of safety and access to stimulating material they would otherwise never be able to access. It is also a place that serves as a Homework centre in the afternoon, a place where children can come for meals and be at in case of emergency.

African women such as yourself are increasingly getting involved and speaking up about the issues that affect them and their communities, what are your dreams for the role women play in South Africa and in Africa in general?

At the grassroots level I find that it is women who are organising their communities and creating positive change. I strongly believe that what women are doing on the ground is evidence of our ability to lead effectively and efficiently. However, it is time for us to move beyond grassroots level, to go up in ranks where we can influence policy and address the challenges women face in ways that only a woman can. I would love to see women move beyond the ‘token’ positions held by many in government to positions of greater authority. We need our women to be presidents and govern our countries.

What is the best way you believe Afrikan Goddess readers can assist ROOIGROND achieve its goals?

By liking our page on http://facebook.com/orooigrond and following us on Twitter on @ORooigrond. These are but a few of the means we use to access information. We are always trying to access information that will assist in the development of the programme and the community. We also welcome views on how we can improve our programme and any other input too.

Just for fun, name 2 African women you admire the most, and why.

This is a tricky one, because I’ve always been exposed to many strong women in my life. From my own mother and grandmother to the wonderful group of women making up the Operation: ROOIGROND team and those who assist our work so much. I have also been exposed to many other great women in South Africa and beyond and selecting only two is impossible.

However I will say this, my experiences with these women has largely contributed to my using the word woman as a synonym for strength and courage.

Finally, is there anything you would like to share with readers that I may have neglected to ask?

Yes. Apart from Operation: ROOIGROND, I am also the South African Correspondent of Safe World (Please see http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/about/the-ngo/correspondents/koketso-moeti.html), which allows me to share news affecting women and children on the ground. Too often the plight of the rural and marginalised, as well as their stories of hope and victory, are ignored and this has given me a platform from which to share such stories and raise awareness of the challenges faced.

I also serve as the Provincial Coordinator of the North-West branch of the South African NGO Coalition (SANGOCO North-West). This has provided me with a platform from which to connect and serve in the province as a whole, a challenge I really have come to enjoy and love. It is also the means through which I fund the Operation: ROOIGROND administration costs and also allows me to reach further for the purposes of sharing the experiences of women in South Africa. I love my work and consider myself to be blessed beyond to be doing what I love and what I want to be doing.  

For more information about Operation: ROOIGROND or, for ways in which you can become involved, or if you just want to reach out to Koketso Moeti, visit http://facebook.com/orooigrond

Please tell us a little bit about Mariama Camara-Petrolawicz. Who is she?

My name is Mariama Mounir Camara-Petrolawicz and I currently reside in New York City. I am an entrepreneur, a humanitarian activist, writer and Co-Founder of There Is No Limit Foundation. I am also a voice of Guinea and of women and children worldwide. Advocacy is a passion. I raise awareness about issues of women and children empowerment, education, entrepreneurship, health, sanitation, and access to water through my organization There Is No Limit Foundation.

I was born in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. I am originally from the Nalou tribe of Boke. I am the fifth of eight children. My father is a politician and my mother is an entrepreneur. I feel lucky to have educated parents who were willing and are still willing to give up anything and everything in order to ensure a successful and safe future for their children. However, even their love could not protect me from the hardships I faced in my life. The issues I faced groomed me to be a better person; I would not change my life story. I feel blessed to be surrounded by an amazing and supportive family and great friends.

What inspired you to create There Is No Limit Foundation? Was there a particular moment that led to the birth of your foundation?

My sister Aissata M.B. Camara and I started There Is No Limit Foundation out of passion and because of our personal experiences. We believe every individual has a right to live in dignity and security and we wanted to create an organization that promoted these ideals. Our parents also played a big role because they taught us to give back at an early age. As children, we witnessed their role in helping the community. Our home was always open to others and we often accompanied our parents on humanitarian visits. My father and mother helped raise countless number of children who today are successful in their own rights.

All of these experiences continuously created an urge and need to help others. After years of discussing the potential of creating a non-profit organization, we finally took the “plunge” and created There Is No Limit Foundation in 2008. We wanted the organization to be a testament to the resilience and strength of individuals.

How has your life’s experiences and background translated into the work you do at There Is No Limit Foundation?

My experiences are vital to my work with There Is No Limit Foundation. Because of the issues I faced, I am a better advocate for women and children. My sister and I experienced some of the issues we are fighting against; therefore, we understand how important it is to end them.

I am also able to relate to the people we help because we have lived similar lives and they can relate to me because they see there is hope. They understand I am speaking from a place of understanding and love.

My professional career is also important to my work at There Is No Limit Foundation. I started my career as a model and also worked as a make-up artist and public relations agent. These careers enabled me to create lasting networks which I now use to strengthen our work.

Our work is very attuned to our experiences whether personal or professional. I am always willing to learn from others and I enjoy volunteering and experiencing new things. These traits help me lead There Is No Limit Foundation because we always seek innovative new solutions to problems. We are a responsive organization and we believe it is our duty to understand and evaluate our experiences so we can be of service to those who need it most.

Why is your tool of choice for fighting global poverty and gender inequality microfinance? In addition, give us an overview of the work your foundation does.

There Is No Limit Foundation is a movement of people who believe they have no limits and who strive to move mountains and continue to fight even when they are pushed down. Our mission is to empower communities through education and sustainable development; our focus is especially on women and children because we believe they are key allies in creating empowered communities. We run programs that enable us to fulfill our mission.

We chose our current areas of focus because we believe they are key to creating and maintaining sustainable, healthy and stable communities. We work in the areas of agriculture, water and sanitation, education, entrepreneurship and micro-finance. Ultimately, our goal is to empower communities to work together in order to tackle the issues they face.

We work holistically to fight problems at their root. Let us examine poverty as an example; poverty is at the root of all social problems. Gender inequality exists in many communities because parents are often very poor and they must make hard decisions in order to ensure the family’s survival. In the case of education, they often must make the difficult choice of sending only one child to school. Unfortunately, the choice is often not in favor of women and girls.

By economically empowering women, we are working to end poverty and gender equality at the same time. Moreover, we are ensuring that families are safe and healthy.

In a society and culture where patriarchy is the norm, what do you think is needed for Africa to incorporate human rights for women? In addition, why is women’s rights and gender equality an important issue to tackle?

Women empowerment is a crucial issue to tackle. Women are the backbone of societies and we literally shape the future because we are the ones raising children. We cannot expect to have a good future as a society and a continent if our women are being abused and neglected.

I believe that women empowerment must be a partnership. There is a lack of communication among stakeholders which limits the efficiency of programs and movements. We must all work together toward the same cause. We must teach women about their rights and help them participate in the political process. We need to encourage them to vote and to speak out. But we must also make sure we work with men as partners in the cause. We have to help them understand the benefits of empowered women.

What challenges have you encountered in building There Is No Limit Foundation and how have you dealt with these challenges?

One of the main challenges we’ve had as an organization is getting people to understand the need of our community. Most people have never heard of Guinea so they have very little knowledge of the problems there. When we first started in 2008, very few people knew that Guinea existed.

We have worked extremely hard to shed light on the country and its people. Our team has participated in high level meetings including those at the United Nations during which we have advocated for women and children’s rights in Guinea. We have also been featured in the Chronicles of Philanthropy, the leading philanthropy news source. The article enabled us to reach a wider audience which has helped us a lot in talking about the women and children we serve.

Challenges have been learning lessons for us and we have learned to value them because they usually lead to better improvements for the organization.

You currently provide services only in Guinea. Do you have plans to expand into other African countries? If yes, where?

There Is No Limit Foundation is a global organization and our goal is to be in countries with the most needs. We are currently strategically analyzing other countries for expansion.

African women are increasingly getting involved and speaking up about the issues that affect them. What are your dreams for the role of women in Africa and the state of Africa in general?

My dream for African women is simple. I want to see African women free and happy. I want African women to have the same opportunities as men and I want them to feel safe in their homes, cities, countries and most importantly in their bodies. I want to see more African women leaders and entrepreneurs. I want us to be more involved both nationally and globally. I want us to speak for ourselves, to tell our own stories of survival. I want to see my mothers, sisters and daughters smile because we carry so many burdens and we deserve to be acknowledged.
I dream of a sustainable Africa; I want us to rely on our own skills to develop the continent. I want more unity and transparency on the continent and less reliance on aid.

What are the best ways for Afrikan Goddess readers to assist your organization? What are some of your organization’s most pressing needs and how can our readers support you?

The best way to support There Is No Limit Foundation is by joining our movement to bring powerful and innovative change to our world, to Africa, and to women and children. We are not just an organization we are a movement, a vision, and we want everyone to support us in improving the lives of communities.

We welcome every help and encourage everyone to engage with us. You can join us on our social media pages and spread the word about our work. You can also donate to our current campaign to bring clean water and food to the community of Kamba, Guinea. There Is No Limit Foundation is not only me, or my sister. There Is No Limit Foundation is all of us.

Finally, if you were not involved with There Is No Limit Foundation, what would you be doing? In other words, what other passions resonate with you?

It is hard to imagine what I would do if I was not involved with There Is No Limit Foundation. The organization is such a big part of my life and I love the cause so much. I am grateful to God to have the opportunity to do other things as well. I love writing, dancing and fashion; I am multi-talented. I am an entrepreneur. I operate other businesses and recently collaborated with my siblings to create Guinea Fashion Week which was a great success. I have more businesses in the pipeline as well. I remain forever grateful because I know others do not have the same opportunities and I fight because I want other women and children to have the freedom of choosing their destinies.

For more information about There is No Limit Foundation, or for ways in which you can become involved, or if you just want to reach out to the founders of this wonderful organization, visit http://www.thereisnolimitfoundation.org

MacDella Cooper was born in Monrovia, Liberia, a country on the Western coast of Africa best known for one of the continent’s worst civil wars. Over 250,000 people lost their lives and families to that war, including MacDella’s stepfather.

Her biological parents divorced before MacDella was born, but her mother remarried a wonderful man who helped raise her. Her early childhood and teenage years in Liberia can best be described as privileged. Her family was among Monrovia’s professional class – her stepfather, an attorney, worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and her mother, a nurse, assisted surgeons. Life included daily chauffeured rides to a private Baptist school.  

All that would come to a sudden end in June 1990 when civil war broke out in Liberia. A life that was once peaceful and stable was all too soon turned into chaos overnight. MacDella recalls the day her life changed forever: “My front yard became a battlefield. They shot at each other for hours…bombs started to come in from all directions. My next door neighbor’s house was hit. His 3 year-old daughter Ellen was killed instantly,” MacDella recalls this in her journal years later. She was 13 years-old at the time.

In the days that followed the eruption of gunfire, MacDella would see her mother (who had a US passport) and her stepfather’s children leave for the United States. Her stepfather tried desperately to do the best he could to keep his family safe. To those left behind he tried to offer protection and constant assurances that things would soon die down. But they never did. Not for many years afterwards. And not before claiming the lives of a quarter of a million people, destroying the lives of many others and leaving many children homeless and introducing them to violence. MacDella’s stepfather later stepped outside in his position at UNCHR in an attempt to introduce himself to the rebels and explain the UN’s neutral role. He was never heard from or seen again.

Now MacDella and her two brothers needed to decide what they were going to do to stay alive. They joined a stream of refugees fleeing Monrovia to safety and six months later they arrived in the Ivory Coast. But a mother now safely in the United States would never forget her children. She provided for MacDella and her brothers and worked tirelessly to be reunited with them in the United States. That opportunity came in 1993 when MacDella and her brothers arrived in New Jersey. Their biological father, who at the time was a US resident, helped to secure visas for them.

MacDella describes life in Newark, New Jersey as difficult. The ghetto was dangerous.

“Nobody in my family had earned a college degree,” she says, “so despite the odds; I knew that college was my only way out.” Through hard work and determination, MacDella graduated third in a class of 1,200 students and earned a scholarship to the College of New Jersey. In December 2000, she graduated and moved to New York City where she pursued a career in fashion and modeling, working for Jones New York and Ralph Lauren and appearing in Glamour Magazine. MacDella Cooper says she has never looked back. Her life thus far seems to disagree.

While she was living the life she had dreamed would someday be possible, MacDella found it somewhat unsettling. In 2004, she says she prayed and asked God for direction. “He opened my eyes and made me realize the struggle that Africa is still going through. All I saw were the children. They were suffering, and I couldn’t ignore that.”

She immediately sprung into action. She and her friends had been sending clothing, canned goods and personal care products to Liberia long before then, but she knew she had to do more.

That’s when the idea for the MacDella Cooper Foundation (MCF) was born. In 2006, MacDella and her friends started a scholarship fund to help children pursue an education at a school of their choice. Today, MCF is the first tuition-free boarding school to house up to 200 orphans and unwanted children in Liberia. Under MCF, the children receive three nutritious meals a day, and what MacDella calls “a fantastic education, and a chance at a good life.” She visits the children regularly and offers them motherly pearls of wisdom.  By all accounts, she is dedicated to the children.

When MacDella Cooper says she can never imagine walking away from the children, you know she means it. It is in the way she says it – a mother’s fierce love for the ones under her care. This mother is only thirty-five years-old, but that has not stopped her from joining the growing trend of African women taking up the fight for Africa’s future – Africa’s children.

MacDella acknowledges that Africa’s women can (and should) do more to help bring change to the continent. However, she is quick to also acknowledge that women have long been the driving force behind most of the positive changes taking place on the continent. She points, for example, to Liberia’s peace process, and the role women played in electing the country’s first female president.  “African women are strong and are well able to lead every nation on the continent,” she believes, “but our culture norms have set major barricades up to hold women back.” She knows women can do so much more if given the resources and support.

When it comes to dealing with MCF and her own challenges, MacDella admits that things haven’t always been easy. There have been challenging times she has had to overcome. She did, and now she can speak of her children’s future with such contagious assurance that one can only believe that she is more than capable of doing more than she already has. She looks to her own two biological children as sources of inspiration. Just as she can never imagine herself giving up on them, she can never see herself giving up on the children MCF supports.

The foundation is laid when the children come to MCF, but MacDella wants to be certain that it does not end once the children leave. She hopes to see all her students enter credible colleges after they graduate from the Academy. She wants them to be happy and to live honorable and fulfilling lives. She wants them to know normalcy, and to experience love in so many ways. Most of all, she wants to see them become successful, according to God’s standards. “I will hate to see them successful (according to the world’s standard of success) but a failure in the eyes of God” she says, “I am trying to raise honorable boys and girls who will someday become honorable men and women. That is what our world needs now.”

And so in an institution far across the ocean, in a place she once called home, MacDella Cooper finally settled her spirit and laid the ghosts of her past to rest. Children once roaming the streets, no viable future in sight and no guidance within reach can now look to her for all that and so much more. It was like she flew into their lives as silently as she has lived and kept her own life. I’m not sure what you would call that, but I can’t think of a more befitting description than “an angel who heeded the call to lead.”  

To read more about MacDella Cooper and the wonderful work this goddess is doing with the MacDella Cooper Foundation, visit www.macdellacooper.org

Olutosin is the founder of Stop the Abuse of Rights (STAR), a budding NGO headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. She began STAR after she was selected as one of the Voices of our Future candidates by WorldPulse, an international online women’s platform. The mission of STAR is to provide a safer world/environment for poor women and children, something Olutosin is no stranger to. Her life has been full of it, and it all began wth her father’s death. Most often, we are passionate about the things that in some way shape our lives and the way we view the world. For Olutosin, those things are poverty and abuse, especially when the sufferers are women and children.

Born in Owo in the Western part of Nigeria, Olutosin’s life as she describes it was anything but luxurious. She lost her father when she was four years-old and watched her mother struggle to provide a life for her and her siblings. We have seen the pictures, and heard the stories, of women with babies tied to their backs, their bare feet pounding the dusty, graveled roads, loads twice their size balanced on their heads, pressing their necks into their shoulders.

We have heard about the back-breaking work a woman in rural Africa must suffer in order to provide for her children – not counting the days she must go without food so her husband and children can have what barely qualifies as a decent meal. Her days are long, and her nights even longer as she cries for mercy from the harsh life she’s been dealt and the luck she must suffer if it is even faintly rumored that she had something to do with her husband’s untimely death.

It is the life of a poor widowed farmer, thrown out of what was once her marital home, who must now learn how to take her suffering to the next level of trying to survive.

Olutosin watched her mother, as a young girl, never quite understanding the tears that accompanied her struggle to live and to provide for her family. Like many rural women in Africa, Olutosin describes her mother’s industrious nature. She found time to weave local cloths, farm and sell anything that hinted at a promise of earning her just the right amount of money to get by. But Olutosin most remembers her mother for her tears. “I always remember in those days that when our yam remains a tuber, my mother would weep like a baby. Whenever I would ask, she would say, it remains a tuber of yam. I could not correlate how a tuber of yam would make a mother shed tears. May God wipe the tears of every poor widow.” Now a wife and mother herself, Olutosin understands. She still sees it all around her everyday.

She now knows the hardships that come with the burdens society and culture place on women as wives and mothers. She has grown to experience the practices she once thought were normal but which she is now fighting against. As a little girl she thought it was normal that the rules of society said it was okay for a husband to beat his pregnant wife on her bare legs. That was until she was that pregnant woman whose husband was allowed to beat her on her bare legs. That was until the day she says her husband “concentrated his fist on her jaws” because she asked him to hold their baby so she, Olutosin, could get some much needed rest.

As a victim of domestic violence and poverty, her life has become the very thing that propels her on her mission to make a difference in the lives of other women and children. And even though she focuses on widows, she is also passionate about issues that deal with physical and emotional abuse of women and child sexual abuse. To rid society of these evils, she believes education is key, as is the need to eradicate poverty and empower women. 

Through her organization STAR, Olutosin offers training to women on how to build sustainable lives through STAR’s skills acquistion programs for women and girls who have dropped out of school. Through STAR’s empowerment programs, the women and girls learn how to produce tie and dye and knitted wear. To implement these programs, Olutosin says she dipped into her personal savngs, and has learned a few skills along the way – sewng, batik-making, tee-shirts and more – to earn added income to help sustain the program. Through the empowement program, she also encourages girls and women to speak up against abuse and to know that it is never acceptable behavior. She has seen and heard of too many women who have died at the hands of the men in their lives for the situation to be overlooked.

Olutosin is trying! With the little she and the women of STAR make, they try to transform lives – their own and that of others. But, it is still a struggle. To help get by, Olutosin also designs and sells cooking bags in Frestac Town, Lagos. The cooking bag business is something she learned as part of the Moyojasiri training in Advancing Women Entrepreneur Program, a program which teaches women how to become successful entrepreneurs. Finding investors to invest in her cooking bag business is hard to come by, but she is still striving ahead, relying on the skills of survival she learned beginning at a very young age. And even though her proudest moment is yet to come, Olutosin says she celebrates every little success that comes her way. Her most enjoyable moments come when she “sees a genuine smile at the corners of a poor woman’s lips” and realizes that the act of kindness that produced the smile came from her actions and support.

She does not care that some find her a threat to the stability and structure of an illusive society. She knows that the burden of survival is hard on both men and women. She understands that, but she also understands that the problems society places on itself are not by default. Most of society’s problems are man-made and women and children should not have to unneccessarily pay for it. She believes men and women can, and should, “come together to combine their energies and ideas to nurture and develop each other.”

She hopes this will someday become reality for many. She also hopes to see a new Nigeria where everyone is safe and given equal opportunities to prosper. Most of all, she would love to see a Nigeria where women rule – in parliament, in the presidency, and everywhere else where power is held. She is looking into building a rape prevention and crisis center in the near future. The STAR organization is currently working in collaboration with Change A Life, an NGO which supports brilliant children from single parents. Olutosin also uses her spare time to engage in online journalism where she writes articles with the intent of drawing attention to “situations on the ground.”

All of this she does, for the memory and survival of the children who fall asleep hungry while they wait for the stone their mother has thrown onto the fire, having deceived the children into thinking the stone is yam, to cook.

She does this for the woman whose husband, a pastor, beat her to death and later branded her a witch for dying from “a little beating.”

For the young girl who hawks rice at a construction site where she is molested every day. She would sell her rice, while being gropped and fondled and then quickly hurry home to her mother who would send her off the next day to the same site because “the men’s hands do not remove your breast from your chest,” and the family must eat. 

She does this for the women who must raise both hands over their heads, as a sign of respect, even as they try to protect themselves from the blows raining down on them from above by their uncles, husbands, brothers and other male relatives.

But, most importantly, she does it to honor her mother, a brave and courageous woman who never gave up hope in her most trying moments. Thanks to her, she raised a daughter who is determined to make something of herself and of others like her. Her past has not dictated her future, and, considering her somber past, Olutosin has indeed done quite well for herself. With perseverance and a few God-sent friends, she attended and graduated from the University of Lagos. She has a business venture that she loves and hopes to see grow into something profitable to fund her projects and organization. 

Editor’s Note: In her interview (which was quite extensive), Olutosin pointed out the need for fund assistance to register STAR with the Corporate Afairs Commission. She also mentioned the desire to build a rape prevention and crisis center and a house and farmland for poor women, widows and children. She recounted several stories of the horrors she has seen and heard from the women she caters to and any help they can get will be greatly appreciated. If you wish to help Olutosin and STAR, please contact Olutosin at: ruthtosin_oladosu@yahoo.com, or contact Afrikan Goddess Magazine editor at: editor@afrikangoddessmag.com. Together we can help make a difference!

Have you ever paused from your busy

Sheila Opoku-Agyeman is soft-spoken and gentle, but you don’t have to strain your ears in order to hear the compassion in her voice. It is a compassion that is clearly stated in the mission statement of the organization she founded in 2010, and of which she serves as its President and CEO. The mission statement of Sweet Hope International is Biblical. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being populated by the world (NIV).” It is the mission of Sweet Hope International to demonstrate love, care and concern for orphans by visiting and taking care of orphans through the provision of food, clothing, toys and books. And every year for the last five years, Sheila has made it her mission to make trips to Ghana to do just that – to demonstrate love, care and concern for orphans, providing them with food, clothing, toys and books.

Sheila Opoku Agyeman was born in Ghana, West Africa in 1979. She moved to the United States when she was ten years-old and has since become an American. But, becoming an American through lifestyle change, thought process, and an acquired citizenship has not stopped her from loving the country of her birth. Through regular visits to Ghana, Sheila has kept in touch with family. According to her, those visits back home were always fun and something to look forward to, but as the years passed by, the fun became mundane. She realized she wanted those visits to mean more than just a fun vacation. She wanted them to be productive and purpose-filled.

It was during a flight en route to Ghana from Liberia, in 2006, that Sheila says things eventually became clear. She had been to Liberia on a missions trip. On the trip back to Ghana, something that had been stirring inside of her for some time suddenly became something stronger than just random thoughts. She knew she wanted to make a difference in some way. Her love of children would lead her to consider opening up an orphanage. But, as she considered that mission, she realized that doing so would be counterproductive. There were already a few orphanages in Ghana that she knew of, she had even visited a few and noticed their deplorable states. So instead, she decided it would be best, and probably more sensible, to help fund the ones that already exist.

Sheila became seriously involved in orphanage visits and funding in 2007. However, Sweet Hope International did not become an official non-profit organization until March 2010. Sheila laughs as she shares the story behind the name Sweet Hope International, Inc. To explain this, she throws in a few Akan words that go to show that this lady has indeed kept in touch with her roots despite her long stay in the United States. Her “ofie din,” as Ghanaians call it, is “Sweetie”. Every Ghanaian worth their salt has an “ofie din.” (Ofie din loosely translated means house name). It is the name given a person, and used mostly, by their family. Very few, except those very close to you, get to know or use it. Outside at school she may have been called Sheila, but the moment she stepped inside the compound of her house, she was mostly referred to as Sweetie. Revealing this “ofie din” makes us both giggle because we know the implications behind such a name. Sheila says she always knew that name was given to her because she was “created to bring sweetness into the lives of others.” It is true what they say. A person’s name most often is a reflection of their inner spirit, and Sheila definitely is living out her name. She added “International” to the name of the organization because she refuses to limit her dreams. Sheila sees a great future for Sweet Hope International. She already partners with the Home of Love Orphanage, a Ugandan based home for orphaned children, to assist the Cherubs Orphanage in Kumasi in Ghana. Sweet Hope International has adopted 46 children to date, 16 of whom are currently being sponsored by individuals through Sweet Hope International.

In September 2010, Sheila spent a day at the Cherubs Orphanage Home in Kumasi observing the children and interacting with them about their lives, dreams and their needs. Although the children are well-taken care of by those who run the home, there are also needs that must be provided to make their lives even easier. The children range in ages from six months to their early twenties and to many of them, this will be the only home they ever know. To them, someone like Sheila is that distant aunt who visits once a year bearing gifts of things they need – clothing, shoes, bedsheets, sanitary pads for the older girls, and other necessities – but for Sheila, her greatest joy is in knowing that these children are well-fed and happy when they lay their heads to sleep at night. She knows they need help and she does her best to provide that help. And she is very much aware of the distrust that exists among Africans when it comes to such causes, and so she is sure to share frequent updates of her trips on the organization’s facebook page. It is also the main reason why she founded Sweet Hope International – for legitimacy. Someone has to do it, and if in her own small way, making trips back home means a visit to see the external family she has supported for over five years, out of her own earnings, then she is willing to make that sacrifice because she is practicing her religion in a “pure and faultless way” by “demonstrating love, care and concern for orphans in their distress.”

To learn more about Sweet Hope International, Inc. and ways you can be of help, visit the organization homepage at www.sweethopeinternational.org or on their facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Hope-International-Inc/107655582657887