Safari Notes

The first post-colonial independent Black-led nation in the world. The only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. The only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. And one of  poorest country in the world and it is the most impoverished country in the Western hemisphere, where about 80% of its population live below the poverty line. That is Haiti . View Larger Map Haiti: a country that, for decades, has been ruled by dictators and despots. When we think of the words 'voodoo', 'zombies' and 'Tontons Macoutes' - Haiti comes to mind. Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who ruled Haiti with an iron fist for 14 years, was delighted when US President John F Kennedy, on whom it is said the mad Doc had placed a curse, was assassinated on 22 November 1963. A country that has experienced military coups, UN sanctions and other tragedies such as severe storms and flooding - is now facing its worst moment.

With the fiasco at Copenhagen , we now know that world leaders can not do much when it comes to Climate Change and other like problems that face humanity. Most world leaders are politicians who are more swayed by votes and economics than by doing what is right for humanity. The more powerful the leaders, the more they seem to be more interested in votes and economic profits. But each of us and independent organizations and other world bodies can do much to change the World for the better. And that is what Google is doing : Google.org uses Google's strengths in information and technology to build products and advocate for policies that address global challenges . Apart from joining the climate express to reverse Climate Change,  see and support what Google is doing to make our Planet a better place for us and our children. There are a number of other organizations that are doing much to positively impact people and our World. The Greenbelt Movement , the Grameen Foundation , th

"We are all Maldivians", so said the forty-two year old President of the Maldives: Mohammed Nashid. How right he is. Indeed we are all Maldivians ; and we are all Bangladeshis. Maldives is sinking. If sea levels continue to rise, the Maldives will be no more; its survival is truly at stake. And so are the Islands of Tuvalu and the Solomon. Should Copenhagen fail, no country will be spared the repercussion of failure in Copenhagen. Water. It is central to what climate change is doing. Sea levels are rising. Mountain glaciers, from the Kilimanjaro to the Alps, from the Andes to the Himalayas - are melting. Both Arctic and Antarctic, could all melt. Droughts, storms and flooding will wreak havoc in many places; they already are doing just that. Already we know of the many horrors due to storms, floods and droughts: the devastating floods and disappearing grazing lands in Bangladesh, India, Darfur and in many other parts of the world, have brought intense suffering and misery t

John Garang After only a few weeks after becoming Sudan's vice-president and after about six months after signing a peace treaty with the North in Kenya, Dr. John Garang de Madiobor (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was killed in a helicopter crash in late July, 2005. A Dinka, the sixth child of a poor family of seven siblings - 5 brothers and 2 sisters, Garang was orphaned before his teens; due to the conflict in Southern Sudan, he went Tanzania for his secondary school and then on to the US for college and a B.A in economics; then returned to Tanzania for further studies. Later, he returned to America and got his Masters degree and then a Ph.D. after writing a thesis on the agricultural development of Southern Sudan. In the 1970s, Garang joined the Sudanese army and rose to be a lieutenant colonel. In 1983, he started leading the southern Sudan People's Liberatin Army (SPLA) against the northern government forces; this Second Sudanese War lasted for about 21 years and

At last: Uganda bans female genital mutilation! Last Thursday, the Ugandan parliament unanimously passed a bill banning the very risky and cruel circumcising of females . Unlike Kenya, circumcision, both for males and females, is not widely practiced in Uganda. Anyone convicted of the practice, which involves removing all or part of the female genitalia, will face 10 years in jail or a life sentence if a victim dies. Eastern Uganda is where the cruel, traditional rite is practiced most. Female circumcision is practiced in many parts of Africa and Asia. Reasons given for the practice vary from place to place. They include : Sexual: to control or reduce female sexuality. Sociological: for example, as an initiation for girls into womanhood, social integration and the maintenance of social cohesion. Hygiene and aesthetic reasons: where it is believed that the female genitalia are dirty and unsightly. Health: in the belief that it enhances fertility and child survival. Religious reas

Biofuels are produced from plants and plant-derived materials. They reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions when used to power engines, cars and other road vehicles. Can biofuels be the answer to a greener and more sustainable future for our Planet? With huge oil reserves lying under it , Uganda is still going after greener energy resources. It has embarked on a project to test the viability of biodiesel from jatropha, a drought resistant crop : The government energy policy advocates increased research and use of modern renewable energy sources which it expects to increase from the current four per cent to 61 per cent of the total energy consumption by 2017. The East African A mature jatropha tree can produce three kilos of seeds annually and continues to yield for up to 40 years. An acre of land can take up to 1,000 trees of jatropha. AllAfrica Unlike: wheat, corn, oil palm, sugar cane, sugar beet and soy - which would only bring more misery than good if used to

I spent most of my childhood in Northern Uganda; and still regularly spend time in Uganda. While growing up - be it in Lango or Acholi, not once did I witness any homosexual tendency or behavior . Boys and men grew up as men - we learnt from an early age, that handshakes have to be firm. No holding hands or hugging or touching or kissing between boys or men; that was unthinkable and impossible. Any one who has been in Northern Uganda, would know that even women there are masculine in many ways. They are strong; a woman can ride a bicycle with a baby strapped on her back and more load carried on the back of the bicycle; with no problem at all. In Kenya, it is the same. Most of my youth and early manhood was with Luos. They too are very similar to Northern Ugandans. Masculine; Luo women are masculine too. It is only when I visited and later lived on the coast of Kenya, that I openly saw homosexuals. I even saw homosexual prostitutes in Mombasa. I was shocked and was rather nauseated.