SOCCER IS BETTER THAN OTHER SPORTS.

Soccer in our community can be harnessed as a tool for youth development. Africa has lots of talent (raw material) but this talent is left at its own devices to develop itself. Without proper investment and timely intervention to promote youth soccer many youngsters will not acquire the necessary skills and attitude require for one to be successful. They may be many of the likes of Didier Drogba in our communities, but they may not be as lucky to be discovered early on.

Soccer has proven itself to be very instrumental in promoting integration, peace, harmony and love for humanity. It plays a very important role in our communities in terms of preventing violence among the youth and general community. In some countries such Ghana, Brasil, South Africa, Congo, Zambia and Argentine soccer is encouraged as a tool for community development. Soccer is used to help economically disadvantaged youth to acquire some technical skills and convert what was meant to be enjoyed in the streets by the local people into national and international assets for investment.

The South Africa Football Association together with the government and business created a wonderful platform for development when the FIFA 2010 Soccer World was hosted for the first time in Africa. Opportunities for children and youth living in poverty stricken regions got to see legends, managers and sponsors promoting of soccer in their respective localities. Therefore, soccer is effectively a power tool to mobilize the private and partnership for positive development.

IT IS A POOR IDEA TO LIE TO YOURSELF.

It is easy to cheat yourself because you have no pride or personality. If you have the fear of God you will develop love and fear of the person. You will also refrain from cheating anybody including yourself.

Are you not comfortable in your own skin? This part of critical thinking evokes a greater responsibility and informed choice that one has to make to live in harmony with others. Some of the factors that cause disharmony, disunity and personal pain come from within us. The fact that people would assert or impose their identity “I am a man” can cause a lot of harm and is a potential danger to other human beings.

Being a man carries a huge responsibility to yourself, your family, your community and the world over.  Sometime, the assertion that one is a man is part of escaping the responsibility of being a “real’ man who has a responsibility within the society.  It should be the people who see you as a man rather than you imposing that on them.

Gross human rights abuse, gender violence, domestic violence and many exploitative practices directed at women and children are often committed by those whose status as men should be known all the time. They tend to hide their own insecurities by hurting others. Does hurting people instead of loving them cleanse the evil spirit from your heart?  

Untruthfulness, dishonesty and lies or making vows that you do know to be false is dangerous to one’s conscience. It creates a rot that runs through the bone marrow of the society. Today, we are confronted with many shocking discoveries about the behaviour of children. They learn that from people whom we consider to be dishonest and unfaithful. Everyone is urged to redesign and reconfigure his or her mentality.

image source:www: babyborn.com/google.com .12mtl

LIFE IS VERY HARD

Have you ever noticed how some other things you do never seem to change no matter what you seem to do? One would have hoped that all the African children would taken an example from their leaders who suffered a lot for the liberation of Africa. These leaders are Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Laurent Kabila, Robert Mugabe, Nelson Mandela, Muammar Qaddafi, Sekou Toure,  Samora Machel, Oliver Tambo, Henrique Nzita Tiago, Eduardo Dos Santos, Jonas Savimbi, Agostinho Neto, Steve Biko, Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, John Nkomo, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Hosni Mubarak, Albert Luthuli, Omar Bongo, King Shaka, Sam Mujoma, Martin Luther King Junior, Kenneth Kaunda, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Marcus Garvey, General Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar  Jean-Bedel Bokassa and many more.

Jesus Chris died on the cross for the people of the world to be liberated from sin. Jesus paved the way and many of African leaders followed in the service of the people.  Today, it is easy to find people complaining that life is hard whereas they have not taken the cue from their selfless leaders who have through hell to safeguard the African history.

The African leaders stood firm for the education of the children of revolution because they have learnt that education is the best provision for old age according to Aristotle. What has happened to our youth? Why are they disrespecting the elderly? When will they learn to deal humbly, respectfully and courteously with the older generation? How will they learn from the elderly if they continue antagonising, abusing, insulting and alienating them in their lives?

We should learn from the conventional wisdom or “common sense” that our problems are stem from ignoring the African values, philosophies, customs, beliefs and traditions. As children of revolution we need to change the status quo but not at the expense of the African people and African wisdom.  

Image source: www: digitalcongo.net

THE SOUND OF ONE HAND CLAPPING

In my entire life, I have never heard only one-hand clapping. That would be a mystery. Everybody knows that it is two hands that do the clapping. As the thought of one hand clapping may not make any sense, in Africa, full of idiomatic expressions and proverbs that too could have a meaning.

If one can fold his fingers and clinch his fist without going all the way to the palm or clip the folded fingers with the thumb, one can produce a beautiful sound when hitting against the face of the drum. I do not think words can describe the sound of one hand. One cannot play a piano and produce a profound melody using one hand, but it is simply possible with the African drum.

In many quarters of the African continent the sound of a clapping hand on the drum is called “ingoma” (a song) or “tambour” in French. What is music to the eyes of Africans made from a clapping of one hand may mean something else in other parts of the known world.   Half clinched fist is associated with melody whereas a fully clinched fist is associated with power. In South Africa the majority of people who support the liberation movements would shout Amandla! (All power!) The response would be “Ngawethu!” (It is ours!). This basically, means that power belongs to the people.

The philosophy of one hand clapping can mean hitting somebody in the face with the purpose of either waking them up or punishing them for what they have done wrong or making someone listen. They are many inferences that can be drawn. However, when clapping a drum it can be very symbolic in Africa. This could mean dancing, joy, happiness, wedding ceremonies, sadness, sending message, performance of certain rituals, invitation to meetings, waking people up or enlightening them about something. There are many reasons why drums were played in Africa.

 Source image: www.ngomaafrica.com

PREPARATION IS A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS.

Success is normally defined as the process of achieving the set goals. However, success should be viewed also as the by-product in the event where people fail to plan and prepare because they would reap what they have sown. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Jerome Amisi, 87 a year old Congolese gentlemen who was married with 17 children, 27 grandchildren and 40 great grandchildren died in 2011 after managing only Grade 8 studies. He felt at 78 he needed to go to school. He started in Grade R, which came in as a great shock to many in the French speaking countries.

Amisi did well in his studies, but age caught up with him. He could not walk. He could not see. So, he could not read his books which he loved so much. He died living a great example of dedication and imagination.

The new generation needs to look at the life of Jerome Amisi and draw some lessons. One might be equipped with natural intelligence, which made Jerome a great father and grandfather, but having not gone to school might have been an emptiness he suffered throughout his entire life. Preparation is the way to reach the point of a good success in life. It could be financially, physically, psychosocially and mentally beneficial.

To gain or develop high self-esteem it takes courage and cultivation. Jerome is a testimony to that. Because Amisi was a great visionary he left a good example of effective strategic planning. God wanted to use Jerome to teach us that school is a good preparatory ground for ones brain so that young people should not to waste time as they might not be as lucky as Jerome Amisi.

Image:https://www.google.co.za/search?q=image%20of%20an%20happy%20family&hl

NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST.

Many horrible things have happened in our lives day in and out. Death and sickness might be part of our lives, but we are all afraid because of our lives are in a continual wander. Our souls are searching through the myriad spheres of earth. Life is full of problems.

When Princess Diana died in a horrible accident, the entire universe came to a standstill. Everybody wondered. Questions were asked, and most of which never got any response to them. Every day in our little corners, we experience death. We lose loved one due to illnesses that could not be accounted for. We lose our princesses and princes.

Maria de Lolo, an HIV positive young, intelligent and vibrant woman from Uvira in DRC died of an unknown illness carried through by an insect that lives in a thick rainy forest.  Her death came as a relief to some local authority as she was a thorn in the flesh - criticising them on the grounds of poor health conditions, corruption and maladministration. As she was born in the royal family, she had been opposed to their style of leadership.

However, many poor villagers cried over her death. Eric Katula, Coordinator of the Uvira Yetu, an NGO that takes care of the sick and homeless, said “tulipotesa leader wetu. tusaidiyane batu na batu” (we have lost a leader. It time to stand up and help ourselves). 

To lose a great visionary in the stature of Maria de Lolo is painful and has to stop. Maria has been a pillar of strength for the poor of the poorest in DRC.  Therefore, government, medical researchers, donors and philanthropists should speed up the process of identifying and supplying drugs to deal with many dangerous illnesses in the tropical region of Africa.

Image: http://www.city-data.com/forum/members/raven-firespell-575246-albums-pictures-pic30203-not-   all-who-wander-lost.html

'' PLEASE HIV AND AIDS DON'T KILL ME''

HIV/AIDS does not kill people, but people kill themselves with ignorance. Everyday this monotonous message is getting drummed across, “a human being must be aware that HIV and AIDS kill people at any time. So stop playing around. Watch out!”

Africa has become famous for many HIV related deaths to an extent that you often hear people praying and begging, “Please HIV and AIDS don’t kill me”.  In order to escape consequences in your entire life consider a great potential in truly preventing sexually transmitted disease such as HIV and AIDS, Gonorrhoea, Herpes, etc.  This game of lovers without any control of mind and soul is killing our future.

Consequently, HIV and AIDS is a sickness that gets worse day by day at the moment because of a large number of youth is engaging on unprotected sex, which continues to account for most infections globally. Campaigns against HIV and AIDS around the communities need to unite people and sex without condom should be driven directly from an individual’s consciousness. It is high time that everyone starts this important internal campaign against infectious diseases.

Key principles in life come with many options that can help people to stay out of danger. These principles are to be found in the native social texts and cultural contexts. “Be faithful. Abstain” is well acclaimed in the scripture, and is promoted in many biblical sermons. Only an internal campaign can play an important role in reducing the occurrence of HIV and AIDS in a generalised epidemic.

Image:https://www.google.co.za/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1517&bih=741&q=image+of+a+person+with+HIV+and+AIDS&gbv=2&oq=image+of+a+person+with+HIV+and+AIDS&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=img.3...13861l41045l0l42247l54l45l0l19l19l2l991l4108l2-9j1j1j0j1l14l0.frgbld.

HOW DO YOU STEP FROM THE TOP OF A 100-FOOT POLE?

Most successful rich men and women living in this world have been criticised for the neglect of the poor in many quarters. Some business people have been accused of losing grace from God. Because of their attitude toward employees companies have suffered from a lot of negativity and bad spirit in the workplace.

Be a big boss somewhere in a big company that does not want to step down to get a sense of what is happening in the floor and stand a chance to lose more profits. The sheer neglect of other people because you are used to them as being subordinates instead of teammates your are setting yourself up for failure. However, there is no formula in life but considering the wellbeing of your employees is a key for your company’s success.

Being on top does not mean taking a high-level office in a modern building. It means being among the people who make productivity and profitability possible. It means being on top of your game.  The surprising attribute of a good manager is that one who understands the ups and downs of the company’s life including the daily struggles and experiences of his or her employees. Trying to meet the expectations and fulfil the worth of your dreams come through stepping down a 100-foot pole.  

A number of managers, administrators and CEOs can learn a lesson a magnate such as Bill Gates. He demonstrates a friendly behaviour despite being one of the richest people in the world. He has a

Image: http://tara84.blogspot.com/2010/04/higher-you-go-further-you-fall.html