Activist arrested and detained in Cameroon

Solomon Tembang Mforgham, AfricaNews Reporter in Yaoundé, Cameroon; Africanews.com

Four environmental activists have been arrested and detained in Cameroon. Nasako Besingi, the director of Struggle to Economise Future Environment (SEFE), was detained without charge on November 14, 2012 with three of his colleagues in the town of Mundemba in the South West region of Cameroon.

In a press release, Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Africa have expressed disgust over the arrest of environmental activists and called for their immediate release. They have also called on the Cameroonian authorities to respect the rule of law and individuals’ human rights.

Besingi, it would be noted, has been a vocal and peaceful critic of the plans and working practices of US-based company, Herakles Farms, whose large-scale palm oil plantation project in the region, he says, would cause widespread environmental destruction and threaten the livelihoods of residents in an area home to vital biodiversity.

The activities of SEFE have always been based on legal court actions and peaceful social dialogue around the only real tangible asset of people in the region – land.

The business of agriculture is well promoted among young people in Ghana

“Yara is all about knowledge; we don’t believe we just sell fertilizer, but we bring the knowledge that comes with it”, said Mehdi Saint-André, Managing Director of Yara Ghana.

According to him, the Academy will discourage the perception that farming is a punishment and rather inculcate in students the knowledge and skills in land preparation, seed selection and fertilizer application as well as post harvest activities and storage.

The pilot project would be undertaken with inmates of the Royal Seed Home at Odupong Ofaankor, Kasoa, where the company has established a 15-acre maize farm to support the orphanage.

An empowering success story: Free the Children on 60 Minutes

Brothers and founders of Free The Children, Craig and Marc Kielburger are two of the world's leading figures in youth empowerment. Free The Children, which works with more than one million youth every year, is the world's largest network of children helping children through education.

Marc and Craig are syndicated columnists and co-authors of the New York Times bestseller, Me to We, and most recently, The World Needs Your Kid.

Their work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show as well as on CNN, BBC, 60 Minutes and The Today Show, and in People, Time and the Economist.

What an empowering story and shows you dont have to have lots wealth to help; all you need is willingness and a soul.

Help a mum by providing a healthy mama bundle

Happy Giving Tuesday! Give a mom the check-up, vitamins and medication she needs to be a pillar of strength for her family. Make a wish for a better world with a healthy mama bundle:

www.freethechildren.com/holidaywishingwell

KORA-All Africa Music Awards coming soon

The 12 edition of KORA- All African Music Awards coming soon. You can now vote for your best idol in different categories by following this link:http://vote.koraawards.org/container/_nom.php?categor=6#

The KORA All Africa Music Awards has in the past 10 years been held in South Africa; recently, it immigrated to other parts of the continent like Nigeria, then in Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou - which hosted the event in 2010. However this year, the event found a new home, Côte d’Ivoire for its next edition. The event is to take place under the theme of peace in Africa and will be held on December 29th, 2012 at “Palais des Congrèsde l’Hôtel Ivoire” in Abidjan.

Did we just missed Lynxx Bday?

Ooooopp!! Happy belated birthday to Lynxx.
Need not to introduce who this fine boy is huhh! Lynxx is a Nigerian Rapper Lynxxx who in his recent music video wedded the beautiful Ghanaian Actress Jocelyn Dumas “Fine Lady” featuring Wizkid!

Lets remind ourselves of the Fine Lady video below: ENJOY!!

More reasons why you should consume Fairtrade products: How Fairtrade benefits Ghanian cocoa farmers

There is an increasing Worldwide demand for cocoa as a major ingredient to make  chocolate products ; however, this does not neccessary mean that the income for cocoa farmers has equally increased.

During the annual International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) conference in Abidjan where cocoa industry gathers to discuss the future for cocoa, the biggest cocoa farmers’ cooperative in Ghanna called Ghana’s Kuapa Kokoo explains how Fairtrade, democratic organization and farmer empowerment are the key success factors of its operations and the future livelihoods of farmers.

According to the President of Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union, Christiana Ohene-Agyare, the co-operative exists for the sole benefit of its members and Fairtrade has played a crucial role in helping farmers improve their livelihoods.

“Fairtrade has delivered significant additional income to Kuapa Kokoo and through our democratic processes we have allocated that money. A significant part has been paid directly to our farmer members and to projects that directly benefit them. Without the support and extra income which Fairtrade and our Fairtrade partners deliver, we wouldn’t be here today and cocoa farmers would still have no say in their own futures,” she stated.

The Nigerian actress Uche fires back at plastic surgery rumour in her tweet

Someone posted these pictures of Uche and ait was  alluded  that she might have had surgery"@Zessell: @uchejombo @uchejombo_fan d 3pics cant be all UJ! Except some1 had a plastic surgery on her face! D last 2 r way different! Plz stop changn 

As usual, Uche didn't take the whole thing lightly and tweeted the following back. 

UCHE JOMBO-Rodriguez ‏@uchejombo

Dear clueless one stop talking *shit if I want to do surgery my nose and face will be the last thing I will touch because I am wonderfully made by God. Sincerely uche jombo-

Pictures of Serena and Venus in Nigerian

Serena, Venus with Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola

On the 31, October, 2012, Serena and big sister Venus arrive in Nigeria. Their mission was as part of a two-nation tour to promote women's rights.

Photo credit: Guardian news paper

During this tour, the US tennis star Venus Williams spoke to children during a two-hour tennis clinic at the Ikoyi club in Lagos. Serena Williams said she hopes her African tour with sister Venus would encourage athletes on the continent to strive for excellence in their sport. The sisters thn left for South Africa on November 2. More pictures after the cut...

YOUTHS WALK AGAINST VIOLENCE AND ABUSE ON WOMEN

Nigeria this weekend, citizens were empowered to make their voices heard on violence and abuse on women. The demonstration showed the people are sovereign—they are the highest form of authority and that power can only flows from the people to the leaders of government, who hold power only temporarily.

Beyond the Classroom Foundation in conjunction with AIESEC Lagos FEAVA Project (Female Empowerment against Violence and Abuse) over the weekend organized a WALK, campaigning to End Violence and Abuse on Women and Girls.