Wow! We are Celebrating the successful completion of the Campaign "Still left behind: Inclusive education for disabled and illiterate girls" with Sofonie Dala

 Congratulations and welcome to our world!

Speech by Global Peace Ambassador Sofonie Dala on the occasion of celebration of the successful completion of Africa Educates Her Campaign Angola - Season 4

02 May 2021, Angola, Luanda city

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome you here tonight to celebrate the successful completion of this beautiful campaign - "Still left behind: Inclusive education for disabled and illiterate girls" ending today.

Let's start our program with a hot dance.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet our dancers Nicha, Catia and Engracia!

[These teenagers are students of the second level]

Campaign report

It was a fantastic short edition of only 5 series but with a great social impact. Our campaign aims to identify illiterate and girls with disabilities in such a way that it supports building an inclusive society for all.

During this journey, we witnessed chilling stories of girls with serious health and social problems. Some of them are orphans living in extreme poverty and have more than one type of disability, be it learning or physical, including some of them are homeless people.

30% of the girls and women interviewed never had the opportunity to attend school. In the other 70%, the majority stayed in school for less than two years and did not finish pre-class, they dropped out due to learning disabilities and health problems. Only one girl managed to enter high school but dropped out because of the extreme poverty that hit her after her father's death.

Up to 20% of women globally live with a disability. Girls and women of all ages with any form of disability are generally among the most vulnerable and marginalized of society. Moreover, women and girls with disabilities are 2-3 times more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than women without disabilities. In addition “the global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 per cent, and 1 per cent for women with disabilities, according to a 1998 UNDP study” (UN DPI fact sheet).

Having a nice weekend class with children

Unfortunately, some pre-schools in Angola are open air and classes may take place under a tree, so when the weather is bad, classes are cancelled. This is the result of civil war that destroyed and looted many schools.

Globally, 263 million children between the ages of 6 and 17 are out of school, 61 million of which are of primary school age (6-11 years) *. More than half of the total figure live in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Girls with disabilities experience attacks and exploitation at much higher rates than other children. Both disability inclusion and gender equality are key factors in achieving including education as both gender and disability are significant factors of exclusion.

22% of the world’s poorest people have a disability. Women and girls with disabilities often face triple discrimination; being female, having a disability and being among the poorest of the poor. Women with disabilities face additional barriers to achieving their sexual and reproductive health rights.

Time to Sing - Faith and Hope

A moving tribute to our amazing gospel singer Filismina. She has been singing for us in many of our programs!

Meet our participants!

“We think the outside world does not really understand what the real difficulty is for women with a disability. This extremely vulnerable group continue to face exclusion from education and risks such as sexual violence - perhaps because they are seen as ‘helpless, asexual, and powerless’.

Therefore, we repeat again and again, for women with disability is really hard to live, so please include them.”

The heroines are here

Tonight, we are presenting a conclusion. If you would like to know more, please click on these links to watch the real and shocking stories of these girls and explore anything that catches your attention.

Webisode 1 - The history of Do Webisode 2 - The history of Lucia Webisode 3 - The history of Celina Webisode 4 - The history of Julia and her mother Webisode 5 - The history of Mima

By addressing the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in low and middle income countries, we not only achieve the human rights of persons with disabilities, but everyone benefits from their contribution.

This is why inclusion, across all development sectors, is important. Empowering persons with disabilities, including women and girls so they can receive a worthwhile education, access health and rehabilitation services, gain a livelihood and participate fully in society, is essential to ending the cycle of poverty and disability.

We sincerely hope that you will find more people to sponsor girls' education today. Your generosity and your gift will help children, adults, and families rise above adversity and thrive. No matter the amount, your donation makes a difference.

Have a great evening!

Thank you very much.

The African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 Women’s Photojournalism Award 2021 for African Female Journalists. ($USD 2000 cash Prize)

Application Deadline: 15th June 2021 

Pictures have the power to reflect everyday life experiences and are a valuable tool for storytelling. They capture a moment in time in history and also have the power to transport one to faraway places. The African Union and GIZ have joined forces to launch The Agenda 2063 Africa Photojournalism Project for African Female Journalists.

The agenda 2063 Africa

Photojournalism Project aims to inspire photo journalists from all across the continent to share powerful images telling Africa’s story from an African perspective. The Project also aims to capacitate journalist by providing them with training that will enhance their craft and storytelling ability through the use of imagery. The Project is in line with Africa’s Development Strategy Agenda 2063 which provides the framework for Africa’s socio-economic growth agenda through the implementation of key projects that will transform the continent into a global powerhouse.

Requirements

Professional and amateur photographers are invited to submit their work. Both published and unpublished works are permitted.

Participants must have the nationality of a member state of the African Union, and be at least eighteen years of age.

Only pictures taken in a member state of the African Union are permitted.

Applicants can submit up to two entries across all categories.

Joint submissions are permitted provided the submitted images are authored by the entrants.

The photographer(s) must be the author(s) of the pictures submitted in his/her/their name, and own the copyright or have been authorized by the copyright holder(s) to submit the pictures.

Click Here to apply: https://bit.ly/3uhOgfr

MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION COMMITTED TO IMPROVE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

 

Luanda – The Ministry of Public Administration, Work and Social Security (MAPTSS) reiterated Saturday the government commitment to permanent improvement of the working environment.

The commitment is expressed in its message, ahead of the International Workers’ Day, reiterating engagement to continue working in the favour of employees.

 

It mentioned the dialogue and permanent agreement, as the path to ensure more stability and social harmony.

 

In its message, MAPTSS encourages the social partners to continue promoting a more positive working environment that promotes social peace.

 

“The Angolan workers are and will continue to deserve the Executive’s attention, taking into account their role as driving force for development of society”, reads the message.

 

As for the event, the messages states that it represents a moment of reflection on the deeds attained by Angola and the Angolan workers, despite several challenges to overcome, with stress those caused by covid-19 pandemic.

COVID-19: ANGOLA ANNOUNCES 163 NEW INFECTIONS AND 37 RECOVERIES

Luanda - Angola registered 163 new infections, 37 recovered patients and 4 deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.

According to the clinical bulletin to which ANGOP had access, among the new cases, 132 were diagnosed in Luanda, 19 in Huíla, 8 in Cabinda, 3 in Uíge and 1 in Benguela.

The ages range from 2 months to 83 years, and the list includes 98 male and 65 female patients.

 

The recovered patients are all residents of the Province of Luanda.

 

Among the deaths, 2 were registered in Luanda and 2 in Huíla.

 

The overall picture shows 26,815 positive cases, with 600 deaths, 23,913 recoveries and 2,302 active.

 

Of the active cases, 10 are in critical conditions, 19 severe, 91 moderate, 69 mild and 2,113 asymptomatic.

 

Up to now, the labs have processed 2,111 samples in the past 24 hours.

 

There are 125 citizens are in institutional quarantine, others 1,524 under epidemiological surveillance and 189 hospitalized in treatment centers across the country.

SUNAVEST INVESTS US $15 MILLION IN RECYCLING UNIT

Luanda -The Sunavest Group is investing around US $15 million in a paper recycling factory, which may start operating in September this year.

 

With an installed capacity of 55 tonnes/day and an annual average of 20,000 tonnes/year, the investment is in line with the Angolan state's strategy of promoting local production.

 

Speaking to ANGOP, the group's administrator, Carlos Alves, said that with this production of recycled materials, cardboard boxes, packaging, as well as paper bags could be made, all with a “100% Angola produce” stamp.

 

He assured that the investment, in addition to being a positive point for the country's economy, will also help the environment, since paper has a high cost and very few of this material is recycled.

 

The Sunavest Group owns the Zeepack Angola and Plastcon factories, which develop industrial projects with the latest technology for paper and plastic.

 

With more than 120 workers, of which 85% are nationals, the industry has its lines of work aimed at replacing imports of raw materials, investing in the areas of the primary sector, thus reducing foreign exchange slack.

US, EU, CANADA AND AUSTRALIAN SANCTIONS ON ZIMBABWE ARE A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

🇺🇸 🇪🇺 🇬🇧  🍁 🇦🇺 

US, EU, UK, Canada and Australian sanctions on Zimbabwe are a violation of human rights and a crime against humanity because they are:

● illegal,

● unilateral (punishment not imposed by the international body of nations, international legal bodies, international law or due process as is required by the UN charter and human rights law),

● indiscriminate,

● disproportionate,

● racially biased,

● collective,

● extrajudicial punishment or persecution of innocent civilians, investors, administrators, business people, government officials, politicians, their relatives and anyone who does business with them,

● without those people who are being punished, being given a fair trial, the right to defend themselves, due process and being found guilty, beyond reasonable doubt by a court or tribunal in this world.

● As a result, this collective punishment or persecution deprives innocent Zimbabwean civilians of food, water, medicine, healthcare, jobs, economic development, infrastructure, which in turn displaces millions of people into being refugees, leading to the deaths of thousands of people due to the above extrajudicial punishment, prohibitions and deprivation. 

● These sanctions also deprive innocent civilians of their rights to life; social cultural, political and legal rights. They are literally akin to carpet bombing of civilians in peacetime.

● More critically, they are an extraterritorial imposition of US domestic law upon a sovereign nation as if Zimbabwe is a non-self governing territory or colony of the United States.

● What is problematic about these sanctions is they were imposed unilaterally by the same Berlin Conference nations that built their high standards of living by collectively punishing and exploiting Africans over the last 700yrs, through the crimes against humanity of discovery law, slavery, colonialism and now they maintain their economies by invasions, wars, sponsored civil war and sanctions for resources, without UN multi-lateral oversight

● The US, EU, UK, Canada and Australia (The Berlin Conference Cabal), which are all UN Charter signatories, imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe unilaterally, without pursuing their purported grievances with Zimbabwe through the multi-lateral, impartial UN dispute resolution mechanisms as the UN Charter enjoins member states to do.

● Additionally, these countries, unilaterally imposed these sanctions without undertaking prerequisite Human Rights Impact Assessment studies, to ensure that civilians would not be deprived of the enjoyment of their human rights under these unilateral sanctions.

● Over the past twenty years, these same countries did not undertake impact assessment studies every year that they reviewed and renewed their sanctions on Zimbabwe, as mandated by the UNHRC for all multi-lateral UN sanctions.

● The sanctions senders have not mitigated or addressed the unintentional violation of civilian human rights or suffering caused by their unilateral, illegal sanctions, which they are meant to do after each annual human rights impact assessment. 

This goes to show that the intention of these sanctions is to punish Zimbabwean civilians and to violate their human rights to force them to revolt against their government and not to punish purported and untested human rights violations by the Zimbabwean government.

According to the definition of a Crime Against Humanity by the Rome Statute, an accepted international legal custom aligned with international conventions on human rights, Zimbabwean civilians are being persecuted (discriminated and deprived of food, clean water, healthcare, education, jobs, life, economic development, technology, global trade, the use of the global reserve currency, payment clearances; social, cultural, economic and political rights) as a nation and racial group, as punishment for decolonizing the economy, taking back their land and economy from colonial settlers, in order to self-determine. 

We could even go further and define these sanctions as a racially engineered genocide because a part of our people are being killed and displaced by the west intentionally depriving the Zimbabwean people of food, clean water, healthcare, medicine, sovereignty, free international trade, payments, markets and economic development.

This persecution is in pursuance of the systematic objective of reversing decolonization in Africa in order to maintain neo-colonialism in Africa, white supremacy in the colonial administrations of the United States, Australia, Canada and to perpetuate the domination of native peoples all across the world for the unfettered exploitation of the resources of these non-self-governing and self governing territories. 

All this is done with the support of the EU and their post colonial systems [against the EU Human Rights Convention] to protect and maintain the benefits the EU derives from the unjust enrichment gained from 700 years of the crimes against humanity of slavery, colonialism and today’s neo-colonialism. 

For this reason, the EU is complicit with the US, UK, Australia and Canada in perpetuating these crimes against humanity because they continue to benefit from the cheap resources, brain draining and captive markets in former and current colonies, in which their corporations hold property rights earned from the 1453 Discovery Doctrine, which brought about the crimes against humanity of slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism. 

We need to start calling these sanctions what they are, a continuation of colonialism [crimes against humanity] and thereafter we must lobby our government, SADC, the AU, civil society organizations, humanitarian organizations, impartial media and political groupings to back up a legal fight in international courts and multi-lateral institutions, against this prevailing crime against Africans.

As Africans, we must never expect to be treated as human beings, until we start claiming our humanity from those who treat black humanity as secondary and divisible to other human rights.

Rutendo Bereza Matinyarare of ZASM and ZUAUWS.

http://wix.to/EcCTDMs?ref=2_m_cl

Is ‘vaccine bounce’ proving a shot in the arm for Boris Johnson amid growing sleaze row?

It's still too soon to know if the damage of the last couple of weeks is likely to stick, writes Sky's Sophy Ridge.

The drip feed of allegations has been relentless, and the questions seemingly never-ending.

How did Boris Johnson fund his trendy make-over of the Downing Street flat? What messages did he exchange with businessman James Dyson? Just how many times did David Cameron text Rishi Sunak?

But perhaps the biggest question of all – just how much do voters care about the latest sleaze allegations?

If the latest poll is to be believed – not very much.

A YouGov survey for The Times on Friday showed the Conservatives extending their lead over Labour to 11 points, in news that will concern the opposition ahead of next week’s local elections.

Digging down into the figures, it may be that “sleaze” stories are already priced in. Half of the people told YouGov they agree the Conservatives are “very sleazy”, with 31% saying they consider Boris Johnson to be less honest than other politicians. If politicians act in a way that voters expect them to, it’s hardly likely to shift the dial on their voting intentions in any significant way.

After next Thursday’s local elections, when every eligible voter in Britain will have their first chance to have their say at the ballot box since the 2019 general election, we’ll get a clearer idea of whether the allegations are cutting through.

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Australia bans, criminalized arrivals from COVID-hit India. Starting May 3

Australian residents and citizens may face fines and jail time if they choose to fly home from COVID-hit India.

Australian residents and citizens who have been in India will be banned from entering Australia as of Monday and those who disobey will face fines and jail.

The temporary “emergency determination”, issued late on Friday, is the first time Australia has made it a criminal offence for its citizens to return home.

The move is part of strict measures to stop travellers to Australia from the world’s second most populous nation as it contends with a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Health Minister Greg Hunt announced that anyone attempting to defy the new rules would be hit with fines of up to 66,600 Australian dollars ($51,800), five years in prison, or both, the Australian Associated Press reported.

“The government does not make these decisions lightly,” Hunt said in a statement. “However, it is critical the integrity of the Australian public health and quarantine systems is protected and the number of COVID-19 cases in quarantine facilities is reduced to a manageable level.”

The government will reconsider the restrictions on May 15.

Some 9,000 Australians in India are registered as wanting to return, including 650 listed as “vulnerable”, according to the Australian Associated Press.

‘Racist policy'

India’s coronavirus death toll passed 200,000 this week, and cases passed 19.1 million as virulent new strains have combined with “super-spreader” events such as political rallies and religious festivals.

Neela Janakiramanan, an Australian surgeon with family in India, said the decision to “criminalise” Australians returning from India was disproportionate and overly punitive.

“Indian-Australians are seeing this as a racist policy because we are being treated differently than people from other countries who have had similar waves of infection like the US, the UK, and Europe. It is very hard to feel anything other than targeted as an ethnic group.”

A spokesman for the health minister “deeply” rejected the view that stopping arrivals from India temporarily was a biased measure, saying it was a difficult but necessary decision that applied “to all people no matter their nationality, race or religion”.

Human rights groups voiced indignation at the ban, suggesting the government’s focus should be on improving its quarantine system, not on punishment.

“This is an outrageous response. Australians have a right of return to their own country,” Human Rights Watch’s Australia Director Elaine Pearson said in a statement.

“The government should be looking for ways to safely quarantine Australians returning from India, instead of focusing their efforts on prison sentences and harsh punishments.”

“Jail time and fines for Australians wanting to come home? Seriously? I’m horrified that the Morrison government thinks this is an acceptable response to the humanitarian crisis in India,” Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young tweeted.

“This is a terrible and dangerous precedent. And needs to be called out,” the senator added.

Australia, which has no community transmissions, on Tuesday introduced a temporary suspension of direct flights from India until mid-May. However, some Australians, including cricketers Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson, returned via Qatar.

Australia has all but stamped out the coronavirus after closing its borders to non-citizens and permanent residents in March 2020, recording just 29,800 cases and 910 deaths.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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Prince William and Kate Middleton join UK-wide social media boycott over online racism and abuse

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have joined a nationwide boycott of social media over online racism and abuse linked to sport.

William and Kate are backing football clubs, players and other sporting bodies in a four-day absence from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

The couple had planned to share content online over the weekend to mark their daughter Princess Charlotte’s sixth birthday tomorrow.

The aim of the protest – revealed in Sportsmail – is to persuade the tech giants to take a stronger stance against racist and sexist abuse by users of the platforms.

The future king tweeted the decision yesterday on his official Kensington Royal Twitter feed, saying: ‘As President of the FA [Football Association] I join the entire football community in the social media boycott this weekend. W.’

Earlier this year William, 38, also spoke out after a number of high-profile black players condemned the racist abuse they had received online.

‘Racist abuse – whether on the pitch, in the stands, or on social media – is despicable and it must stop now,’ he said. ‘We all have a responsibility to create an environment where such abuse is not tolerated, and those who choose to spread hate and division are held accountable for their actions.

‘That responsibility extends to the platforms where so much of this activity now takes place.’

It is not the first time that the prince has taken a strong public stance towards the major tech firms.

He set up a taskforce to tackle cyberbullying in 2016, but two years later conceded the initiative had failed to persuade social media giants such as Facebook to co-operate.

In an unprecedented intervention, he condemned the ‘defensive’ attitude of social media companies in refusing to accept their role in the spread of hate speech, fake news and online bullying.

He said: ‘I am very concerned though that on every challenge they face – fake news, extremism, polarisation, hate speech, trolling, mental health, privacy, and bullying –our tech leaders seem to be on the back foot.

‘The noise of shareholders, bottom lines, and profits is distracting them from the values that made them so successful in the first place.’

The online boycott began at 3pm yesterday and will end at 11.59pm on Monday.

It has been led by the football community, with top players such as Manchester City and England star Raheem Sterling taking part.

Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton announced his boycott and the bodies for rugby union, rugby league, cricket, cycling, horseracing and the Lawn Tennis Association are also involved.

The Premier League promised that it would not stop challenging companies ‘until discriminatory online abuse is removed from our game and wider society’.

Manchester United revealed last week that there had been a 350 per cent increase in abuse directed towards the club’s players. It found 86 per cent of those posts were racist, while 8 per cent were homophobic or transphobic.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, has previously said it is ‘committed’ to tackling abuse on its platforms.

Twitter has said it is ‘resolute in our commitment to ensure the football conversation on our service is safe for fans, players and everyone involved in the game’.

The company added it had removed more than 7,000 football-related tweets in the UK that violated its rules.

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Somali lawmakers reverse president’s extended stay in power

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The controversial two-year term extension for Somalia’s president evaporated Saturday after intense public pressure, as the lower house of parliament approved his request to instead support efforts to organize the country’s long-delayed national election.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed asked the lawmakers to retreat from their decision last month to extend his time in office. The extension had been blasted by the Senate as illegal and opposed by soldiers who took up key positions in the capital and clashed with other security forces.

The extraordinary scene of soldiers firing at each other in the streets of Mogadishu brought back fears for many Somalis that the Horn of Africa nation could collapse back into chaos after years of trying to rebuild. Alarmed, the international community worried that the al-Shabab extremist group would take advantage.

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Saturday’s actions mean a return to talks on how to carry out the election that has been delayed since early February, when some Somalis believe the president’s term ended.

Mohamed asked lawmakers to back the agreement the federal government reached with regional states last September on a way forward for the vote. He asked Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble to lead the election preparations and the related security measures.

“I also ask the opposition leaders to play their role in pacifying the country and Mogadishu, in particular, for the sake of the people, country and religion,” the president said.

Somalia’s leader also for the first time publicly expressed his condolences to those who died or were displaced during the clashes in Mogadishu. The United Nations has said several tens of thousands fled their homes.

Some in the opposition had hoped that the president would resign. Mohamed left the future unclear, not saying whether he would run for a second term.

It is unknown how long it will take for the election to be organized.

Opposition leaders, however, did not appear to be satisfied with Saturday’s events.

“(The president) can never be trusted as he flip-flops between his own words in unpredictable or reasonable ways,” said Abdirahman Abdishakur, one of the opposition candidates.

Despite the prime minister’s call for all security forces to return to their barracks, the soldiers backing the opposition remained on the streets of the capital Saturday. Mogadishu was quiet, but tense.

And some of the displaced hesitated to go home.

“Would you bring your wife and children in the middle of those opposing forces, right in front of and around your house?” asked Mohamed Abdulle Farah, who had fled the Hodan district of the capital.

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