In the Diaspora

In the diaspora he sat down;
And there he wept;

Remembering Africa;
Mouth open, unable to a song.
Eyes full of the ocean;
Mouth imploded with praises;
Thought stacked full of memories,
Memories of Motherland Africa.
In bits he uttered;
Africa, my cherised home;
In the diaspora unable to a song;
I want to come to thee.

Chief Charles O. Okereke

Copyright ©2002 Chief Charles O. Okereke

Reflecting on Being Apart of our own Determination

"IF YOU ARE NOT AT THE TABLE WHERE DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE, YOU MIGHT BE ON THE MENU!" attributed to Dr. Norman C. Francis, President  Xavier University of Louisiana  the only Historically black Catholic University  in America.  Words to reflect on and act on ...what table are you sitting at?

The African Philanthropist Profiled on BlackGivesBack

The Philanthropy in Africa Series at BlackGivesBack profiles The African Philanthropist. View blog here.

A Place to Call Home: Returning to Liberia

An article about the desire to return home and the need to be apart of the development of the country written my Kate Cater..thanks Kate

Cachelle's School of Promise

In 1990, Cachelle's School for Promise founder Shoana Clarke-Sayeh was displaced from her home in Monrovia, Liberia due to a devastating 14 year war. Today Shoana, an artist and photographer has returned to the country she always dreamed of returning too to form a school for orphans. A successful photographer, wife and mother Shoana is determined to contribute to the rebuilding of Liberian civil society through the establishment of schools for young orphans. To learn more about her work and support Cachelle's goals check out the organizations website http://www.mjaliberia.org/.

World class NYC based Ghanian surgeon performs spinal surgery through his FOCOS Foundation in West Africa

FOCOS (The Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine) is a non-profit organization established in 1998 by Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei. The mission of FOCOS is to provide comprehensive, affordable orthopedic and spine care to underserved communities in Ghana and throughout West Africa. Through its international network of world-class volunteer surgeons and other medical providers, the FOCOS vision is to create a sustainable infrastructure that encourages local capacity building and professional development in these areas. Dr. Boachie-Adjei makes multiple trips a year to Ghana to perform complex surgeries on children who would could never dream of having their severe scoliosis corrected. Dr. Boachie-Adjei is head of the Scoliosis department at the world class Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City www.hss.edu. Dr. Boachie is well known in his field and is often called a 'miracle' doctor but remains committed to Africa and to employing his skills in it development. To support his work and learn more about the foundation check out www.orthofocos.org.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf April 17, 2009 D.C. Book Signing to benefit Liberian Education Trust Foundation- This Child Will be Great

Join President Sirleaf April 17, 2009 in Washington DC for her only DC official book signing of This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Women President. The event will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Wash. DC 20004. Proceeds of the book to benefit the Liberian Education Trust Foundation whose goal it is to build schools, train teachers and award scholarships.

On January 16, 2006 Liberia, the Diaspora and the world celebrated the inauguration of the first elected African women President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The celebration, hope and promise of that day seemed to dim the pain of the past 14 years in which Liberia was embroiled in what has been called the most brutal civil war in Africa. Today 3 years later the country is rebuilding itself and doing the difficult work of repairing all its systems and structures. The war devastated all aspects of civil society most notably Africa's most valuable resource its human capital. Educational infrastructures were devastated around the country, making learning and educational attainment a mere dream for the countries children. The Liberian Education Trust www.liberianeducationtrust.org a US based foundation, started by President Sirleaf, seeks to raise money to build schools, train teachers and award scholarships to the nations children.

Lend your support to the work in Liberia for the support of its children and their education. Tickets to the event include a signed copy of the book. To purchase a ticket go to www.eventsbot.com/events/eb05935301