Nice piece about Nigeria in the Star by Fran Quigley

A reminder that thanks to Prof. Scott Pegg, Indianapolis has some unique opportunities to make a difference in Nigeria. Scott is one of the country's leading experts on "the resource curse" — and as this article implies, the curse Nigeria has in the form of sitting on vast pools of petroleum is a big one. Scott has brought some of Nigeria's leading human rights activists to IUPUI. And he has set up a primary school and orphanage. Check it out.

"Nigerians Get Their Day in Court On Human Rights Claims Against Oil Companies"

By Fran Quigley

If IkpoBari Senewo had not been conducting an exam for his secondary school students in the Niger Delta village of Bane one afternoon in May of 1994, he believes he would have been killed. As it was, members of the Nigerian military who came to Senewo’s house that day found only his father at home, so they flogged the elderly man with a section of high-tension cable and then burned the house down.

Plenty of Senewo’s colleagues in the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) faced even worse consequences for their activism. The most notable victim was Senewo’s close friend and movement leader Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed by the Nigerian military in 1995.

MOSOP leaders were outspoken critics of Royal Dutch/Shell’s environmental practices in their oil-rich Ogoni homeland, and Senewo and other activists blame the multinational corporation for their brutal treatment. “Shell did not want anything to interfere with its business in Nigeria, so it made sure the Nigerian police and military did its bidding,” Senewo said from Chicago, where he has lived for ten years after fleeing Nigeria. A lawsuit brought against Royal Dutch/Shell by the Wiwa family and other victims of arrest and torture is scheduled to go to trial in U.S. District Court in New York in February.

Shell spokesperson Robin Lebovitz said via email, “The allegations made in the complaints against Royal Dutch/Shell concerning the 1995 executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight fellow Ogonis are false and without merit. Shell in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence against them or their fellow Ogonis.”

Shell’s prospects in the Wiwa trial may benefit from this month’s ruling in the similar case of Bowoto vs. Chevron, where a San Francisco jury rejected a claim that the oil giant was partly responsible for shootings by Nigerian soldiers the company summoned to respond to a protest at Chevron’s offshore oil platform.

But some human rights activists like Scott Pegg, an IUPUI political science professor who has conducted research and helped build primary schools in Nigeria, find a silver lining in the Bowoto decision. “The good news is that the verdict cuts against transnational corporations’ argument that they cannot get a fair trial in cases like these,” Pegg says.

The Bowoto and Wiwa suits were brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a 1789 statute which allows non-citizens to file lawsuits in U.S. courts for alleged violations of human rights even if the acts occurred outside the U.S. Multinational corporations have succeeded in getting many such claims dismissed. But in 2005, Unocal settled a high-profile suit alleging the company’s complicity in forced labor to build an oil pipeline in Burma. Yahoo recently settled a claim that it aided in the arrest of a Chinese dissident.

Pegg says that U.S. jurisdiction of these claims is necessary for justice to be served. “We are fortunate in the U.S. to have a stable and independent judicial system, but that is not the case in many countries where the worst human rights abuses occur.

“In Nigeria, for example, many people see the government and corporations as one and the same, with the government serving as a military wing of the corporations. The disparity of power between the corporation and the victim of a human rights violation diminishes the chance of a fair trial.”

A fair trial in the Wiwa case, according to Senewo, would publicly identify the source of the Ogoni people’s suffering. “I long to see justice done against Shell,” he says. “I want the world to know that innocent people were sacrificed on the altar of greed.”

Quigley is an Indianapolis attorney working on local and international poverty issues. His column appears in The Indianapolis Star every other Monday. This column is online at http://www.indystar.com/article/20081215/OPINION12/812150310/1002/OPINION

Joe Mamlin on video

This from Fran Quigley:

Dr. Joe Mamlin, field director of the Indiana-Kenya Partnership, gave a stirring talk at Indianapolis Mid-North Shepherd’s Center last week. The video of Joe’s presentation, which includes compelling images and stories of patients whose lives were saved and transformed by your generosity, is viewable online at

http://www.tvwebcity.com/?videoID=574

Quite a presence, watch the video.

Kelly Campbell reports from Tanzania and Kenya

Here are some quickie reports Kelly Campbell of The Village Experience sent back while on her trip to Tanzania and Kenya. Read about her plans here. With so much stuff she was delivering to Kenya crammed into her luggage, Kelly couldn't bring her computer with her. So expect more pictures after she returns on Dec. 17, and lots of opportunities for us to hear about ways to become engaged in Kenya initiatives. You can see Kelly discuss some of this in a discussion hosted by the Mid-North Shepherd Center:

http://www.tvwebcity.com/?videoID=574#

Here are Kelly's on-the-fly reports:

4 December (from Tanzania):

Today The Village Experience participated in the first ever Traveler's Philanthropy Conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, Wangari Maathai, gave the opening speech urging people and companies to be responsible as they travel the world.

Topics such as Voluntourism, Wildlife Conservation, Fair Trade and Micro-financing, Sustainable Development, and the tourism industry's role in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention were addressed by experts in the field. The Village Experience will be presenting their business model tomorrow in a presentation entitled "moving forward by giving back..."

The Village Experience is excited to leave Saturday to begin a week long trip through Kenya. Projects in Eldoret, Nakuru, Nairobi, and Mbita will be further developed and funds and donations from the Indianapolis community will be distributed in time for the holiday season. Stay tuned to hear more about The Village Experience journey through Africa!

9 December (from Kenya):

Entry 1:
Yesterday began a journey to what felt like the ends of the earth. A plane ride, bus trip, ferry ride, and matatu finally had me arrive at my destination: Mbita. Mbita is a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria. It doesn't look far from Nairobi on a map, but it took a good 6 hours of intense travel to find this hidden gem. I came to Mbita to learn about an orphans and widows program and find out ways that we could help empower the community. After conversations with some of the widows, we discovered several that already had skills in basket weaving and soap making. The Village Experience is going to help this project set up a handicraft center and teach the women to become self sufficient. We will continue to tell their story and try to generate funding so that the orphans may have a stable school to attend and a feeding program in place.

Entry 2:
Today I arrived in Eldoret after a long journey from Mbita. I spent most of the day learning about small business projects and trying to get an idea of what a successful model looks like. Many things I would never think of seem to be working and empowering the people of Eldoret: chicken farms, commodities stores, passion fruit production, and chappati vendors. The Village Experience is excited to begin working in Eldoret to further develop and support these efforts.
In the evening, I met with people from Eldoret involved in community projects-all of them with a link to Indiana. I met with the team from Imani Workshops to talk about their fair trade products and ways to further market and improve the program so that more women may eventually be employed. The team from the new Harambee Center on Philanthropy at Moi University were in attendance as well. Dr. Some explained this new initiative and the vision it has for the future. We also discussed street kids issues, the new mother and child hospital, the hospice center, and Neema orphanage to name a few. The upcoming trip to Eldoret in May 2009 will be an excellent venue for the new Cities Pamoja Partnership to flourish and for all those involved in Eldoret to learn about each others projects and deepen community relationships.

11 December (from Kenya):

As I leave Eldoret and head towards Nakuru, I'm left thinking about all the wonderful connections made in just 2 short days. As a representative of Cities Pamoja, I explored relationships with Moi University, the new Harambee Center on Philanthropy, street kids organizations Koinonia and Xstreet, Neema Childrens Home, Imani Workshops, Family Preservation Initiative, and many more. We have decided to dedicate an entire day in our May itinerary to exploring Cities Pamoja and conducting the first joint meeting of committees from both Eldoret and Indianapolis. This will be an exciting addition to our trip!

The Village Experience worked alongside women from Imani Workshops on this trip to develop a new line of jewelry for our company. The collaboration was a lot of fun and was a great learning experience for both parties. We will meet with the Indianapolis focus group and talk about launching this line soon.

Koinonia is a Kenyan ngo that The Village Experience and others in the community are trying to revitalize. The number of street children in Eldoret has drastically increased in the past year due to political conflict and we want to empower this organization to respond to their needs. If you are interested in learning more, please contact me at kelly@experiencethevillage.com. With a little jump start from the community we can help create the infrastructure this ngo needs.

13 December (from Kenya):

Once again I have been welcomed to Nakuru with open arms by all of our partners and supporters. I am visiting established projects here that The Village Experience supports, and I am helping to develop new initiatives - especially those that empower women.

After listening to presentations at the Travelers Philanthropy Conference and then listening to those living in the actual villages, I have come to the conclusion that "trade not aid" is indeed very true. If we could get everyone interested in giving back to contribute to small business projects, handicraft initiatives, and income generating ideas, we could make a huge impact on a community and empower them to sustain themselves. This is an idea I will be promoting through The Village Experience and throughout my travels.

If anyone is interested in getting involved, TVE will be starting 2 handicraft centers in Mbita and Nakuru and running a street kids project in Eldoret focused on enterprise and skills training. We could use some help in collecting the initial capital - join us in "moving forward by giving back."

Check this blog for more about Kelly's trip when she gets back.

Welcome back to Indiana, Jay Hein!

After putting in a two-year tour of duty as the White House Director of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, Jay Hein has returned to Central Indiana, back to Sagamore Institute where he is writing a book about his experiences. Jay talks some about his experiences in this video from the Mid-North Shepherd's Center:

http://www.tvwebcity.com/?videoID=574#

Scroll through videos on the left to get to Jay's. His talk was supposed to be a exchange with Sheila Kennedy, a frequent critic of faith-based delivery of government-funded social services. Sheila couldn't get out of Montana that day, so that debate will have to wait. (It's too perfect not to take place eventually.)

One of Jay's achievements while he was in the White House was linking President Bush's two passions for faith-based initiatives and finding relief for AIDS-ravaged Africa. These are two areas in which you can expect continuity when President Obama moves into the White House. Jay recently wrote an article in the Indianapolis Star praising the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other aspects of the outgoing Admin's policies towards Africa.

Rush job saves lives of African AIDS sufferers

President George W. Bush is famously punctual. This was on my mind as I prepared to offer him a briefing last year. I arrived outside the Oval Office 20 minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin only to find out he was running 15 minutes early, making me barely on time.

So I was not surprised to listen to the president's recent World AIDS Day remarks announcing that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief had met its goal of providing life-saving drug therapy to more than 2 million patients -- ahead of schedule.

The achievement is remarkable on several levels. First, consider that merely 50,000 people suffering from AIDS across the continent of Africa received such medication five years ago when the president's plan was announced. Second, consider that while PEPFAR was the single largest health-care program aimed at a single disease in world history, it is one of the only development programs to operate with strict accountability standards.

Conventional wisdom previously argued that African leaders were either too corrupt or too inept to deliver results in exchange for assistance. One of the most hopeful outcomes of PEPFAR's success is proving how wrong conventional wisdom was on both counts.

I had the privilege of joining Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kagali when he announced that his country not only met the PEPFAR performance standard but exceeded it -- well before the deadline. The U.S. and Rwanda presidents clearly have an affinity for performance and schedule and they also favor non-government actors. Both are quick to point out that the real work is done by health professionals in faith-based and community clinics.

This story is familiar to Hoosiers. In the late 1980s, the Indiana University School of Medicine set up shop in northern Kenya to pursue its mission of providing medical care to the indigent, teaching the next generation of doctors and conducting world-class research. What it did not intend to do was become one of Africa's leading solutions combating the world's deadliest pandemic.

But AIDS soon became such an overwhelming presence in its facilities that IU-Kenya program officials were required to respond with heartland compassion and innovation. Matching private philanthropy with dynamic partnerships, the university formed an Academic Model for Providing Access to Healthcare that now treats 70,000 Kenyans at 19 sites.

The IU-Kenya Partnership's success was born of necessity and grown through its commitment to indigenous leadership. The program's impressive results earned the respect of Bush administration officials, who recently awarded it a five-year, $60 million PEPFAR grant. This funding will ensure that 150,000 AIDS-infected Kenyans will be served by 2012.

Odds are good that this target will be met on schedule. For the Kenyans served by IU-sponsored doctors and the millions of other Africans given a new lease on life thanks to American generosity, PEPFAR is a presidential achievement that did not come a minute too soon.

What makes the Indy-Africa connection special — perhaps even unique — right now is the extraordinary ferment at the grassroots level with the presence on the community some of the decade's most influential policymakers on Africa. Jim Morris, Randall Tobias, Sen. Richard Lugar ... and now Jay Hein. Jay is a very generous person who is eager to share his experiences, lessons, and connections with anyone who wants to make a difference. You can reach him at jay@sipr.org. Welcome back, Jay!

Commemorate World AIDS Day with Imani Workshops and "Beads of Hope"

Beads of Hope with WTHR Channel 13
Monday, December 1, 2008
6p – 730p
IUPUI Campus Center, CE450B

The 1st of December, World AIDS Day, is the day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.

Commemorate World AIDS Day with Imani Workshops a revenue-generating social enterprise focused on producing high quality crafts by HIV+ artisans in western Kenya.

Imani Workshops was established in January 2005 as a branch of the Family Preservation Initiative under the IU-Kenya Partnership's AMPATH program. The Academic Model for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS (AMPATH) is a working model of urban and rural HIV prevention and treatment services in the public sector of Kenya.

WTHR-Channel 13 will be screening a recent story "Beads of Hope" and the producer DeShong Perry will talk about her experience traveling to Kenya and visiting the workshops. Enjoy light refreshments and shop for Imani products.

Imani will also be accepting donations of Oprah magazines – these will be sent to Kenya for use in jewelry-making.



RSVP (preferred): sft@iupui.edu (if you are not familiar with event location please ask for directions when you RSVP)
For more information: www.iupui.edu/~impactke

*Co-sponsored by Impact Kenya and Students for Fair Trade, funded by Student Activity Fees

Dec. 1 — COMMUNITY OBSERVES WORLD AIDS DAY THROUGH WORSHIP, REMEMBRANCE, WITNESS & HOPE

Ambassador Randall Tobias joins community leaders in Indianapolis Observation

The Circle City AIDS Coalition will host an Ecumenical Service of Worship in conjunction with St. Luke’s United Methodist Church to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, 2008 at 6 p.m. This service will take place at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86^th Street, Indianapolis. The community is invited to this free community program.

This program will feature Ambassador Randall Tobias; Dr. Kent Millard; Marion County Health Department director, Dr. Virginia Caine; and (Ms.) Jerry Burkman of the Indiana State Department of Health. In addition, local AIDS activists, clergy and concerned citizens will be present to participate. This hour-long program is designed to highlight the face of Hoosiers in this world-wide health crisis, give attendees an opportunity to remember those that they have lost to HIV/AIDS, uplift and encourage all in attendance in the on-going fight to combat this crisis and raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and its impact on people here in Indiana.

The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt will display panels from the quilt and the St. Luke’s Singers, and the Indianapolis Men’s & Women’s Choruses will perform live. A reception will follow the program.

The Circle City HIV/AIDS Coalition is a non-profit community action group comprised of HIV/AIDS prevention organizations and individuals from secular and faith-based backgrounds in HIV education who are interested in prevention efforts that combat HIV/AIDS and supportive efforts that impact the community and HIV positive persons across Indianapolis and its surrounding areas.

Contact: Jason Grisell, Chair — (317) 630-1805

Highlights of the November 14 discussion of Indianapolis/Eldoret/Africa

Here are some quick highlights from the meeting on November 14 of the group that has been meeting for months to discuss partnerships with Eldoret. The consensus was that we ought to move in two parallel and partially overlapping directions: (1) continuing regular meetings about relations between Indianapolis and Eldoret/Kenya, regardless of whether a sister city relation is ever formalized; (2) starting to establish a broader infrastructure for supporting partnerships between Central Indiana and Africa as a whole.

Eldoret/Kenya: Everyone agrees that there should continue to be regular meetings to discuss the many existing and possible links between Indy and Eldoret.

• Everyone knows that some groups are going to be focusing on Eldoret and Kenya regardless of where there is a committee like this: big players such as IUPUI, Rotary, Umoja will continue doing the excellent work they are doing, and in fact there's probably enough overlap of these groups that they can informally keep one another informed about what they are doing. But many people who aren't part of these big players would like to be part of the remarkable relation that has blossomed between Indy and Eldoret.
• And just over the course of the discussion on Friday it became dramatically apparent that such meetings could yield unexpected benefits to everyone. Ian McIntosh and his colleagues have been organizing a major conference in Eldoret May 13-15 on reconciliation and justice (a topic on which Ian is a leading expert, by the way). It's a critical theme for Kenya, after the spasm of ethnic violence earlier this year; it's also important for other African countries such as Rwanda, Congo, etc, and scholars from these countries have been invited. Good for IUPUI and Moi University, putting on an important conference.
  
• But over the course of discussing the conference on Friday, it became apparent that more people wanted to attend than just IUPUI folks. Carole Darst said that Indianapolis Rotary has to make a visit in the spring and would be very eager to time it to coincide with the conference. Carol Johnston asserted that given the theme of reconciliation and their work in Kenya, 2nd Presbyterian Church would want to send a group. Kelly Campbell's Village Experience started planning the logistics of a trip for a substantial group ... and as Ian observed, once that happens our Kenyan partners can set up other interesting and important activities for the group in addition to the conference. So just as a result of the conversation Friday afternoon, something very cool for some people in Indy is taking shape, and IUPUI-Moi's conference may get a lot more intriguing.
• But wait, there's more! Not all of can afford to jet off to Kenya for a conference in May, but we'd still like to be part of it. Reconciliation and justice is something we ought to be talking about here as well as in Africa. IUPUI is a leader in the technology that makes cross-continental trans-dimensional discussions and learning easy. But Moi University is still not wired adequately. During Friday's discussion it became apparent that there will be a lot of Hoosiers, including but not limited to faculty and students of IUPUI, who'd like to "attend" the conference virtually. So here's a great project: Let's work to get Moi and Eldoret wired with proper telecommunication equipment by the time of this conference so even more of us in Indy can take part; and the result will be a greatly ability to connect in real time with our partners long after the conference has occurred.
• In January expect the regular Indy-Eldoret meetings to resume. If you would like to be part of them and haven't attended any meetings yet, you are in luck: send me an email at 2.john.clark@gmail.com and I will make sure your name is added to the list.
  

Indy-Africa Partnership Infrastructure. Independently of the desire to continue meeting to discuss Indy-Eldoret relations, it became apparent that we need something bigger that will facilitate relations with Africa in general.

• We are all aware of small and local initiatives that are working with groups in Benin, or Senegal, or Zimbabwe ... and that feel isolated and alone. Example: Before the meeting I got a v-mail from Joe Miller, who is looking for anyone interested in Mali; or businesspeople will ask Kelly for philanthropic opportunities in Africa. At the very least we should find a way of aggregate information about Indy-Africa, facilitate the formation of trustworthy partnerships, and perhaps engage in advocacy (even reminded Hoosiers that "Africa is really really important!"). This is do-able and I think necessary.
• The next step: Kelly Campbell and Paul Babcock are going to nail down a date for an after-work brainstorming session about what this Indy-Africa partnership committee could do, and how to push it along. The Athenaeum is a good place for a properly lubricated discussion. Let's make this initial meeting as big as possible ... it can be the start of the sort of networking that this committee will foster. Expect to hear a date and time for this meeting by the IMA discussion of Africa on Nov. 16.
  

IMA discussion of Africa Nov. 16. You didn't think I would forget this, did you? Go! 2:00 Sunday at IMA. For some background about the pieces that we'll discuss, go here: http://www.provocate.org/ima-event/.

Indy-Africa Blog at http://indyafrica.blogspot.com. There's a very interesting post by Linda Duke at the Indianapolis Museum of Art about some of IMA's Africa plans for the future. Some great stuff coming up. You can leave comments on the blog, you know, it can be another way of exchanging thoughts and ideas. Please let me know if there's anything you think should be posted.

If you have any questions or thoughts, please let me know.

john

Linda Duke — Africa on My Mind

This post comes from Linda Duke, Director of Community and Education Affairs at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Note the World AIDS Day event she mentions. It's scheduled for Dec. 1:

In the name of World AIDS Day, individuals of all ages are invited to make a colorful card to send to a Kenyan living with HIV. This program is co-presented by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the IU-Kenya Partnership, and IMCPL. This program will be held in the Central Library Atrium.

Linda Duke — Africa on My Mind, 11/13/08

How odd that I should begin to encounter Africa by moving to Indianapolis. Who knew that African connections would come up again and again in this small Midwestern city! Since arriving to work at the IMA five years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to explore the museum’s fine collection of traditional African art, and to encounter the work of several African artists working in more contemporary veins. In the past year, especially, Africa has become a recurrent theme in my life/work. A committed group of people – some museum professionals and others art collectors, academics or simply concerned citizens – has included me in their regular meetings to explore ways for Indy to become a more global city, especially vis a vis Africa. I’ve been in touch with people, both here and in Africa, who are interested in making the museums of Nigeria as excellent as any in the world. I have had the pleasure of helping to host a leading African thinker on museum practice and issues, Dr. Boureima Diamitani, executive director of the West African Museums Programme. (see my post under Education on the IMA’s blog).

Maxwell Anderson (IMA) and Boureima Diamitani (WAMP) discussing the global role of museums, Oct. 9

And then there’s the IU-Kenya Partnership. The IMA will partner with this organization and the Central Library to observe World AIDS Day in a few weeks.

Most recently, I have been in conversations with two astoundingly creative artists who will create public projects for the IMA over the next year: San Francisco-based choreographer and site-specific performance artist Joanna Haigood (www.zaccho.org), and acclaimed LA-based filmmaker Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust, The Rosa Parks Story). Both of their rough-draft plans have, interestingly, led to African connections. Joanna would like to work on an IMA project with Tanzanian-born musician and instrument inventor Walter Kitundu (Google this man and you will be amazed – see, especially, the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjPUfGm1XjU).

Julie, who hopes to work with teens on the idea of transformational experiences, has become fascinated herself with West African masquerades and will pursue that interest as she mentors the young filmmakers.

So little by little, I’m beginning to learn about Africa. Unexpectedly, I have come to think of Africa as the future, our collective future. The way Africa fares – languishes or blossoms - in the near future will say a lot about the world in which all of us will soon live, African or not.

From Fran Quigley: AMPATH Events and Media Coverage

This update comes from Fran Quigley at the Indiana Kenya Partnership. If you would like to receive your own updates on the many aspects of what the IU Med school is up to in Kenya, email Fran at quigley2@iupui.edu.

Dear Friends of the Indiana-Kenya Partnership aka USAID-AMPATH,

There are several upcoming events and plenty of media coverage involving USAID-AMPATH to advise you about:

· The ground-breaking Open MRS medical record system created by Indiana University and AMPATH was featured on the Public Radio International (PRI) program, “The World.” To listen to the piece, you can click here: Making medical records accessible (4:00)

· Dr. Bob Einterz, along with key Indiana-Moi leaders Drs. Charlie Kelley and Jim Smith, will be presenting an Advanced Leadership Seminar on the Indiana-Moi partnership and the nature of risk-taking. The seminar will be held on IUPUI’s campus this coming Wednesday, November 19th, from 4:30 PM to 6 PM. For more information, see http://www.iupui.edu/~eventsin/cal/?rssid=396083-40

· This upcoming week, from November 17th through 21st on its 5:30 PM newscast, Indianapolis television station WTHR-13 will be presenting a series of stories from their recent visit to Kenya and AMPATH. WTHR producer DeShong Perry, who won a National Association of Black Journalists fellowship to produce the series, spent several days in Eldoret last month, along with anchor Andrea Morehead and photographer Scott Allen, chronicling the program. The resulting stories will be broadcast nightly and also viewable on the station’s website, www.wthr.com

· On December 1, World AIDS Day, AMPATH’s Imani Workshops will be featured in a “Beads of Hope” evening celebration on IUPUI’s campus. See the following display for more information.



It is gratifying that the important work of our Kenyan and U.S. colleagues continues to be widely recognized, and we thank you for all of your support for the program and the people of Kenya.

Fran
Fran Quigley
Indiana-Kenya Partnership/USAID-AMPATH
www.ampathkenya.org

A Joyful Farewell to Miriam Makeba

Great loss for music and the human race when "Mama Afrika," Miriam Makeba, died after a concert in Italy. She had 76 glorious years of living, nearly sixty years sharing her gifts with the world.

Miriam Makeba - Mayibuye

She struggled, she suffered, she won! How cool is that. No Hoosier connections that I know, just a shining example for all of us. For tributes and news stories about Miriam Makeba, go here.

The reports say she fell after performing her signature tune "Pata Pata," which would be fitting. So it's a sad day, but joyful too since it gives a chance to listen to more Miriam Makeba. Here's a playlist of some favorites:

Be part of Kelly Campbell's trip to Kenya

Kelly Campbell of The Village Experience will be leaving November 30 for an East African trip that us with many, many opportunities to become engaged in Kenya and beyond. Like a couple of dozen other Hoosiers, Kelly was in Kenya with Ambassadors for Children last December when the country went up in post-electoral ethnic and tribal flames. She expects different this year:

This will be an amazing trip - the last time I was in Kenya, people were fighting in the streets and divided. This time, people will be celebrating in the streets and united because of the election of one of their own to the US presidency. I am so excited to see the country go through this transition and want to show them how much we truly support them and think about them.

Says Kelly about her upcoming trip:

I'll be in Tanzania the first week presenting our business model at a Traveler's Philanthropy Conference hosted by the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Washington, DC. After that, I'm headed to Kenya to visit Kazuri Beads in Nairobi, the 3 orphanges in Nakuru, the women's project, Eldoret, and Mbita.

Expect frequent updates on http://indyafrica.blogspot.com/ from Kelly during her trip. In the meantime, she is collecting crucial stuff to take with her to the groups she is working with in Kenya.

I will be able to take one extra bag and would love some help in collecting donations and money. Here is a breakdown of what they have requested:

Children's Discovery Center (Nakuru) - underwear for boys and girls and "wrappers" for the girls. Wrappers are like robes - something they can wear while doing chores and laundry. I would think Walmart or Kmart or some place like that would have cheap, basic underwear in all sizes. Most of the kids here are 8 and above. I will also try to pay school fees for Mary and Susan for their final year of high school.

Children's Discovery Center in Nakuru

"The 2 girls are Mary and Susan - extremely bright twins finishing out high school. I paid for them to go to a good school last year and want to make sure they have the funds to get through their last year."

Moi Children's Center (Nakuru) - they mostly need food. I would need monetary donations to purchase food in the city and deliver it to them like we did last time. $200 would buy quite a bit.

Saida Children's Home (Nakuru) - I would like to donate exercise books to this orphanage.

Due to lack of space, I would probably need monetary donations to purchase them there.

Women's Project (Nakuru) - $10 per woman will give them access to sanitary pads for an entire year. This project is being subsidized by the Ministry of Health and Joseph from Lake Nakuru Lodge is taking me to see the village. The women stay indoors for the entire length of their period as no pads are available. This project would give them the freedom to move about and be productive even when they are having their period.

Koinonia Street Rehabilitation Center (Eldoret) - There are a few families here that I will visit to see what the pressing needs are - most likely the children will need school fees paid and/or school supplies.

I can buy these in the market in Eldoret. I usually pay rent for a family of 10 whose head of household is 14 years old. It's only $100 for the year.
Dayspring Children's Center (Mbita) - A local church has donated money to this group so that I can purchase food and clothing for the orphans and widows, so I think we are set here.

A big lesson for all of us is how little it takes to make a big difference in the lives of people. How small (from American points of view) are enormous obstacles.

More from Kelly on details of contributing to her initiatives:

I don't have non-profit status, so keep the receipts for anything you purchase and I can issue you a letter to attach to it confirming your donation. If anyone is interested in donating a decent amount of money and wants a tax-exempt form, I can probably facilitate this through Joseph's organization in Nakuru. Remember, I only get one extra suitcase, but I can make it a big one! I can easily take photos, letters, etc from anyone interested. Please email me or call me if you can help and I can arrange to pick up any donations up until I leave.

You can reach Kelly at 917-862-9236 or email her at kescampb@yahoo.com. Visit The Village Experience website at www.experiencethevillage.com. It looks like Kelly is setting up humani-tourist trips to Kenya after Christmas and next summer. You can talk to Kelly (and Charlie Wiles) at a discussion of the political and moral implications of Hoosiers working around the world to solve problems on November 19: www.provocate.org/archives/840.

A discussion of Indiana & Africa November 16

Imagining a Global City
Visions of Indianapolis and the World

A Spirit & Place 2008 Event

When: Sunday, November 16 — 2:00-4:00 PM
Where: Indianapolis Museum of Art 4000 Michigan Road Indianapolis

Indy is an increasingly global city. Our economy is ever more tightly bound to the world’s; we watch films and listen to music produced by artists from around the world; and every week more newcomers from countries across the planet are making Indianapolis their home.

Our challenge is not only to welcome the diversity of cultural and religious views immigrants bring to Central Indiana. It is to learn from newcomers, to discover new views about faith, family, and community. It’s to have imaginative conversations that make all of us more creative, all of us better.

Be part of one of these conversations when the Indianapolis Museum of Art hosts a discussion of new ways of imagining wellness and the health of individuals, of communities, even of Nature.

Framing the conversation will be three pieces from the IMA’s African art collection. “The Healing of the Abiku Children,” by Nigerian artist Prince Twins Seven Seven, shows a Yoruba village reacting to the death of several sets of twins.

Ghanaian artist El Anatsui weaves a gorgeous community cloth called “Duvor” from discarded beer bottle caps and copper wire.

And the power figure from the Songye people in Congo was used when the community had to make important decisions.

IMA’s African art curator Ted Celenko will lead an optional tour highlighting these pieces. Then join several new Hoosiers from Africa to examine how these pieces reflect their cultures and assumptions. How are their political and social views changing as a result of being in Indiana and the United States? How can we bring together these different perspectives to create a culture that is new and better?

For more information about the event, about the pieces to be discussed, and about Global Indy, visit http://www.provocate.org/. Send questions to John Clark at john@sipr.org.