Recognize your song and sing it well

Source unknown but this story is receiving wide circulation here

There is a tribe in Africa where the birth date of a child is counted not from when they were born, nor from when they are conceived but from the day that the child was a thought in its mother’s mind. And when a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can hear the song of the child that wants to come. And after she’s heard the song of this child, she comes back to the man who will be the child’s father, and teaches it to him. And then, when they make love to physically conceive the child, some of that time they sing the song of the child, as a way to invite it.

And then, when the mother is pregnant, the mother teaches that child’s song to the midwives and the old women of the village, so that when the child is born, the old women and the people around her sing the child’s song to welcome it. And then, as the child grows up, the other villagers are taught the child’s song. If the child falls, or hurts its knee, someone picks it up and sings its song to it. Or perhaps the child does something wonderful, or goes through the rites of puberty, then as a way of honoring this person, the people of the village sing his or her song.





In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or abhorrent social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them.





The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another. 

And it goes this way through their life. In marriage, the songs are sung, together. And finally, when this child is lying in bed, ready to die, all the villagers know his or her song, and they sing—for the last time—the song to that person.



You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little wobbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home.

I found this story, true or made-up, so beautiful and worthy to be shared here. The picture is from the Himba people and does not imply the African Tribe in question. But how one would wish every word of the story were true.

Research Frontiers in Foreign Aid

research frontiers in foreign aid.

The article by Dadakim re blogged here provides some interesting links to research material on the distribution of Foregn aid in Malawi with great relevance/lessons for Zimbabwe and Africa.

Why Zimbabwean voters are deserting Morgan Tsvangirai

By Simukai Tinhu

The MDC was supposed to trounce Robert Mugabe in upcoming elections, yet polls show the party is haemorrhaging support.
…recent voter surveys, (notably Afrobarometer and Freedom House) and some not-so-well-attended MDC political rallies (in comparison to 2002 and 2008 election campaigns), suggest the MDC may have indulged in undue optimism. Indeed, the words “MDC” and “lose” are being flung around liberally these days by both local and international analysts.
Read Full story here

As Africa’s New Wealth Grows, Poverty Must Come Down

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2013—
Originally published here by The World Bank
New data on Africa shows Sub-Saharan African countries continue to grow at a strong pace
Sound economic policies and programs can ensure increased growth rates and reduce poverty
Good progress has been made on a few MDGs, even though the region lags in achieving the development goals

Africa’s booming economic growth fuelled by a rigorous focus on government and citizen accountability will boost poverty reduction and promote shared prosperity, according to the World Bank’s latest Africa’s Pulse, the twice-yearly analysis of the economic trends and latest data on the continent.

“The broad picture emerging from the data is that Africa’s economies have been expanding robustly and that poverty is coming down,” says Shanta Devarajan, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa, and lead author of Africa’s Pulse.

“At the same time, the aggregate numbers hide a great deal of diversity in economic growth and performance, even among Africa’s faster growers,” Devarajan adds.

The analysis shows that about 25 percent of the countries in Africa, notably, Sierra Leone, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Rwanda, grew at 7 percent or higher, putting them in league with the fastest growing countries in the world.

Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, the report found, economic growth remained strong at an estimated 4.7 percent. Excluding South Africa, the region’s largest economy, the remaining economies grew at a powerful 5.8 percent—higher than the developing country average of 4.9 percent.

Although the analysis details steady and strong economic growth, it also shows that different countries are pursuing different development models, with different degrees of success.
A look at Rwanda’s agricultural programs shows that its maize and cereal output has increased between 2006 and 2011 (Mason et al., 2011; World Bank, 2013b) partially through the Rwanda Crop Intensification Program. Under this program subsistence farmers, who traditionally grow an array of crops on very small fields, pooled their land, specialized in one crop, and were provided low cost fertilizer. This program has “has been the workhorse of the new agricultural strategy of the government of Rwanda,” according to Africa’s pulse.

The program’s success is seen partially in the economic expansion in Rwanda of 5 percent per capita GDP, which resulted in a 1.3 percentage point yearly fall in the country’s national poverty rate. A similar drop in the poverty rate in Ethiopia resulted from economic expansion there as well, the Bank’s Devarajan says.

Throughout Sub-Saharan African recent trends point to progress in the fight against income poverty. Between 1996 and 2010, the share of people living on less than $1.25-day in Sub-Saharan Africa has declined from an estimated 58 percent to 48.5 percent, according to provisional data in the report.

Like the continent’s steady economic expansion, progress on the millennium development goals varies among countries. The report notes that the progress made over the past ten years, when growth picked up, has been impressive. In fact, the region is on a trajectory to achieve the targets soon after 2015, as long as strong economic growth and a commitment to reforms remains.

Success on MDGs can be seen in the improvement in maternal mortality throughout the region. For example, the maternal mortality ratio in the region was 850 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990, compared to the ratio of 400 deaths per 100,000 throughout the rest of the developing countries. In 2010, the value of this indicator was 500 deaths per 100,000 live births in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The under-5 mortality rate in Sub-Saharan Africa has declined substantially as well, from 178 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 109 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011.

The outlook for the maternal mortality MDG is optimistic, the analysis notes. If the region doubles the effort made during 2005-10 it will be able to reach this goal by 2016.

Challenges remain

While the new assessment finds that Africa continues to grow faster than the global average, much remains to be done to raise the quality of life for the many who live in extreme poverty. Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s Vice President for Africa, notes that there is an enormous opportunity for energy and agricultural producing through the continent.

“Without more electricity and higher agricultural productivity, Africa’s development future cannot prosper,” Diop says. “The good news is that governments in Africa are intent on changing this.”

What’s wrong with a sack of money, anyway?

President Museveni’s sack of shame.

Indeed, what’s wrong with a sack of money (Or an envelope), especially when it is coming from the President, be it Museveni, of Uganda (see here)

…Or Mugabe, of Zimbabwe (see here) or here

I have posted this comment to the original story:
“Actually, this could be the humorous side of the leaders showing itself, or in Museveni’s case just a big man trying to impress himself on the smaller men in a language they can best understand, sparing them the hassle of filling in forms and all the other formalities of the normal system. But then again, citizens have the right to question the wisdom of this, as you do. Well done.”

The Third Way by @TrevorNcube

Reblogged from Sir Nigel's Journey...:

NEVER since Independence has Zimbabwe needed President Robert Mugabe as much as it does now. The country, the ruling party and the opposition are all in a shambles and only he can get us out of this mess. Zimbabwe faces an acute leadership crisis that only Mugabe has the capacity to resolve if he so decides.

And this is exactly how Mugabe wants it.

Read more… 1,731 more words

Well,.. Here is a measure of one individuals effort to restore that so much needed hope and optimism in Zimbabwe's political future. My opinion? The third way is only that. A third way. There can and must be a fourth way. And a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, eighth ninth and tenth way. Lets keep looking! @TrevorNcube's way kinds of puts too much responsibility and obligation for Zimbabwe's restoration on a very, VERY OLD MAN. But it's worth of consideration by all!

Thirty three years on and still B*llsh*t Politics prevails in Zimbabwe!

Reblogged from hararesunset:

Zimbabwe has turned 33 and today we have nothing to show for those three decades. This line sounds self-defeating to many but truth be told, our country is embroiled in confusion. The fact is only a few that brag of obscene economic and social status while the majority chokes in abject poverty and political uncertainty. Those that seem to enjoy are either descendants of ZANU PF’s murderous tactics or remnants of benefits by association with the party.

Read more… 699 more words

Many people at home and abroad share the despair that can be felt in the tone of this article. Zimbabwe's political arena is mared in unbelievable heinous realities characterised by plots, counterplots, killings, revenge and subotage of national systems and institutions for individual benefits. The prospect of elections is not able to excite the nation into any sufficient levels of optimism as the same perpetrators of these evils are still the same individuals whose names will be on the ballot papers. It is disheartening That it appears the people seem to have accepted this as the only standard of politics/politician that can ever be. Politics of power, even supernatural power. Power derived from fear and a host of other horrors as are being revealed in social networking pages and blogs as the plots and counter plots thicken while former allies in the oppression of the people now start to fall out of each others favour. The perssimists are raising their weary eyebrows saying "we 've said it before: vanhu Ava imhondi, ende havabve, nyangwe zvodii." (These people have too much blood on their hands and will never relinquish power, no matter what happens) What do you think? How can Zimbabwe's politics be made attractive again for untarnished youths in college dormitories who have an appetite to serve their people?