On ne prend pas le léopard pour garder la viande (Proverbe Zulu – South Africa).
We do not take a leopard to guard meat (Zulu proverb – South Africa).
Proverbe Zulu / Zulu Proverb
Month: April 2017
Let your Greatness Blossom!
“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. Of course the task will not be easy. But not to do this would be a crime against humanity, against which I ask all humanity now to rise up.” Nelson Mandela, Message to the Live 8 Concert in Edinburgh, July 2005
Here is your call to greatness! Whatever you do, do it well, be great, let your greatness blossom! The flower below looks like the stems are coming out, just like a generation blossoming! Just like this flower, let your stems come out, and be the very best you can be!
Share this:
Proverbe sur connaître les gens / Proverb on ways to know someone
C’est par ses paroles qu’on entre dans les pensées d’un autre (Proverbe Gâ – Ghana). – Si vous voulez connaître quelqu’un, faites le parler.
It is by his words that one enters the thoughts of another (Ga proverb – Ghana). – If you want to know someone, make him/her talk.
Share this:
“Ethiopia Shall Rise” by Kwame Nkrumah
President Kwame Nkrumah, the great, and first president of Ghana once wrote a poem on Ethiopia. Kwame Nkrumah was the mind behind the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (Organisation de l’Union Africaine) which has become the African Union (Union Africaine). He believed in the unity of Africa, not just economic, but in the cooperation within the different states, and their independence. So here is his poem entitled ‘Ethiopia shall rise‘. Remember that Ethiopia is the only African country which was never colonized by Europeans, and as such is the siege of the African Union. Here is his entire speech followed by his poem. In reality, in his eyes, Ethiopia symbolizes the whole of Africa, and his wish is for Africa to rise again! Enjoy!
=========
Addis Ababa, May 25, 1963
YOUR; IMPERIAL MAJESTY, MR. CHAIRMAN, YOUR EXCELLENCIES BROTHERS AND FRIENDS,
We have come to the end of a historic and momentous Conference. The decisions we have taken here have made African Unity a reality and we can see clearly a Union Government of Africa in the horizon.
This is the goal which we set ourselves when we struggled in our separate States for Independence. It is also the compelling force which brought us together in Addis Ababa.
As I have said over and over again, the independence of our separate State is meaningless, unless the whole of Africa becomes free and united.
The resolutions we have made here are a symbol of our determination to become united and to remain united in an African Community with common aspirations and common objectives. Freedom Fighters in all parts of our Continent can now be assured that they are not alone in their struggle. The whole weight and power of a united Africa is behind them.
After centuries of colonial exploitation and domination, Africa has been re- born. We have discovered our common identity, a force with which we can re-assert our African personality.
We shall from now on think, plan and work together for the progress and development of our great Continent. In this way, we shall eliminate completely the handicaps, set-backs and humiliation we have suffered under colonialism and imperialism.
We should be happy that at long last, by the adoption of this Charter, we have seen the end of the various groupings and regional blocs. It only remains for me, Your Majesty, on behalf of my colleagues to convey to the Government and people of Ethiopia especially to His Imperial Majesty, my sincere expression of gratitude for a happy and memorable stay in Addis Ababa.
The ancient Greeks identified Ethiopia with the Black Race. I would therefore like to leave with you a little poem on this:
Ethiopia shall rise
Ethiopia, Africa’s bright gem
Set high among the verdant hills
That gave birth to the unfailing
Waters of the Nile
Ethiopia shall rise
Ethiopia, land of the wise;
Ethiopia, bold cradle of Africa’s ancient rule
And fertile school
Of our African culture;
Ethiopia, the wise
Shall rise
And remould with us the full figure
Of Africa’s hopes
And destiny.
Kwame Nkrumah
Share this:
Happy Easter 2017
Just wishing you all a happy Easter celebration. I know to many in this world, Easter is special, and symbolizes their getting together with family, and Easter egg hunt, but do remember that it also symbolizes a special link with the Almighty, a new beginning, a second chance! Do grab this second chance and make the best out of it!
Share this:
Proverbe sur le temps / Proverb on Time Gone
Le temps est comme l’oiseau; si vous ne le saisissez pas, il est parti (Proverbe Ashanti – Ghana).
Time is like a bird; if you don’t catch it, it is gone (Ashanti proverb – Ghana).
Share this:
Blague Africaine: la dictée / African Joke: The Spelling Test
Le maître commence la dictée. “Le titre est: ‘la bicyclette’.” Tamo, un élève, demande à son voisin Toto, “psss Toto, pardon aide-moi, j’ai oublié où on met le ‘y’ … c’est à quel niveau, byciclette ou bicyclette?”
Toto de répondre, “ah kah, laisse-nous ça, tu refléchis trop. Moi j’ai déjà écrit ‘vélo‘“!
======
The teacher starts the dictation test. “The title is, ‘the bicycle’.” Tamo, a student, asks his neighbor Toto, “psss, Toto, please help me, I have forgotten where the ‘y’ goes … is it bycicle or bicycle, which one is it?”
Toto to answer, “ah kah… you think too much. I have already written ‘bike‘!”
Share this:
How to Fly a Rhino
I never thought of flying a rhino until the BBC published an article on the subject the other day. Imagine flying a 1.5 tonne animal in an airplane: what does it entail? what are the challenges? why do it in the first place? Here are a few excerpts from the article; for the full version, check out the article ‘How do you get a rhino to fly‘. At the end of the article, I felt sad that humanity has come to this in order to preserve an endangered species from humans! Is the answer to relocate all endangered species all over the world to avoid extinction? Any ideas?
=======
… 12 white rhinos have just left their native South Africa for a new life in a nearby country, as part of an anti-poaching project.
The beasts spent 15 hours in a truck, plane, and helicopter to get from a game park in KwaZulu Natal, on South Africa’s east coast, to their new location.
Step 1: Blindfold and ear plugs
“The animals are caught and put into a steel crate that’s specially designed to contain them, and designed to fit in the aircraft.”
… “You have to immobilize them – make them go to sleep completely, and then blindfold them. And then you put earplugs in their ears.
And then, you slowly give them a little bit of [sedative] reversal, enough so they can stand up. They’re uncoordinated at that stage – so then you put a rope round their heads and you pull them slowly into the crate.
“They have to walk on their own feet because they’re very heavy. You can’t move a tonne of sleeping meat!”
The rhinos need to be awake throughout the flight so they can move their legs and regulate their own breathing. “The problem with a flight that long and an animal this big, is that if it lies for too long, that restricts circulation to the leg. And they get pins and needles – and then occasionally the animal could lose the use of that leg.”…
Step 2: Roll it into the plane
Then comes the heavy lifting. With the rhinos safely in their transport crates, a crane lifts them onto the back of a truck bound for the airport.
Next, the crane deposits them on a loading vehicle, which will move them on to a plane.
“In this case we had rollers on the floor,” … “We just laid them onto the rollers, and then rolled them into the aircraft. …
The process involves a significant team of human helpers. “The loading – you’ve normally got between 10 or 12 people per rhino. And we normally do two at a time, so 25 people.”
Sadly, the move requires an armed security contingent due to the threat from poachers. Trading in rhino horn has been banned globally for four decades, but the substance – traditionally used in Chinese medicine – has a higher black market value than gold or cocaine.
… there are four rhinos airborne at any one time, “in a big military transport plane”.
For all the other steps, go to the BBC page.
Share this:
Proverbe sur l’action immediate / Proverb on Immediate Action
Qui arrive le premier à la source, boit l’eau la plus pure (Proverbe Sukuma et Bayombe – Republique Democratique du Congo (RDC)). – Ne tardez pas à agir.
Who arrives first at the river, drinks the purest water (Sukuma and Bayombe Proverb – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)). – Do not wait to act.
African Heritage 