Our gorgeous Men

Honestly, i don't think we give enough credit to our men. we know and talk of the many bad characters they have but seldom remember of the good qualities.

An African man today may ignore the very strong qualities that he naturally posses. He concentrates more on making himself handsome, takes pride in dating many women and strives to be "cool". Lets see the natural African qualities that our fathers possessed, that lured our mothers and gave them confidence, qualities that i yearn to see our men embrace them today.

Surely our fathers were not any good at romantic gestures such as sending flowers or breakfast in bed (which i'm thankful our men do today). An African man took pride in being the:

# protector: Every time we heard some weird noise outside and our dog 'tyson' barking, my father would take a torch and a humongous stick and start walking towards the door leading outside. My mum.....well my mum would just tiptoe behind him whispering "be careful" and she would repeat this so many times!!!

This was a very typical scenario. The father of the house simply had to be the man, period! He was raised up being told by his father to look after his sisters and cows and goats, even the chicken! He knew that he was responsible for all of them. The boy carries this trait to his manhood. He prowls around his wife and children. Any threat to the is dealt with immediately. He brings a sense of security to the family.

#provider: At a young age an African boy is taught that he, as a man must make sure that he provides for his family. He would see how his father comes back home with a deer and his mother receiving it happily. An African man does not only provide for his immediate family, but also for both his and his wife's extended family. He takes his responsibility very seriously that even when things get tough, he never stops trying.

Now these were lions of Africa.

It is the eye that has seen the smoke that will perceive the fire.

A Hausa proverb

Niger men

Maasai man-Tanzania

our phenomenal women

Our mothers had it all!! From Egypt to Angola, South Africa to Libya, Senegal to Tanzania....they had it all. Their curves, their smile, their kitchen skills, their humility and humbleness, but most of all their caring and loving nature.

Do you remember long a go when your friend's mother would punish you for misbehaving?...and you would be lucky if she wont tell your mom because she would punish you as well!! this is how they made sure their children grew up to be responsible people. This is how we learned to call every woman mama, because every mother was a mother to every child in the society.

Africa is sometimes referred to as a country because of the many things countries within it share. our dressing for instance; a Nigerian woman in her abaya, a Rwandise lady in her Mushanana, a Tanzanian mama in her kitenge and a Somalian in her guntiino. They all have something in common; they are conservative, colourful attires. An African woman dressing portrayed respect for herself, her father(family) and her husband. Our mothers dressed gracefully!

Who can beat mama's food!!? with all going on in her life; taking care of children(probably five!), doing house chores and gardening, she never failed failed to put food on the table for her family. Not just any meal, but a delicious one that she learned from her mother. She knew exactly what to cook to change her husband's mood, a special ingredient to include to make her sick daughter eat and the exact amount to give her son for him to have enough strength to rear cows.

I am not sure how they did it, but our mothers were strong! both physically and emotionally. I can personally testify of women who went through hell and came back alive. These were no-nonsense women but were wise and humble. They knew when to speak and when to keep quiet, when to argue and when to let go. Through these, they gained respect and dignity.

our mothers beat us with one hand and pamper us with the other.

Now these were African Beauties!!

It takes a whole village to raise a child

-An African Proverb

A reminder

so what is culture?
It is generally the way a certain society lives. This includes their values, beliefs, languages, dressing, daily practices and much more. This means each society has its own culture: the Chinise culture, European culture, Asian culture etc, and no culture is superior to the other.
It seems to me today that people are disturbed by the word culture. It is associated with some bad myths and disgusting practices. But the truth is, our culture is our identiy. when we identify ourselves as Africans, we are automatically associated with its cultures.
Cultures evolve, adapting itself to new environment and circumstances and Africans have had to deal with multiple changes in their cultures. But does this mean we abandon our cultures? Nope! it just means we learn to incoporate the modern lifestyle with our own cultures. It means we develop without abandoning our identiy or perhaps use our identity to develop.
Our culture is in danger of being totaly forgotten. We,(The modern generations) either don't know it well or we just don't want anything to do with it or we find it easier to just move with the current. We are reminded more of our problems and failures than our resilient selves. Our grand parents are dying without telling us of the old golden stories (probably because they have been replaced by TV).
well, let us remind ourselves of how it used to be....
"Sometimes you need to swim against the current for you to achieve what you want"
-M.Zulu

Be grateful to the tree so that it may yield more fruits
-A Shona Proverb

overview

Are you passionate about Africa and its cultures? Do you want to learn more about it? Do you want to share your views and experiences? well, if so then lets do it together. The objective here is appreciate African culture and show its relevance to the modern era. To remind ourselves of our beautiful ways of living that we should embrace. To share our views on how we can develop without losing our identity. but most of all, to appreciate our roots, our heritage!

A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything

African Proverb.

Our brave soldiers

A few days ago i sat next to a young, handsome man in a bus.  he was on the phone when his envelope fell from his lap.  he looked at me as a sign of telling me to pick it up for him.  i got offended by his bossy behavior, but i picked it up never the less.  He got off the phone and thanked me, that's when i noticed that he had no one arm. I later learned he was a marine and  that he lost his arm and leg in war.

It got me thinking how much these brave men and women have been forgotten in the society.  We wrongly think that soldiers are people with no education and no career path. Tell me, when was the last time you thought about a soldier positively? or maybe talked and encouraged one? or even put one in your prayers? when?

These brilliant men and women work day and night for our sake, for the sake of their nations.  They risk their lives for yours.  They go off not knowing if they will ever come back home.  Yet, we call them uneducated!

You may not be able to comprehend this, and i don't blame you since you have never been a soldier. But for a moment put yourself in their combat boots. Do you see yourself leaving home, going into a war zone, to a place you have never been?? Think about the living conditions, the shock, the fear......

saying bye without knowing if you will return

That is not all, the war zone isn't the only hardship they face. I have seen soldiers missing their parents' funerals only to come back to see graves. Soldiers seeing their sons at a year old for the first time. I have seen soldiers loosing their wives, their lovers because they are never home enough. because their at work most times-and when they happen to be home, they have nightmares and scare the daylight out of their wives.  The fear of being attacked follows them even in their sleep.

I think these men deserve to be honored, they deserve much more than a pat on the shoulder.  Talk to them, encourage them, listen to them, pray for them and send them love.  I tell you, they just don't just work for a pay check at the end of the month...they work out of passion and love for their people.

They are our heroes and together we should appreciate and sing for them.

To our brave soldiers: you are in our thoughts and prayers.  Your work is not in vain.

To soldier's wives: You carry a heavy burden on your shoulders and for that we acknowledge you.  Please stay strong and stand with your men,they need you.

(Dickson Nyemba) unsung hero

Dickson Nyemba was born on the 8th September 1958. He spent his childhood in Chikumbulu, a small village in Mbeya region-Tanzania. As a young boy, he struggled to get past standard seven due to his poor performance. Many including his relatives had given up on him after he repeated the same class three times! He was moved to a town school in hopes of better results. To his luck, he managed to graduate standard seven and later high school.He went on to get a diploma in teaching and taught for some years before realizing his leadership and administrative talent, and went on to open his own school which grew amazingly. This definitely does not make him a hero.
How then is he on this page?
Nyemba did not sit on his blessings, but used them for the good of the community. He chose to share them in very distinctive ways.
# In his school which ran from form 1-4, he took in and accommodated five orphaned children every year. these students studied free of charge for all their four years at swilla schools. By 2011 he had educated over 60 students who went out and used their education to make a difference in the world in many ways.
# Every year him and his team went out into villages including chikumbulu(his home land), assessed the needs of the very old people and find ways to help. Cartons of sugar, rice, mattresses and house renovations were some of the things they did and gave to the elderly.

serving in the Army

                                                         

# Its a tradition that each October,his staff engage in planting trees in and around the school area.
# His school has a dispensary that not only takes care of the student's health, but also the health of the community around the school for free.
For this, i think he deserves to be sung.
(Dickson Nyemba passed on in December 2011, but his deeds still speak fro him...RIP)

Nyemba as a young man

This is a special page for the unsung heroes. African men and women who have made an impact in our societies, but have not been recognized or appreciated. Stories from all over are welcome. Just write them to me at martha.dickson4@gmail.com, and they will be featured here.

Lets all sing for the unsung heroes