#BYND2015 Kofi Annan live chat

Listening to Kofi Annan speaking about unemployment with a diverse group of students scattered across the world.The daunting facts are 40% of unemployment is youth globally.This is our future, what we have to look forward to?

Kofi Annan offers some advice….

Are the youth being too demanding,do we lack the necessary skills and grit?Does it go both ways?Are we asking too much?Students tend to establish their own company they long to be entrepreneurs but when the financial crisis happened all the young people suffered,,,,Kofi explains “They are the first to let go” .Is a solution that all these entrepreneurs band together and create  jobs together?

“Is offering skills actually creating jobs?” Do all these young people actually have the skills to start companies like financing and managing advice? or are they just setting themselves up for failure?

“small medium size companies are sustained they will be able to create jobs for people”Kofi Annan

Does education prepare us for life?In Zimbabwe the education system has disintegrating due to the continuous economic crisis that has crippled Zimbabwe.Does the youth have any hope when they havent been given the opportunity to even learn some skills to be successful in a job. Zimbabwe has a devastating unemployment rate of 95%….

Strategies to help the youth:

Two strategies that have been proposed is entrepreneurial and freelance work these small companies will provide jobs for more people.There should be programs put in place specifically to aid  and facilitate these young people.”We all have to learn from each other”Kofi Annan.

Universities should work with society in order to help young individuals find jobs.We should also look at women’s employment as women are still not given equal opportunities.This issue should not be overseen.

I love Kofi’s undeniable hope for the future he finished by saying “have faith in the youth,give them a chance and they will surprise you”

Heart to heart

 

One observation I’ve made is I love to fix things. I love piecing people’s hearts back together and filling people’s lives with hope. That is a lesson I have learned from Africans even in the midst of complete and utter despair they have an overwhelming sense of hope. I think people here need even a fragment of that hope. I mean I have a friend called Taps who grew up in an orphanage in Zimbabwe but he had dreams of becoming a singer and his hope propelled him onwards. Even though there’s millions of people who want to become singers and Taps was born in Zimbabwe the LAST place on the list, he didn’t let that stop him. Growing up in Zimbabwe most kids don’t really have great prospects but Taps defied this.He’s in LA where he just graduated from music school and has started singing at the hard rock cafe while also working with some of the top producers. He told me once “if you just believe with all your heart and you fight for what you believe you can achieve your goals “He and many of my other friends inspire me like T who has just graduated from full sail university after doing music production.He is about to  move to LA to work with Taps the Zimbabweans are taking over!!!They are highly motivated and even though they’ve come from nothing (Zimbabwe) they aren’t afraid to go for everything they hoped for. This passion this desire is what I don’t often see here….Yet Africans have so little opportunity while here the possibilities are endless and yet people here don’t seem to dream big dreams even though it’s far more likely for them to succeed then an African! So my next challenge is helping people to start believing in themselves and their worth and not giving up even if the world says you’ll never win and having a little more hope.,,,,

Warm up Africa Event

With the help of Michelle we planned an event where we set up the projector and moved couches and watched movies all nigt and all the money we made would go to buying blankets in Zimbabwe!

 

Next time I devise what I think is a brilliant plan….I must check that it doesn’t have giant flaws first! We started setting up for the event round noon and the first obstacle surfaced when we had to carry crates of beer from the super market to the housing It was a test of true strength and endurance Michelle and I confronted the task daunting as it may be, we were determined….Julia carried the shopping and Rensi the other drinks and we  began the journey….Due to the fact my only exercise consists of  walking up 3 flights of stairs to my room and even that admittedly makes me breathless, I knew this challenge would destroy me….rightly so! But we managed. Following that we were then confronted with another strength test we had to lug all the couches to the art annex where the movies would be showing…thankfully this time we had 2 males assistance thanks to Michelles charm but with each couch I still found my strength being drained from me. I made numerous discoveries while carrying…1.the worst Job in the world would be to carry FURNITURE 2.I am unbelievably weak and feel gym may be in order 3.My mind power is a lot stronger then my weakling arms I just took it one step at a time and Finally we were done. We also had some technical difficulties with the projector although Michelle managed to solve them with Reni’s help. People started filtering in and the movies got underway…..it was actually a pretty fun night unfortunately I felt myself coming down with flu probably due to all the heavy lifting! Haha

The following day came too quickly and we now had to tackle taking all the couches back and cleaning the room, fortunately my heroes or rather heroines emerged to help….Michelle Rensi and Julia! We got to work….at the end of the day I looked back and thought how did i manage to find these girls that will take on these grueling tasks that I would have to pay any boy to do…The best part was they offered to help it didn’t take any persuasion of coercion they just did it…which made me realize I’ve found some incredible people who genuinely want to help….

  and of coarse a special thanks to the new Student Council President Michelle Weaver she pushed me onwards!!!

Ed of Win and Drizzle

 

Firstly I’d like to address the comments from Ed of win and Drizzle your words are truly insightful and I must admit I agree. I believe only Africans can solve African problems. Even though foreign Aid has poured millions into the nation it’s never been poorer so clearly aid is doing more harm than good. So you may be wondering if I am so against foreign Aid then why am I supporting it now….Well the answer is the money raised will go to buying AIDS orphans blankets,,, because they have contracted a disease from their parents they had nothing to do with it and yet they will be made to suffer…these children on top of being sick usually have to care for all their living relatives and find enough money to pay for transport from their village to the hospital to get treatment. These kids have had their childhood stolen from them they are forced to grow up and carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. So I just want to give them one less thing to worry about….Also another thing I am hoping to send the money to Zimbabwe and get our own people to make the blankets to then give them to the orphans this way it gives the locals work and it gives the children warmth. Africans helping Africans…the way it should be.Thank you for such thought provoking wondrous comments I do look forward to them=)

Andrew Mwenda takes a new look at Africa

Warm Up Africa

It turns out to be rather difficult to do anything helpful in Holland without first receiving an enormous amount of permission. Also the language barrier serves to be a bit of a problem. I didn’t know it would be so hard to help…I messaged an old age home and I got a reply saying why would I like to visit, WHY? The concept of just helping seems to be suspicious…

 

But with the help of a few wonderful people I concocted a brilliant plan…we thought why don’t we try organize events and with the money we raise we use it to help people back home. In the process maybe we could get a bunch of people together that might never mingle ordinarily and join for a common cause like warming up Africa….when shellzi goes home she can buy blankets because it will be winter there. My mum says that it’s already getting cold and as I mentioned before she works with AIDS orphans so they would really appreciate it. My heart still aches for Africa even when I’m miles away I still long to help in some way. Plus I thought maybe if I get a lot of people together I can learn what people here need….because the needs of people here are very different to those back at home. So I have to become a part of Holland and its people and then maybe I can understand them better.

That’s what annoys me about Aid organizations in Zimbabwe a few officials who are millions of miles away send what they think the people will need. For instance and Aid organization started building brick houses in Hatcliff….(shanty town)but no one moved into them if the aid organization had given them black plastic however, the people would have been much happier because that’s what they needed to protect their homes. The West seems so set in creating a highly advanced, industrialized, and developed Africa.  But instead they should allow Africans to preserve their traditions but enable them to provide for their families in a better way .Well that’s my opinion so I’m not going to make the same mistakes I’m going to immerse myself in this world and figure out the equivalent of black plastic in Holland.=)

 

Smile your worth it!*

 

So I decided to start with the basic acts of kindness just smiling.I actually listened to a Ted speech which was so interesting  by Ron Gutman. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ron_gutman_the_hidden_power_of_smiling.html

Apparently British researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate.”So I thought over Easter weekend smiling would be a healthy route to take. So I decided to start with just the basic acts of kindness…smiling. Mands I took your advice this pictures just for you=)

When I was young I used to play this game with Chants called sweet and sour. Basically we would wave at everyone we saw and if they waved back they were sweet and if they didn’t they were sour. In Zimbabwe people are just genuinely very friendly and if you wave usually people wave very happily back and especially kids they are my favorite they would run after you and wave frantically. As simple as this game may be it was highly amusing and it would lift our spirits immediately. So I decided to pay this game in Holland, the outcome was a little different. Everyone I passed I made a conscious effort to greet with a warm smile …I was not met with a similar response in fact most of the time people looked at me rather apprehensively like I may be borderline crazy….others just turned and looked away…most people even looked behind them to see if I was smiling at someone else….as soon as I saw a child I was like yes….! This little guy will smile at me but nope he just retreated and hid behind his mums legs.

 At the end of the day I came to the conclusion that firstly the theory “smiling is contagious” is false in Holland and secondly Dutch people are very different to Zimbabweans. I am not one to give up however and I will continue to my smiling streak. So if you happen to be walking down the streets of Leiden and someone smiles at you pretty please just smile back it will make their day!!!!!=)

Dare to serve*

There is also a couple that continually inspires me….Rob & Lisa.

Firstly Lis has been like a second sister to me her loving warmth sets everyone around her a glow. I love her dearly and she is soon to be married to Rob (aka Robson) Rob is a wonderful man with a great sense of humor. Together they formed a Christian group called dare to serve which is basically a group of teenagers that get together every Saturday in Zimbabwe and they help out the community in whatever way they can. To give you some examples they do cleanups, visiting the elderly, teaching street kids and much more…Ill let you watch the videos they describe it better.

It was the most amazing experience being part of this group it was a tremendous amount of fun. It was amazing to see what could happen when this diverse group of people got together to help. Rob is an amazing leader he is so dedicated and determined to serve people. He pours his love into everything he does.Rob and Lis have persevered through unyielding circumstances and yet they remain strong .Thank you for being so inspiring and being such great role models!I thought you guys deserved a post all to yourselves=)

Heroes Anonymous

I am privileged to be surrounded by a variety of inspiring people starting with my wonderful mother Tracy Wilson aka mumzi Trace. She has dedicated her life to serving others with such natural compassion. She helps with the feeding programme for children with AIDS in Pari hospital as well as Harare hospital. Somehow she fits visiting the hospital 3 times a week while also managing retail shop full-time and being a wonderful mother…She’s some woman. I owe a large part of my identity to my brilliant mum, she has set an example that I continuously strive to reach.

 

Thanks to Michelle Weaver I met Derkje Voorn aka Oma. When she lived in Zimbabwe she ran orphanage called Karoi children’s home which mainly housed abused orphans. Even now that she’s in Holland she looks after and visits the elderly frequently. Compassion never retires. She is the most sprightly energetic woman I’ve ever met.She really brings the saying “hits the ground running “to life. Oma proves that you can make a difference at any age; I was enriched by her wisdom and spirit.

 

Next I had the honor of meeting the Jacqueline van Holstein and Ciar van Holstein. Jacqueline has worked as a trauma counselor for post-war victims following that she founded her own company called LUNA based in Holland and she also runs LUNA International. I could list all her numerous achievements, but that still wouldn’t capture the extraordinary effect this woman has had on so many peoples lives. I have been fortunate enough to listen to some of her stories each one was so inspiring I felt it impact me deep within. Her selflessness shines through in every story. She saves people on a daily basis and is always ready for an adventure. She is fearlessly passionate about her work and she goes to extreme lengths for every individual. For instance the girl in the picture is named Zara and without Jacqueline she may have never been reunited with her family.

Then there’s her son Ciar whose heart is a reflection of his mothers. He is a former Dutch professional footballer but he has an ongoing project to help young people in Kosovo overcome the horror of war through football. He has such commitment and conviction and he strives to make a difference. I love listening to their stories of how they’ve impacted lives. They are agents of change and I can only hope one day to have stories that great to tell.

In my opinion you are the everyday heroes that don’t make the headline….but should because you do all of this amazing work for people without the expectation of ever being recognized for it. You make every second count! So I know it’s not much but I acknowledge greatness in each and every one of you. I want to integrate your tenderness, wisdom, and strength into my life. To me you are the most beautiful people because you pour your hearts and soul into serving and loving people.

Introducing Africansavanna

Welcome to my world*

So firstly introductions are in order…My name is Savanna pleased to meet you=)

I grew up in the beautiful Zimbabwe and these are some familiar sights for me….

                                                         This is my road!(if it constitutes as a road)This is actually one of the good ones!

This is how Zimbabaweans travel

                                               I find it ironic that people call it darkest Africa when in fact it is the land of eternal glorious sunshine!

And now I’ve been thrown into a completely different  atmosphere.I’ve gone from wild Africa to….here!

And now I travel like this:

And the weathers is a bit different to:

So as you might have guessed Holland is a completely foreign landscape that I’m still learning to navigate.

However, the one thing that is universal…is everyone experiences pain. There is just one difference; Africa is consumed by suffering the evidence surrounds you. You don’t have to search for people in need. While here I find people are more consumed by perfection so they hide their pain or bury it. That doesn’t mean their pain doesn’t exist it just lurks beneath the surface waiting for someone to venture deep within and shed light into the darkness.

I find that compassion transcends all boundaries….and yet it feels like we’ve diminished its depth and its worth has been lost along the way. I want to restore its place…I am passionate about people and I feel maybe there’s someone in need of a little compassion to alter what they define possible or achievable. I’m fragile and flawed and I suffer from atelophobia (I’m hoping you’ll all be too lazy to look that up) but somehow I feel valuable when I attempt to repair pieces of peoples hearts.I’m an idealist and an optimist I see the beauty in places no one else does. Most importantly, I love making people happy…I don’t know how to word better than the Dalai Lama “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. “Simple as that*and for those of you who like more factual proof here it is. In a number of studies using neuroimaging procedures, compassion not only stimulates one’s pleasure (reward) centers but also leads to a decrease in indicators of stress and an increase in adaptive immune function. So why then do we not practice compassion?

I also want to recognize those wonderful people that inspire me with their endless care for others. So this blog will be a blend of tales of kindness and my own research on how powerful it can be. So keep reading if you want to find out if an African can make an impact in Amsterdam. I am going to be on a mission to unleash compassion for 6 weeks and 45days so stay tuned to find out what happens…