AIM Magazine July 2009

AIM Magazine

July 2009, 8th Edition

Kemo Camara founder of African Vision 360 Minnesota‌.talks about the 2009 African Cup.

Dear Friends, It is hard to believe that it has already been a month since we last wrote you! It has been a year since we started AIM and we would like to thank you all for sticking with us this whole time.

Time is flying by so take advantage of the time you have now and… dare we say it… Winter is just around the corner…

First and foremost we would like to thank everyone who joined us for the Happy Hour at our now adoptive home of Picosa on June 26th 2009. Once again it proved to be a fun event filled with stimulating conversation. Please be on the lookout for our next one. You will not want to miss it.

We have a busy month ahead of us! The African cup is currently underway with games scheduled every weekend. Please visit www.AfricanVision360.com for more information on where and when the games are. AIM has the pleasure of featuring Kemo Camara, who is the heart behind organizing the Minnesota Africa Cup In this newsletter. He is a true example of someone who gives of himself for the benefit of others.

We also have the African Arts Festival, presented by African Global Roots, coming up on July, 25th 2009 at 7pm. This festival will be an exciting night filled with African artists showcasing their vast talents and will be hosted by our very own Linda Obel.

A fashion show featuring beautiful designs by Utamaduni Wear and Both Doll Fashions. Advance tickets are now available at Tempo Afric (1315 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN.). Come out and show your support for our African brothers and sisters.

We are excited to share with you that we are in the process of organizing a regular column by our very own Gerald called the G‐spot. He is as insightful as he is thoughtful and honest and we are honored to have him as one of our inspirational writers. If you have questions or need advice, please email us and we will feature it (anonymously of course) on our next issue with his answers. Take advantage because he should be charging for this!

Once again thank you all for your continued support! We look forward to your continued partnership as we grow to bigger and better things.

Best Wishes, AIM Network

Linda Obel, Evalyn Githina, Wangechi Ruguaru aimminnesota@gmail.com

Who is Kemo Camara and what’s his vision?

By Evalyn Githina

On the cover of this month’s issue of AIM Magazine is Kemo Camara from Guinea, I met Kemo at our first Happy Hour @ Drink, around this time last year, while he was promoting the 2008 African Cup. We attended the final match and we were blown away by all his hard work and love for the African Community here in Minnesota. Ever since that first meeting, we have seen Kemo at work, spreading the love for the African people and we applaud all the support he has given us here at AIM. It is important that we also remember that the Minnesota Africa Cup will be taking place Starting July 30 through August 15, 2009.

For those of you that have yet to meet Kemo, we decided that we should introduce you to him through this short Q&A session.

1. Please tell us a little about yourself as an African in Minnesota.

Minnesota is a great place to live as an African. We have one of the fastest growing communities in MN right now. I enjoy living here with all the opportunities that the state provides, good schools, job opportunities, and people are nice and friendly.

2. What is African Vision 360?

African Vision 360 is a non profit organization that hosts the Minnesota Africa Cup and other African

Festivities in the future. African Vision 360 gives a broader look at African culture and education. We hope to bring together the African communities in Minnesota, and show the Minnesota community and the media a more comprehensive/ positive view of Africans.

3. What inspired you to come up with the Minnesota Africa Cup? The spirit of the game when I play against other African teams. The friendships which are formed from those games. No one walks away

from a game as an enemy. It reminds you of back home. Nothing is like being with bunch of other African.

The opportunity to meet others from your culture, share your stories and network with them is priceless.

4. What hurdles do you still need to overcome in preparing for this year's tournament?

Gaining the support of the communities involved. Getting the community leaders to help promote our goals throughout their respective communities. Also, getting commitment from some teams.

5. What has inspired you about putting together this year's Minnesota African Cup? Last year’s success. I was amazed by the amount of enjoyment and fun we had playing each other. Players were having fun playing against other African teams. On our final day, it was just beautiful and very rewarding to have hundreds of people coming to celebrate the final game. It was a special moment, kids, women, fans; players were just having a great time. This made us wanted to have event a bigger and better even this year. We want to see more teams and more fans involved this year. I would love to see a tournament which has 16 teams participating; this vision is always an inspiration to me.

6. What advice do you have for others trying to make a positive impact on their communities?

Keep going. Don't give up, even when no one returns your phone calls. And try to reach out to other community organizations out there to work together. Networking will open a lot of opportunities and help to your organization or activity.

7. Who are your role models?

My dad for working so hard to provide us a living. Obama for proving that impossible is nothing.

“Keep going. Don't give up, even when no one returns your phone calls.� Says Kemo

AFRICAN VISION 360 AND AFRICANS IN MINNESOTA (AIM) PRESENT THE SECOND ANNUAL

JULY 30 – AUGUST 15, 2009

BROOKLYN PARK & MINNEAPOLIS, MN The African Community is inviting Minnesota to be part of their annual African soccer tournament and festival. Expect to experience African cuisine, traditional dances, and live music.

FOR MORE DETAILS Contact Kemo Camara @ 612 226 7679 or kemocamara@yahoo.com - if you are interested in forming a team - inquire about media, corporate or non-profit sponsorship - having a booth at the Quarter finals, Semi finals and Final event - performing at the Final event - volunteer opportunities

AHA SECOND ANNUAL BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT Contest open to any African youths ages 15 to 24.

Become one of the Top 10 winners for this contest!!

Prizes: - One wireless 3 in 1 printer for the top three winners - One flash drive for the four and fifth winner In addition, the 3 top winners of the contest will read their essay, poem or present their artwork at the event on September 5th or have their art shown at the upcoming AHA 2nd Annual back to school event. *In addition back packs + school supplies will be distributed to the best 10 youth participants.

Why should young people care?

This is your opportunity to: • Speak out and have your voice heard.

• Share your thoughts on how HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infection or viral Hepatitis affects you and/or your community Why should you enter?

Inspire others with your poem, spoken word or artwork and make a difference It's your chance to educate the folks out there about HIV, spread the word, in your very own words or style.

Submission Deadline: Entries will be accepted by email [TakeControlContest@gmail.com] between June 5th, 2009 and July 21st, 2009.

Contest Rules: Participants should write an essay or poem or create and submit a poster that raises awareness in one of the following categories: • Category 1: HIV/AIDS Discuss HIV/AIDS among African Youths and how it affects them o HIV/AIDS is a serious public health problem. o Many Africans youth are infected with HIV. • Category 2. Hepatitis B Discuss acute or chronic infection with

Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Poster themes can include, but are not limited to, the following: o Many people are infected with HBV and don’t know it. o People from Africa are disproportionately affected by chronic HBV infection.

• Category 3. Hepatitis C Discuss chronic infection with Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Poster themes can include, but are not limited to, the following: o Many people are infected with HCV and don’t know it. o Hepatitis C is a silent disease.

• Category 4: HIV or HCV testing Entries should promote HIV or Hepatitis C testing Each individual or organization is allowed only one entry per category.

We're looking for roots, rhyming style or posters that provoke thought Make an impact in your community and have fun doing it!

Poems and essays should typewritten and submitted in Word or PDF format and be between 250 - 300 words long. The structure is entirely up to you. It's about honoring the different styles of writing and performing out there, so remember, just be you!

Like Father, like Son

By Gerald Montgomery “In 1950, five out of every six black children were born into a two‐parent home. Today that number is less than two out of six. In poor communities that number is lower still. There are whole blocks with scarcely a married couple, whole blocks without responsible males to watch out for wayward boys, whole neighborhoods in which little girls and boys come of age without seeing up close a committed partnership and perhaps never having attended a wedding.” ‐Bill Cosby, Come on People: on the Path from Victims to Victors

The mother may be the primary teacher of the child but the father is undoubtedly his first mentor! Both male and female children benefit tremendously from a functional relationship with their biological father assuming he too is a well‐rounded individual. In an ideal world children need only remember the virtuous lessons taught by their mother, that being compassionate, patient, tempered and fair. But the world we live in is far from perfect, plagued with hatred, selfishness, intolerance and injustice. Thus it is the father’s responsibility to provide his children with a “fight or flight” blueprint. If we are to coexist with all manner of humanity (good and evil) we must be trained in the art of war as well as nurtured in the science of peace (e.g. Eccl 3:1‐8).

Although a child’s parent is the most logical choice to be his mentor, this tends to be a very awkward arrangement for most parents. Perhaps there is (or at least the perception of) a much greater risk‐to‐reward factor with our own than with other children‐ too much praise might spoil him, undermining our disciplinary authority while not enough appropriate criticism makes the child complacent or irresponsible. Perhaps we as parents have subconsciously deemed ourselves unworthy to be our children’s mentor‐ disqualified by our own imperfections and the follies of our youth.

Yet it remains that children intuitively look to their fathers for guidance, perhaps, because traditionally it is dad who plays the enforcer to mom’s best friend role. All else being equal we tend to value the guidance of a friend who is a disciplinarian over one who is passively non‐confrontational. Likewise a father’s love is reflected in the discipline he administers (Heb 12:5‐11). Consequently, when the father is absent the child is in many ways lost to the world (i.e. increased teen pregnancy, teen suicide, delinquent behavior, etc).

I don’t deny that in some cases “the village” (as in it takes a village to raise a child) may somewhat compensate for this void, producing a stellar and upright individual, but too often this “plan B” is the only option for many black youth. A child being reared by his or her biological parents is the ideal scenario for obvious reasons but what is most important is that children are consistently exposed to the ideal father mentality which I believe transcends generation (e.g. paternity) and gender (i.e. a tough‐loving aunt versus an uncle). However a father’s place in the family structure is undeniable and irreplaceable.

Men, please recycle‐ be a father to your child!

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The Origin of a Hurricane

By Gerald Montgomery Mum Afrika misses her American children!

It hurts her to the bone that they don’t call or write.

They left her rocky shores many centuries ago, on ships bound to the new world.

The years and the seasons come and go, Still nothing, not even so much as a Mother’s Day card.

Yet her love for each and every one of them is undying.

She calls them all by name in her prayers, the names she gave them.

“Saah”, “Tamba”, “Sia”, “Kumba” and on and on.

She hopes that they are doing well.

At sunset she blows a single kiss from her sandy beaches.

As the breeze-like kiss travels across the Atlantic the souls of her children, Those tossed from the slave ships into the sea, Those who ended up in the bellies of sharks, Those who still haunt the ocean floor, Their souls begin to cry out to mum Afrika’s kiss.

“Please send word to our mother, please tell her of our fate,” they wail.

But the kiss cannot turn around.

One by one the lost souls solicit, “Please send word to our mother, please tell her of our fate,” they beg.

Hundreds of thousands of souls!

Frustrated the kiss continues across the Atlantic now at almost a mile a minute, Growing larger and bitterer with each request to turn around and go home.

Go home and tell mum of our fate.

It continues across the Atlantic, Troubling the waters as it passes, swelling as it moves.

Getting larger and angrier as it gets closer to America.

Closer as it tosses wind and wave to and fro.

Full of rage and pain.

Bigger and meaner, closer and closer until…

S PRESENTS

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SPECIAL GUESTS Parrain • Amadou Damoro Camara Marraine • Madusu Fofana President D’Honor • Hamady Seck Presidente D’Honor • Delphine Magassouba Garcon D’Honor • Mon Amie Fille D’Honor • Madam Abers M’mah Thiam

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