Ne ws
NNN
The Mother & Daughter Relationship OBE For Beverley De-Gale Get Tested Before You Get Connected Issue 11 • July 2011 • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews In this issue: • • • •
Yvonne Boakye My Life With Sickle Cell Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week (EMCAW) Staff Benda Bilili - Music Of The Disabled Get Set For Notting Hill Carnival www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 1
CONTENTS
03 04 08 10 11 13 17
KAT FRANCOIS NO HOT TIN ROOF YVONNE BOAKYE MY LIFE WITH SICKLE CELL BEVERLEY DE-GALE AWARDED WITH AN OBE ANNIE YELLOWE PALMA ANNIE’S BOOK II ESTHER AUSTIN MOTHER DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP ANUSJKA REGISETUMNU GET TESTED BEFORE YOU GET CONNECTED THE FIRST EVER UK GOSPEL MUSIC FESTIVAL
NNN Send us your news, information and events. Email us: nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com
Editorial I didn’t have anybody, really, no foundation in life, so I had to make my own way. Always, from the start. I had to go out in the world and become strong, to discover my mission in life. Tina Turner
Greetings, The month of July brings us 6 different independence days across Africa - i.e. Somalia (1st 1960), Burundi (1st - 1962), Algeria (5th - 1962), Malawi (6th - 1964), Comoros (6th - 1975) and Liberia (26th - 1847). The history of Liberia is unique among African nations because of its relationship with the United States. It is one of only two countries in sub-Sahara Africa, along with Ethiopia, without roots in the European Scramble for Africa. It was founded and colonized by freed American slaves with the help of a private organization called the American Colonization Society in 1821–1822, on the premise that former American slaves would have greater freedom and equality there. Many of us know that Disability (ADA) Awareness Day is on 26th July but did you know this is Sickle Cell Disease awareness month too? The singer Ashanti gives back by raising money for sickle cell research and she is active in helping the Make-A-Wish Foundation stating, “I’ll go and do just about anything for them”. Martin Lee Anderson (c. January 15, 1991 – January 6, 2006) was a 14-year-old from Florida who died while incarcerated at a boot camp-style youth detention center, the Bay County Boot Camp, located in Panama City, Florida and operated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. Anderson collapsed while performing required physical training at the camp. While running the track, he stopped and complained of fatigue. The guards coerced him to continue his run, but then he collapsed and died. A surveillance video of the 30-minute of the coercion was made public. The teenager’s death resulted in a broad outcry accusing the camp guards of racially-motivated murder, in part in response to an official videotape that showed the guards using physical coercion. The Florida legislature voted to close the state’s five juvenile boot camps. The death became a cause célèbre and received national attention. The local Medical Examiner, Dr. Charles Siebert, performed an autopsy and ruled that the teen died of “complications from sickle cell trait”. He said, “It was a natural death.” This caused further public outcry. The Governor ordered a second autopsy; the second pathologist, Dr. Vern Adams, ruled Martin Anderson’s death was “caused by suffocation due to actions of the guards at the boot camp. The suffocation was caused by manual occlusion of the mouth, in concert with forced inhalation of ammonia fumes that caused spasm of the vocal cords resulting in internal blockage of the upper airway.” This month we have featured 2 of my friends who have SCD. I hope you enjoy reading their stories. Enjoy your summer!
The information in this magazine should be regarded as confidential and is intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified. The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those of NNN unless explicitly stated.
Alison The deadline for the next edition of NNN is
1700 hours on Friday 29th July 2011
HELP SAVE KYE CARPENTER
NNN 2 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
NNN Team Editor: Alison Hewitt Contributors: Annie Yellowe Palma, Esther Austin. Yvonne Boakye and Anusjka Regis-Etumnu Artwork: Trevor Muckett
NO HOT TIN ROOF FOR THIS KAT, SHE’S SET TO BLAZE THE MAIN STAGE Critically acclaimed, award winning, consummate performer, Kat Francois, is no shrinking violet on the stage. The diverse multi-discipline artist holds an arsenal of heavy-weight titles under her belt, including Comedienne, Playwright, Performance Poet and Compere. The Theatre Royal Stratford East Resident Poet is set to storm the main stage on 10th and 11th July, with her full length comedy show, Kat’s Got Your Tongue. A fearless performer, Kat constantly pushes the boundaries of her art forms and excels in everything she touches. She became the first Performance Poet to win a televised competition at BBC3’s Poetry Slam in 2004, before going on to walk away with the coveted title of World Champion at the World Slam Championships in Rotterdam in 2005, where she represented the UK. A stellar ambassador for Performance Poetry, in the UK and Europe, with regular live performances on BBC Radio, Kat’s diverse art and entertainment delights and edutains audiences from viewers of Blue Peter and BBC TV’s Big Poetry Slam, to variety and comedy shows alike. Kat’s natural progression from hosting with a comedic edge, to fully-fledged stand up, appears to have been a seamless and some might say, destined route for the multi-talented artist who had the audience in stitches at her sell-out run of Kat’s Got Your Tongue, in the theatres studio space in 2010. Comedy veteran, Angie Le Mar, said after the show, “I have been a big fan of Kats work for years, a great writer and performer, extremely versatile and absolutely funny!” With a busy schedule of performances up and down the country doing both stand up and performance poetry, Kat is eager to embrace the new challenge of delivering another quality comedy set, this time on the main stage, in July. “I am so looking forward to the show. To have a comedy show in the main house of the Theatre Royal is a real stamp of approval, I am ready to take my comedy and performance skills to the next level” In 2007, Kat wrote and performed her first production, Seven Times Me, at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, before taking it on national and international tour, including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (UK) in 2007 and the Adelaide Fringe Festival (Australia), in 2008. The play, directed by Dawn Reid (Funny Black Women on the Edge, The Harder They Come), received critical acclaim and four star reviews. Karen Fisher, Associate Producer at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, whole-heartedly endorses Kat’s talent, “Kat Francois proves she has yet another string to her bow; she is very, very funny. I laughed so hard my sides hurt!”
Your support is needed! Save A Life, Become A Donor www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 3
MY LIFE WITH SICKLE CELL
by Yvonne Boakye
A few months after I was born my mother felt I was not thriving and being her first child she was giving me all the vitamins and medicines money could buy but I still was not putting on weight and very sickly. Out of desperation my parents sought medical help and after a series of tests they were given the diagnosis that I had a genetic illness called Sickle Cell Anaemia SS. The prognosis given to my parents was not good. The doctor told my parents that I would not live into adulthood, and despite, this I am still alive today. I was not a sickly child but as soon as I reached puberty I started to have quite a lot of crisis, it just got worse and worse, I was in hospital most of time. I managed to do my GCSE’s and A level’s and went on to university in Newcastle. After university I got a job, however I was frequently ill with a crisis. I even had a boss who described me as an unreliable worker, because I had so much time off work. It was during this time gave my life to Christ and became a practising Christian. I prayed with my fellowship group and asked God for a more understanding boss. I changed jobs and I did get an understanding boss. I do have a strong believe in God and his intervention in one’s life, with God’s help I have not let the fact I have Sickle Cell stopped me doing anything. After completing my first degree at Newcastle University, I went on to do Masters Degree at City University, which was challenging but I completed the programme. I am proud to say I have been working full time for the last 25 years. I believe that God gives wisdom to medical doctors to fulfil his purposes and through the intervention of medication, I have not had been in hospital with a sickle cell crisis for over 16 years. Crises were a monthly occurrence during my twenties and thirties. Today I am in my 51st year and I testify to the goodness of God in my life. I have a lot to be thankful and grateful to God for. To all those who are born with the condition sickle cell anaemia I would like to encourage you not to think of it as a death sentence but to thank God for every ability he has given you. Do not focus on the negatives and trying times as there will be some of these, I have had them. God’s grace is sufficient for you, for God’s power is made perfect in weakness. God is faithful; His mercies are new every morning. As for me I lay hold of God’s promise “with long life he will satisfy me and show me his Salvation”, and I am looking forward to a long and fruitful life in God.
View & subscribe toNNN online... www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews 4 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
Staff Benda Bilili “look beyond appearances”
The mesmerising music of Staff Benda Bilili and the band’s extraordinary story have been making a strong impression worldwide. A group of paraplegic street musicians who live in and around the grounds of the zoo in Kinshasa, DR Congo, one can hear raw power, fragile delicacy and incredible beauty in their music: the eternal pulse of Congolese rumba combined with voices that conjure the crooners of Havana, the toasters of Kingston and even the Godfather Of Soul himself. The core of the group consists of four seasoned singer/guitarists perched on spectacular customized tricycles, occasionally dancing on the floor of the stage, arms raised in joyful supplication. Behind them is a young and entirely acoustic rhythm section, and to top it all there are the weird, infectious guitar-like solos of Roger, a teenage prodigy who plays a one-string electric lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can. This extraordinary group was encountered in 2005 by Florent de La Tullaye and Renaud Barret, two young French filmmakers who were shooting a series of films on the many musicians and other amazing figures living and working in the urban jungle of Kinshasa. They were instantly blown away by Staff Benda Bilili, and quickly decided to devote an entire feature film to the band. They also introduced the band to Crammed Discs inhouse producer Vincent Kenis. Crammed decided to sign the group, produce the album and release it to the world. The resulting album, “Tres Tres Fort”, was recorded in the grounds of Kinshasa Zoo under the guidance of Vincent Kenis, then mixed in Brussels. So, this remarkable musical adventure commenced. The media went crazy, and Staff Benda Bilili have been featured and praised in newspapers worldwide. International festivals are queuing up to book them, and the band’s
first extensive European tour took place in the autumn of 2009. Staff Benda Bilili were introduced to the British and US musicians who came to visit Kinshasa as part of the Africa Express trip in Nov. 2007, and won the hearts of the likes of Massive Attack and Damon Albarn, with whom they jammed. It is said that Kinshasa hosts more than 40 000 abandoned street kids, or sheges. The name supposedly hints at the CheGuevaresque child soldiers who seized the capital in 1997, but the story might have been forged later as a reminder of Laurent Désiré Kabila’s connection with Che Guevara in the Sixties. Fleeing poverty in the suburbs and family violence, sheges can be seen everywhere in centre ville, waxing shoes, guarding vehicles in parking lots, selling pills, cola nuts and roasted crickets, slaloming on the boulevard between brand new SUVs, U.N armored vehicles, battered taxis, and customized tricycles driven by intrepid paraplegic pilots. When handicapés (disabled people) were exempted from customs tax in the Seventies, many turned their vehicles into pickups and used them to make a living transporting goods across the river between Kinshasa and its sister capital Brazzaville. Handicapés form the second most important group among the street outcasts of centre ville. Regrouped since colonial times around a hostel near the general hospital, they have a reputation for being loud, fearless, well-educated, and well-organised in a powerful syndicate called Plateforme. Many sheges benefit from their protection and advice. One of the most prominent band members is lead vocalist RICKY. Now 55, he’s the founding member of Staff Benda Bilili, and keeps the band together with his energy and ingenuity. Known as a tough guy around his neighbourhood, he used to run all kinds of shady businesses, and still sells cigarettes and alcohol outside
nightclubs straight from his tricyle. He also sometimes works as a mechanic and a tailor. He often sleeps on the street on tonkara (French verlan slang for cardboard) but always manages to dress very smartly and believes that a man must be suka (elegant). COCO is 50. He sings, plays the guitar and composes many of the band’s songs. He rides the most customized motorbike of them all but never has enough money for gas so he’s always accompanied by two or three sheges who push it through the potholes in exchange for food. Sometimes working as a welder, Coco is very physically strong, and regularly wins arm-wrestling contests. Coco has 7 children of his own and lives on the outskirts of town but only returns home on weekends, when he’s made enough money. THEO, the soprano singer, is a fan of James Brown and Bob Marley; in a country where cultural autarcy was once set up as a dogma, this rarity signals a realitively well-to-do background. His family lost everything with the fall of the Mobutu regime; he then had to hit the streets and became an electrician, which in Kinshasa is a semi-magical, Robin Hood-esque occupation consisting of redistributing power between neighborhoods by running long makeshift cables in the mud at night. ROGER is 17. A former shege, he was adopted by Ricky many years ago. He created his own instrument, the satonge, which consists of a guitar string tensed between the drum of a tin can and a wooden bow inserted in its base. Melodies are created by plucking the string with one hand while the other moves the bow in and out, changing the tension of the string. The members of the band noticed Roger’s uncanny musical talent and proceeded to teach him song structures and melodies. He quickly learned to play breathtaking electric guitar-like solos on this simple instrument, becoming a genuine virtuoso.
www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 5
OFFICIAL CLUB SKAAVILLE HACKNEY FRINGE LIVE MUSIC SERIES The Official launch party of Club Skaaville’s Hackney Fringe and will be starting with the bar up high with a high quality unplugged session from Patrick Johnson lead vocals, Patrick Donegan keyboards & Brian Campbell of the newly formed ‘REGULARS’ former members the outstanding 80’s ‘REGGAE REGULARS BAND’. This is the 1st night of a whole month of live music for your parched soul supported by Ray Carless and his incredible Club Skaaville Allstars Band and an equally wicked star spangled DJ roster that includes DJ’s BasilSka, Erroll Dee Bang 103.6fm, Tiney Winey & The Host of Supreme Radio 99.8fm plus Fatman Hifi & Dj Flit of Conscious 102.3. We are blessed with a gifted community of raw & natural talent so please come out to celebrate our rich heritage and the priceless legacy of great music gifted to us by top caliber musicians like Rico Rodrigues. Special outstanding highlights include ex 80’s sitcom stars CHRIS TUMMINGS & VICTOR ROMERO EVANS performing a rare
HIGHER IN PRAISE CAFE Audrey Linton organises and hosts HIP Café (Higher in Praise Café) which brings together talented musicians and performers in one of Wembley’s famous restaurants – the Blue Check Restaurant. The event is held on a quarterly basis and has been running for four years and has gone from strength to strength There have a brilliant live band and some great artist from gospel, jazz and R&B. As well as using local performers, we have been graced with some well established artists such as Kym Mazelle, Enrico Delves (MOBO Award Winner) and Rob Halligan. Our next event is on Friday 29 July 2011 and for more information about booking and price please contact Audrey on 07939 239 053 Email: audreylinton@tiscali.co.uk website: www.hip-productions.co.uk 6 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
concert together, newly signed ZARA MCFARLANE & MUSSINGHI BRIAN EDWARDS, UK Women of Steel plus a BREAKFAST BAND REUNITED concert showcasing the seasoned & nicely matured talents of original Breakfast band members like James Lascelles, Richard Bailey, Kuma Harada, along with Michael Bailey, Hossam Ramzy, Sagat Guirey and Tim Herniman who have come together to revive this 80’s SUPER GROUP and contribute to our fascinating but modest festival of music that’s aimed at highlighting the immense range of local talent that we often take for granted. Sax mad Jamaican sax man promoter Ray Carless has cartured for this festival a fine collection of top International musicians who have played with the likes of Stevie Winwood, Frank Zappa, Chick Corea, Peter Gabriel, Joan Armatrading, Incognito, Billy Ocean, Mick Taylor, Steve Taylor, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Nigel Kennedy and John Etheridge. We are delighted to welcome this super collection of talented artists to Club Skaaville’s 1st Hackney Fringe festival and we’ll be making the most of this opportunity to engage the media and establish/develop new partnerships between artist the audiences and Visions VideObar in order to reward our fantastic & resourceful artists as we continue to promote & sustain the original inspiration behind the London flavours of Brit Funk, Jazz Funk, Acid Jazz, Caribbean Jazz, Soca, Latin & Afrobeat @ VisiOns VideObar in the heart of Stoke Newington. Doors 8pm-3am Tickets www.accessuktickets.co.uk <http://www.accessuktickets. co.uk/> Performers & events schedule: www.clubskaaville.co.uk <http:// www.clubskaaville.co.uk/>
SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD and the NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS would like to invite you to attend the launch of Show Racism the Red Card's brand new research
“THE BARRIERS TO TACKLING RACISM AND PROMOTING EQUALITY IN ENGLAND'S SCHOOLS” Monday 4th July 2011
MANDER HALL, NUT HEADQUARTERS, HAMILTON HOUSE, MABLEDON PLACE, LONDON, WC1H 9BD (nearest tube Euston/Kings Cross) Arrival: 5.30pm. Main Event: 6pm-7.30pm Networking & Refreshments: 7.30pm-8pm RSVP to Sarah Soyei, EMAIL: sarah@theredcard.org TEL: 01234 219 481 by Monday 27th June
Time: July 2, 2011 from 5pm to 10pm
FUNDRAISING FOR CANCER RESEARCH
At St George Christ Church & St Paul Vancouver Road Forest Hill, London, SE23 2AG From 5pm to 10pm
This evening promises to be a memorable event for a good cause with our guest speaker Angela Christopher, MBE and guest singer Andrae “Melody” Palmer. Last but not least, we will be honoured to have as our special guest, the wonderful Angie Greaves, Magic FM’s Drivetime Presenter and the “Lyrical Healer”. We very much welcome your contributions to help us raise funds on the day. We would especially welcome your donations of gifts for our raffle draw and/or items for the auction. If you are able to buy/sell raffle tickets for this event then please let us know. Where you are able to give the gift of time before or during the event, even that will be very much appreciated. Remember that although the event is free, we will be asking for a voluntary donation on entry of £2 with £1 going to Cancer Research. Please feel free to pass on to your friends and family and any interested community groups in your local area. Remember to RSVP your attendance via email: events@just-be.co.uk or contact: Yvette on 07818 531898 Alison on 07881 960699 Sharon on 07956 876380. Look forward to seeing you at this event!
www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 7
BEVERLEY DE-GALE AWARDED OBE Saturday June 11th 2011 marks the day that co-founder of leading UK Leukaemia charity, African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), Beverley De-Gale, was awarded with an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s Birthday 2011 Honours List by the Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary in recognition For services to Healthcare. The list is published today recognising outstanding achievement and service across the whole of the United Kingdom. The vast majority of the awards go not to stars of sport, stage and screen but to extraordinary people who are making a real difference and contribution to their community through volunteering, fundraising, social action and philanthropy.
almost to the day on the 16th June 1999 when Daniel finally received his transplant. However as much as I feel completely overwhelmed with emotion and pride receiving this momentous personal accolade it is also tinged with a feeling of bitter sweetness, because the catalyst and inspiration for this award, Daniel, is now no longer with us having succumbed to an unrelated illness at the age of 21 in October 2008. Having recruited tens of thousands of new bone marrow, blood and organ donors from the hardest to reach communities and in turn directly saving lives in the UK and abroad, it does fill me with joy that our efforts have been recognised and is held in such high regard. My deepest thanks and gratitude goes out to all of the many individuals (especially our loyal and fantastic small team of staff and volunteers), communities, organisations and families of patients who have supported me and the ACLT in our never ending quest to educate, motivate, inspire, empower and influence individuals to step forward and commit to becoming potential lifesavers.
Beverley De-Gale said: “I am both proud and delighted to be awarded this honour by Her Majesty the Queen for my services to Healthcare in Britain and I feel very honoured to accept it on behalf of my children, late mother & father, family, and everyone associated with the life saving and groundbreaking work of the ACLT. It was during 1996 my partner (ACLT co-founder Orin Lewis) and I received the devastating news our 8 year old son Daniel De-Gale, would need a life saving bone marrow transplant in order to win his 3 year battle against Leukaemia. I never could have imagined that I would be standing here 15 years later in the exact month of when the charity was born and
Special thanks and love to my brothers and sisters and Daniel’s donor, Doreene Carney, for their support especially during the many dark and painful episodes of this journey and when I receive the award at
8 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
the Investiture I will also be thinking about how proud my late mother and father would be of me. Finally, it is due to the undiluted love and support of my beloved daughter, Dominique, Orin and of course Daniel that I have been able to achieve and make a difference to someone in need. They have always had faith in me and believed in me and if Daniel was physically still with us today, he would easily sum it all up in 2 words. GOOD TIMES”. The OBE award arrives at a significant time for the ACLT, following a successful appeal where over £120,000 was raised by the general public between January March this year, to help secure the short to medium future of the charity. The ACLT continue to work hard in spreading awareness on Bone Marrow, Blood and Organ donation within the Black, Asian and Mixed Race communities in the UK, encouraging individuals to join the registers in the hope their donation could potentially become a life saving match. With over 17.1 million people on the NHS Organ Donor Register and only 1.5 per cent of these are from the Asian communities and a woeful 0.4 per cent are from the Black community, the ACLT life saving work is vital to assist with increasing the opportunities to save lives when Bone Marrow, Blood or Organ donation is required.
BIRMINGHAM GREETS THE JAMAICAN TEAM On Sunday 10 July, Birmingham will host its first Samsung Diamond League Athletics meeting at Birmingham Alexander Stadium. Some of the world’s best athletes will be competing and we are offering you the chance to meet some of them. The Jamaican track and field team will be appearing at a fundraising dinner we are organising on Saturday 9 July where you can meet and mingle with some of the best known names in Jamaican athletics. As you may be aware Birmingham will be welcoming the Jamaican Olympic Track and Field Team prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games next year. While this is just over 12 months away, events like this are part of the hard work in the build up to this great occasion. We are holding a fundraising dinner for the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) and their grass roots athletics programme as we look towards 2012 and we’re sure you will agree that it promises to be an exciting and unique event celebrating Jamaican athletics. This fundraising dinner is your chance to really get a taste of 2012 and experience a truly unique opportunity to meet and talk with the athletes who will be hoping to take away Olympic gold in 12 months time. By attending this dinner, not only will you be able to meet with these Diamond League and Olympic stars but you will also be helping to make the Jamaican Olympic dream happen for future generations. Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association recognises that World Class athletes require the very best of training facilities and realise that the city of Birmingham will provide a truly excellent, relaxed and comfortable base for the team to fine tune their preparations for Olympic glory. Events like this will help to make sure that these preparations happen and that everyone involved from Jamaica and Birmingham experience the best possible 2012.
www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 9
ANNIE’S BOOK II (COLLECTION 2011) Annie Yellowe Palma is a full time working mother with one daughter. She is of dual heritage, Irish/Nigerian and one of six children. Born in Liverpool and brought up in Northern Ireland from the age of four, Annie has lived in London since 1986. For the Love of a Mother (to be published soon) is her true story about her life in Northern Ireland during the 60’s where she lived ‘behind the barricades’ with what she refers to as the ‘Irish Mafia’. Annie describes the book as a unique and cathartic experience that she wants to share with others. The book is a roller coaster of emotions graphically depicting issues of poverty and neglect, violence, racism and religious apartheid interspersed with moments of utter hilarity. The book will appeal to a wide audience including teenagers, adults, educational establishments and historians. Annie is a qualified Social Worker with a Diploma in Social Work, a BSc Honours Degree in Applied Social Science and an Advanced Award in Social Work. Annie is passionate about early intervention and prevention in social care and is currently working as a freelance consultant and mentor. Annie’s interests are travelling, languages, music, dancing, swimming, food, fashion, theatre and an unquenchable zest for knowledge and life. This collection of poetry is ushered straight from the heart and not for the faint hearted. Pure unadulterated experiences, fantasies and observations of lust, love, fun, greed and poverty. You will recognise yourself in the words because I write what you think but are often too afraid to say out loud. Go on, indulge yourself and enjoy. Annie’s Book II (Collection 2011) is only available in Kindle format from Amazon Kindle Store http://www. amazon.com/dp/B004ZR99BA
bajaicanblessings
for the best in cultural & carnival paraphernalia
ITV NEWS TRAINEES Applications opened this morning for the 2011-12 intake of ITV News Trainees, with ads in The Media Guardian, The Voice and Disability Network and on the ITV jobs website. We have also distributed posters to journalism colleges across the UK , and will be opening a Facebook page and tweeting to spread the news. Full details of the application process and information about the scheme, including a video featuring some of our former trainees, are available to the applicant when they access the ITV Jobs website - www.itvjobs.com. I have attached a copy of the ad and would be grateful if you could forward this to your staff and contacts, should they know anyone who would be interested in applying. Applications close at midnight, Friday 8 July 2011 and the 12 month scheme commences Wednesday 26 October 2011.
Tel: 07717 218 104 email: bajaicanrad@aol.com
NATIONAL NUBIAN NEWS SUPPORTS
10 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
Esther Austin THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP Dear Unique Everyone Wishing you a Happy, Hippy Summer? Isn’t the weather just gorgeous, then again isn’t the weather wonderful all the time. It just depends upon how we experience it all!! – There I go again I can hear some of you say. I have had so many people contact me to say when will I be sending out my newsletters on a more regular basis. Apologies, but here I am!! Many of you may know that I lost my younger sister to breast cancer 4 years ago. That in itself was an incredibly painful journey to watch and to walk alongside of. It was never a place I would want to venture myself. Yet recently, my mother was diagnosed with cancer in her large and small bowel which were both removed on Thursday last week. Up until now, I have felt greatly challenged by my relationship with my mother. I have been working on me around this for the best part of three years. Up until two years ago, I was not able to sit in a room with my mother on long occasions as my inner child would simply freeze and withdraw and I’d be bound by fear. If my mother looked at me, I was unable to look her fully in the eye as I still felt and saw through my eyes the condemnation and criticism that I had grown up with. Then two years ago, when she came to visit me, I realised I did not want to live my life fearing her anymore and had to do something about how I was dealing with this. I went for some healing around this and I had to explore many aspects of our relationship, lay my soul bare, and then put me back together - OUCH. Yet what helped to release me and start me on my journey was learning to accept who I was at that moment in time without judgement, without criticism, simply Esther for who she was. My next step then was to accept that my mother did the best that she did with the knowledge that she had at the time when I was a child and I had to acknowledge that. I also had to acknowledge that she too was a product of her childhood – one where she lost both her parents very early in life and where
she knew only the burden of working. Coming to this country also had its own tremendous challenges and life became one of survival. My next step was to learn to love me more and then, hopefully, my mother. I am still at a place where I am mindful and working through this relationship. I do not blame my mother for how she was, yet I reacted to how I felt she was towards me. What has helped me to build a relationship with my mother is Esther working from a place of love. (Not always easy as on occasion I still walk out the room because at that moment in time, I am not ready nor in a place to handle how I feel.) However, having the above understanding means I can respectfully and non-judgementally sit with her, speak with her and be there in whatever supportive capacity I can be, but also that I no longer choose to enrol into her dramas, if she so choose to play them out and I am mindful of my own dramas as well. Yet isn’t life simply a paradoxical play on the stage of life. On Thursday when my sister and I went to visit her and attended the ward she was supposed to be on, her bed was not there. At once I felt slight panic whelm up within me. We then went to the nurses station to find out what had happened as the day prior to this, her operation had been at 12pm and by 8pm there was still no sign of her. Waiting for the nurse to find out where my mother was, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of “not again” as memories of my late sister started to come through. This also got me thinking – do we really have to wait to come to a place of realising what is important or to deal with ‘stuff’ when someone dies? Because if this is what it was going to take for me to shape up then I had more serious contemplating to do. Yet again, I challenged myself with this line of thought. I too was mindful that I was doing my best in terms of my emotions at this moment in time, and that being truthful and honest with myself may not mean I would be overtly huggy and blowing kisses at my mother – I had to keep things real. Yet I could kiss and greet my mother on the cheek and help to nurture her back to health – and for me that is operating from
a place of love. A beautiful quote by Louise Hay, Author says “Love is everywhere, I am loving and lovable.” The more I repeat this quote is the more I have been able to feel acceptance for what I need to do. This quote has served to resonate so far into me that it brings a sense of peace and calm and knowing that love really is the key. I still have a journey to go. We may not always like what we are faced with, which is often ourselves, yet when we learn to become non-judgemental about ourselves or situation and just to accept it for what it is, then it is easier to face those so called ‘demons’ in order for us to learn whatever lessons we need to learn, so that we can then embrace life more fully and abundantly. My lesson here I feel is one of many and that is of compassion, of continuing the work on being non-judgemental and always trying to be present from that place of love. I have been working with a few clients whose lives have been paralysed by words, deeds and actions, criticisms, put downs by their parents and other people. One client has internalised her experienced so profoundly that her pain is so deep that she even fears to hug her own children for fear she contaminates them. When she looked at me last week with tears in her eyes to say “Esther, I just want to release this stuff so that I can be me, I have never been me” – This is why I do the work I do, why Qarma Broadcast will be one of the many mediums through which I can reach out to share knowledge and to empower peoples lives, along with all those wonderful people who share their stories and knowledge with you over the airwaves. “If we were more aware of our own shadow, we would not be afraid to look in the mirror” “Be the change you want to see in the world”
www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 11
Nottingham Event
12 July 2011 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Venue: Nottingham Voluntary Action Centre 7 Mansfield Road Nottingham NG1 3FB
FREE ENTRY!
Breast Cancer Prostate Cancer
Bright Ideas Competition Launch!
Information
To find out more and to book a place contact: BME Cancer Communities email: emcaw@bmecancer.com www.bmecancer.com
TEL: 0115 9348482
African Caribbean Health Network
12 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
GET TESTED BEFORE YOU GET CONNECTED
by: Mrs Anusjka Regis-Etumnu RN, BSc (Hons)
“Ahh!!! My back! I can’t walk!” I muttered. “Call an ambulance!” as tears ran down my face. I fell to the floor right there on the streets of Hampstead, London. I was walking to the bus stop with my friend on our way to University. No one stopped, my friend was panicking and I was in excruciating pain. This was just one incident in my life painted with episodes of unimaginable pain due to Sickle Cell Disease(SCD). SCD is a serious disorder in which the body makes abnormal sickle-shaped red blood cells. Sickle cells are stiff and sticky. They tend to block blood flow in the blood vessels of the limbs and organs. Blocked blood flow can cause pain, serious infections, organ damage and death. Over the last hundred years there has been a lot learned about SCD but there is still no widely available cure. Bone marrow transplantation may offer a cure to a small number of people. Sickle cell anaemia is most common among black Caribbean, black African and black British people. The condition affects males and females equally. People who inherit one sickle cell gene and one normal gene have the sickle cell “trait.” People with sickle cell trait usually do not have any of the symptoms of the disease, but they can pass it on to their children. Sickle cell disease is “recessive,” which means that both parents must pass on the sickle cell gene for a child to be born with the disease. Now you can find out if you have a sickle cell trait before you conceive a child, it is a lot easier to prevent more children from being born with SCD. I am a member of the Enfield Sickle Cell Support Group. The most amazing lady who started this group is called Ms Susan Treasure. She is a retired nurse. She started supporting sickle cell suffers and raising the awareness of SCD in the 1980’s. She has now coined the phrase ‘Get Tested before you Get Connected.’ It simply means that everyone who has Black heritage and others from Asian and Mediterranean ethnicities should be tested for Sickle Cell Trait before deciding on a long term relationship or before having a baby. Yes a cure is needed for Sickle Cell but in the mean time prevention and reduction in the amount of children being born with Sickle Cell Anaemia is vital. I am now an Occupational Health Adviser, run an online lingerie boutique www.ninaelleundergarments.co.uk and I am happily married with one beautiful son. I am a success story and only here because of the grace of God. SCD has taken countless of young lives. I plead with you. Spread the word and ‘Get Tested before you Get Connected’. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/traits.html http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Sickle-cell-anaemia/Pages/Introduction.aspx www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 13
UK CARNIVAL LIST FOR JULY 2011 Acton Carnival Saturday 9th July 2011 Acton Carnival takes place every year in July, with around 30 carnival groups that take to the streets, in a spectacle of colour, costume, music and dance. Months of preparation, planning meetings, school and community workshops, costume making and dance rehearsals, in schools, youth and community centres come together to make the spectacle of Carnival. Organisers : Acton Carnival, C/o Acton Community Forum, 112-114, Hardy Court, Bollo Bridge Road, Acton, London, W3 8DD Tel: 0208 993 6158 COVENTRY CARIBBEAN FESTIVAL Saturday 30th July 11 The Coventry Caribbean Festival is held annually at Memorial Park, Coventry, with a live stage featuring well known reggae and soca artists and local acts. If you would like to perform on stage please email caribfest@uk2.net with a demo OR post it to:-
Sonia Tennant, Director c/o West Indian Centre 159 Spon Street Coventry CV1 3BB DERBY CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL 16th & 17th July 2011 Derby Carnival brings a taste of the Caribbean to the City for two days each year, live music playing soca reggae, steelpan, with mas costume adding the colour. For more information on the event, contact: DWICA Carrington Street, Derby, DE1 2ND Telephone: 01332 371529 Email: info@ dwica.co.uk LIVERPOOL CARNIVAL Saturday 16th July 2011 Liverpool Carnival 2011 is the city’s most exciting, exotic and vibrant night-time spectacle: a Rio-style Brazilian Samba Carnival that explodes with life, music and dazzling costumes through the streets of the city centre.
14 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
For more details, contact Roger and Maeve at: rogerconga@aol.com or at carnivalcompany@aol.com Keep up-to-date with Liverpool Carnival Company’s events on Twitter: http://twitter.com CarnivalCoLiv St PAULS CARNIVAL Saturday 2nd July 2011 Every July, one of the highlights of the Bristol calendar of events. St Pauls Carnival has been running since 1967. As always St Pauls Carnival is interested to hear from performing Artists, potential Stall holders, anyone interested in participating in the procession, Volunteers, Photographers and, of course, Schools. For more information, contact: Unit 4, The Coach House Upper York Street Bristol BS2 8QN Tel: 0117 944 4176 E: info@stpaulscarnival.co.uk
ETHNIC MINORITY CANCER AWARENESS WEEK (EMCAW) 11TH - 17TH JULY 2011 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives; therefore it is an important issue for everyone. However awareness of cancer and uptake of some cancer services is lower among ethnic minorities, added to this some ethnic minorities tend to be diagnosed when the disease is more advanced, all of which can lead to poorer survival. Additionally research indicates that some cancers are more common among particular communities and groups. For example: African-Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer compared to white men. Mouth cancer is more common among South Asian communities Liver cancer is higher among Bangladeshi and Chinese communities Cancer affects all communities and everyone should be aware of it. By supporting and taking part in EMCAW you will be working towards raising awareness of the disease among your own community and empowering individuals to take up the services available to them. What support can EMCAW give you and your organisation? The charities organising EMCAW have a wealth of experience and information relating to different cancers. This enables us to support you and provide your organisation with resources your organisation could use to hold an event in your community. Examples of the support we can provide include:
Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week (EMCAW) is one week each year when we can all come together to raise awareness of cancer within ethnic minority communities in Britain. This year EMCAW is between 11- 17 July 2011. EMCAW is organised by an alliance of charities working with and within communities to raise awareness of cancer.
a range of leaflets and other information speakers ideas for events ways of getting your local press and politicians involved advertising your event on the EMCAW website This list is not exhaustive so if you are interested in becoming involved in EMCAW please get in touch and we can discuss your individual support needs.
Thursday 14 July 2011
STORIES FROM BETWEEN...PUM PUM STORIES Harrow Arts Centre Uxbridge Rd, Hatch End, Middlesex, HA5 4EA 8pm Brought to you in narratives, poetry, prose, songs and music, Stories from between . . . Pum-Pum Stories explores the varying journey of black women’s relationship with her vagina, as taught to her by her mother, her friends, her lovers and finally herself. It addresses a range of issues, including male and female relationships, sexual abuse and violence, empowerment and self love. Gateway to Heaven Poets : Culture, PoppySeed, Redhed, Still Waters, Aama Sade. Creative Director: Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm and Director of Performance: Culture For tickets and information, visit https://kiosk.iristickets.co.uk/k?harrowarts&pumpum 15 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
JOIN THE
National Nubian Networking Ning Community to get reular news and updates, visit: http://nationalnubiannetworking.ning.com/
Friday 29th July 2011
GIANTS OF RARE GROOVE PART 3 Indigo O2 Millennium Way London SE10 0BB 7pm Musical Therapy back at the indigO2 for Part 3 of Giants of Rare Groove. The show will feature live in concert Grammy award winning singer/composer Patrice Rushden famous for a string of hits including ‘Forget Me Nots’ (Men In Black theme tune) , ‘Remind Me’, ‘Haven’t You Heard’, ‘I Was Tired of Being Alone’, ‘Feels So Real’, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and countless other classics from the golden era of soul jazz funk. Supporting Patrice on this great night of Rare Groove is Brit award nominee, soul legend Kenny Thomas whose many chart hits include ‘Outstanding’, ‘Thinking About Your Love’, ‘Best of You’ and two massive albums ‘Voices’ and ‘Wait For Me’. For tickets and information, telephone: 0208 463 2700
The Notting Hill Carnival is the largest street festival in Europe and originated in 1964 as a way for Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their own cultures and traditions. Taking place every August Bank Holiday weekend in the streets of London W11, the Notting Hill Carnival is an amazing array of sounds, colourful sights and social solidarity. At the roots of the Notting Hill Carnival are the Caribbean carnivals of the early 19th century – a particularly strong tradition in Trinidad – which were all about celebrating the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. The very first carnival was an attempt to showcase the steel band musicians who played in the Earls Court of London every Weekend. When the bands paraded through the streets of Notting Hill, they drew black residents out on to the streets, reminding them of the Caribbean homes they had left behind. In the days of abolition, there was a strong element of parody in the songs and dances Trinidadians performed. Having been forbidden to hold festivals of their own during the period of slavery, they now took full advantage of the relative new freedoms the ending of slavery brought them. Dressing up in costumes that mimicked the European fashions of their former masters, even whitening their faces with flour or wearing white masks, they established a tradition that continues in the costume-making of today’s Notting Hill Carnival. The proper name for this aspect of the Carnival is Mas (derived from Masquerade). Held each August Bank Holiday since 1966, the Notting Hill Carnival is the largest festival celebration of its kind in Europe. Every year the streets of West London come alive, with the sounds and smells of Europe’s biggest street festival. Twenty miles of vibrant colourful costumes surround over 40 static sound systems, hundreds of Caribbean food stalls, over 40,000 volunteers and over 1 million Notting Hill carnival revellers.
1 in 20 from risk groups carries a trait for Sickle Cell Disorder. The child of two carrier parents may inherit a full blown Sickle Cell Disorder. These disorders have no cure and will affect every aspect of the child’s life. Before starting your family, a simple blood test can reveal if you’re the one. For more information contact the Sickle Cell Society on: 020 8961 7795
Starting its life as a local festival set up by the West Indian community of the Notting Hill area, it has now become a full-blooded Caribbean carnival, attracting millions of visitors from all over the globe. With many astonishing floats and the sounds of the traditional steel drum bands, scores of massive sound systems plus not forgetting the hundreds of stalls that line the streets of Notting Hill. The Notting Hill Carnival is arguably London’s most exciting annual event. The Notting Hill Carnival used to get under way on the Saturday with the steel band competition. Sunday is Kids’ Day, when the costume prizes are awarded. On Bank Holiday Monday, the main parade takes place. It generally begins on Great Western Road, then winds its way along Chepstow Road, on to Westbourne Grove, and then Ladbroke Grove. In the evening, the floats leave the streets in procession, and people carry continue partying at the many Notting Hill Carnival after parties. The Notting Hill Carnival 2011 datesare August 28th and 29th. If you are looking to have a stall at the Notting Hill Carnival, you will need to apply for a trading licence. Find out more on our links page http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com/ www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 16
Ariwa Sounds are proud to present The Back to Africa Festival in the Gambia January 2012. This festival is part of the celebration of Ariwa Sounds 30 year anniversary in business. The festival site is in the south of the country, in the sea side resort of Batakunku. The festival will be spread over the week starting January the 20th until January the 27th. Festival goers will be entertained with live performances from a variety of artists from the label. We also plan on having workshops, seminars in the morning before performances. There will be a variety of performances from local and international artists. Artists on board so far: Turbulence, Luciano, Mad Professor, Earl 16, Pan Africanist, Scientist, Macka B, The Robotiks, Sista Audrey, Aisha, Sandra Cross and many more.. For more information and regular updates, visit http://www.ariwa.com Sun 24th July 2011
UK GOSPEL MUSIC FESTIVAL (UGMF) 2011 Hyde Park, London (Lancaster Gate station) THE First Ever UK Gospel Music Festival is almost here! This will be an annual music festival showcasing the finest and gifted artists in and around the UK. This year sees a whole camp of diverse Artists ranging from Choirs – RnB – HipHop – Indie/Rock all embracing us with the unique sounds of contemporary Gospel Music. This year there are 18 UK Acts and 1 Guest US Act all confirmed. This iconic Festival will be taking place in the Royal Park of Hyde Park, one of London’s key and central locations for summer festivals. There will be an expected audience attendee of 5000
On 5th July it will be 63 years since the NHS was founded. It’s even more important to mark the birthday of Britain’s most popular institution this year, as we face the potential dismantling of the NHS in the form of Andrew Lansley’s Health and Social Care Bill. The NHS is working: Public satisfaction with the NHS is at an all-time high. Doctors, nurses, midwives, support staff, patients groups and more have all spoken out about the dangers of these changes. Please join us on the 5th July, when we’ll be holding campaign activities around the country and online, to mark the NHS’ 63rd birthday and to fight for the future of our health service. RSVP here by visiting http://www.goingtowork.org.uk/help-celebratethe-nhs-63rd-birthday and we’ll keep you in touch as more details on the day are announced.
The deadline for the next edition of NNN is
1700 hours on Friday 29th July 2011 people on Sunday 24th July so we urge you to make every effort to arrive there on time and ready to celebrate with us. This years theme for UGMF has been entitled, “One Stage, One City, One Stand” so join us as entry is free, but we do encourage you to register on the website at www.ugmf.co.uk Our confirmed line up for this year’s Festival is: Shekinah Glory Ministry, Noel Robinson & Nu Image, John Fisher & IDMC, Victizzle, Faithchild, Tunday, Tom & Olly, New Direction Crew, Jahaziel, Matthew Allen, Coco Dupree, Commission, E-Tizz, Dwayne Tryumf, Ni-Cola, Nu-Soul, Marsha Garrick, New-Ye and Vizion. Our Host for the day will be comedian extraordinaire; Simply Andy Put the date in your diary, plan your journey down, and get ready for this brand New and Exciting Music Festival – the first of many to come!! Join us as we take to “One Stage…in One City…for One Stand”
17 • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews
www.issuu.com/nationalnubiannews • nationalnubiannews@yahoo.com • 18