VoicesofAfrica gets East Africa Coordinator
Voices of Africa Media Foundation, Haarlem, The Netherlands- Voices of Africa Media Foundation has appointed Khamis Ramadhan as its new Regional Coordinator for its projects in Eastern Africa. Khamis Ramadhan is independent journalist and filmmaker of great renown based in Nairobi, Kenya. “The digital media and the internet are now part of the African media landscape and make mobile reporting essential”, says Khamis, adding that the Voices of Africa project is an opportunity for him to nurture and share his rich experience with young East African men and women. Read the press release and view the video

Tanzania: Women unearth hidden riches
Deo Simba, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Women in Tanzania work hard to improve living standards in their lives. Many have organised themselves in groups that engage in production. It is in these groups that they learn more about themselves and end up realizing their potentials. WAWABU is a group formed by women for their own development. It initially obtained support from CARE International to run self-help projects. View the video

Women on their own feet

Olivier Nyirubugara-This April issue is dominated by reports about African women and the efforts they making to make life easier and enjoyable. The reason, as you might guess, was that the international day dedicated to women’s rights was celebrated on 8 March. The voicesofafrica mobile reporters being members of their respective communities can not let such an important day go unnoticed. They even went beyond that particular day to bring to the surface impressive local initiatives by women. Peris reported on a female-only bakery in Meru, Kenya, where that bread industry has become a bread-earner for local women. To the south, namely in neighbouring Tanzania, one Deo Simba’s report features women’s creativity: his report is about their hand-made ornaments, using only local natural materials.
WOMEN ARE NO LONGER JUST HOUSEWIVES!

Mixed reactions on Pope's visit to Cameroon
Walter Nana Wilson, Buea, Cameroon- Last week Pope Benedictus XVI came to Cameroon, his first visit to Africa. Bishop Bush from the Cameroonian city of Buea shook his hand and felt everything went well. But some people in Buea were less enthusiastic about his visit for instance because of the high costs of the celebrations.View the video

Olivier Nyirubugara
Project Coordinator

Discover the Geneva of Africa
Abisae Maeda, Arusha, Tanzania - Arusha is among the most beautiful cities of Tanzania and has not much to envy Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Mwanza and Mbeya. Each of these cities has a unique geographical position. Located in the north of Tanzania, Arusha has been nicknamed Geneva of Africa because of the UN Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.View the video

The blinds’ ways of learning
Peris Wairimu, Meru, Kenya - When St. Lucy's school for the blind started in 1958,it mainly admitted grown up pupils who had stayed for long in their homes,Without an idea of where to go due to their disabilities. It was not easy to find and bring together these visually impaired children from their villages. Most of them had a bad idea of being mistreated since they could not see.Otherwise that was not the issue.View the video

Depicting life through graffiti
Abisae Maeda, Arusha, Tanzania- There are different ways of passing the massage to society either by writing singing acting but also through graffiti. This is another way of passing massage as it was there long time ago. Graffiti is a hip hop art just like pop music. In this report, graffiti self-taught drawer, Mr. Kingston explains how he conveys messages about life, about the past for future generations.View the video

Deo Simba,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Kenya: Curio business challenged
Agnes Wambui, Nairobi, Kenya - Curio shops are popular in Kenya due to visiting foreigners and even to local Kenyan tourists. In this report, a curio trader explains some of the challenges the get in their jobs one of them being off s comes across. The most important challenge comes from the Nairobi city council which harasses curio traders calling them hawkers, mainly because they don't pay their stall rent on time.View the video

Widows earn money through dance
Joseph Aron Alama, Arusha, Tanzania- Widows in Arusha, Tanzania have formed an association and initiated projects, which they fund with money generated by their weekly performances in public squares. The twenty women charge one US dollar per person for locals, and about two for foreigners. Their creativity does not stop there, as they also sell drinks and snacks during the performance.View the video