Return to Awukuga

Regaining my power, sanity, faith, & strenght by going directly back to where I took my first steps

It’s so funny what a difference a day makes! Yesterday the word exhaustion was all I could write to describe my day at a film set in Ghana .

The City of Accra, I guess is much like every city with it’s chaos, superficiality, un-cleanliness & just insane energy that keeps you on the edge or in a constant battle! The traffic & extreme defensive driving here surpasses LA & any place i know that is known for their traffic. Let’s not even talk about the exhaust fumes from cars, burning tires & plastics that is choking the air & life out of this city, yet everyone seems to think all the birth defects & illnesses stem from some sort of voodoo instead of the obvious environmental hazards that is suffocating this city!

Today I really went back to my roots by going up to the mountains of Awukuga, where I basically grew up as a baby with my grandmother. The air was clean, the mountains were beautiful, the people where peaceful, the food was delicious & inexpensive, the service was excellent & gracious, the streets were clean, and there was no traffic, fights or anything to remind me of any of my bad experiences in Accra. I had promised to go to a soccer academy in a town that was basically a walk away from the town I grew up in . I really didn’t have any idea that I would be going to my family’s hometown today because I was not really sure where the soccer academy was located. It was an absolutely amazing day of seeing kids that grew up where I did, wanting to learn from me & my crew about what we do and just being in the beautiful picturesque peaceful place that I remembered as a child- & have always kept with me of my GHANA or Africa! To have the opportunity to be able to be some sort of role model & to feel like I was actually doing something that is or could be helpful, made all the ups & downs that I have had disappear! I learned so much about myself, the people that I came with, where I came from, and just life! I recognized exactly what global fusion is all about & the need for “each one teach one ” on a global scale! I went back to my beginnings and received the power, revitalized energy, awakening & release that I needed to continue my mission to live out Nkrumah’s “forward ever, backward never” with, thru, and for Ghana, our global community & myself! I am ecstatic that I came on this mission, came with a specifically chosen crew and feel great about what is to come, what life has in store, and my desire to never stop fighting for what I know it can be!! Win or lose on the soccer field I am a proud Ghanaian, and I am proud of us as a people! Talking & Looking thru those children’s eyes , I saw their curiosity and the idea that they wanted achievement not only for their own success & superficial benefit, but for the benefit of Family! This is the Ghana that I know & love & will continue to push to maintain & bring to the forefront!!

Today I feel ELATION!!

Ghana’s Children! Inspirational!

Ghana’s children inspire me to deliver on the mission! Forward Ever, Backward Never!

look at your backyard where you go to relax & fish! Very few can ever have such a backyard or experience!

Let’s not promote poverty for the sake of ignorance & commerce but recognize the real need to aid others to maintain, protect & benefit from what is their own!

Big Things to Come!! Until our next family gathering -Chale- Be Safe & Beautiful!!!

KEEP THE RIGHT FIRE BURNING!
“EVERYTIME I LOOK INTO YOUR EYES I SEE THE FIRE IN THEM .. I SEE DESIRE IN THEM” !!

2face -hope to see you on the the next run-keep writing lyrics!!!

A UNITED GHANA & NIGERIA -WHAT A POWERFUL FORCE THAT MUST COME FOR THE CONTINTENT & GLOBALLY!! TO THE FUTURE & RECOGNIZED DREAMS OF OUR COLLECTIVE CHILDREN!!

SEE ME SO -2face !! osibisa- WELCOME HOME – fela -BUY AFRICA -AFRICA UNITE- bob marley, WE ALL NEED wanlov- WE ARE HUMAN BEING!!

THOSE IN THE KNOW -CAN TRULY UNDERSTAND THE SENTENCE ABOVE -SEARCH IN THE MUSIC!! AS IT WAS WRITTEN-AFRICA UNITE-bob marley -THE ANSWERS ARE ALL THERE!

know , learn, & be historical in embrassing our collective history!!

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE! Obama, Wanlov

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE! Obama, Wanlov

Bush brings aid, Shaq’s shoes to Tanzania
President Bush gave Tanzania’s president, who played basketball as a youth, a pair of NBA star Shaquille O’Neal’s size 23 shoes today, along with millions of dollars to help combat disease and poverty in the east African country.

Obama Photo Gallery
Courtesy of the Chicago Sun Times

Barack Obama as a toddler.   (Courtesy of Barack Obama)

Barack Obama as a child.   (Courtesy of Barack Obama)

Barack Obama as a young boy.   (Courtesy of Barack Obama)

The wedding day of Barack Obama Jr. and Michelle LaVaughn Robinson.   (Courtesy of the Obama Family)

Barack Obama with his maternal grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham during a 1982 visit to New York, where Obama was attending Columbia.   (Courtesy of The Obama Family)

Barack Obama walks with his grandmother Sarah Hussein Obama at his father’s house in Nyongoma Kogelo village, western Kenya, in Aug. 2006.   (AP file)

Barack Obama with his grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama, in Africa   (Courtesy)

In this Obama Family photo are: (bottom row, from left) half-sister Auma, her mother Kezia Obama, Obama’s step-grandmother Sarah Hussein Onyango Obama and unknown; (top row, from left) unknown, Barack Obama, half-brother Abongo (Roy) Obama, and three unknowns.   (Courtesy of the Obama Family)

Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama’s half-sister, with her husband, Konrad Ng, and their daughter, Suhaila.   (Courtesy

We All Want Change , As the great Ghandi Said

” Be The Change, That You Want To See”!!My trip to Ghana & experiencing American politics from the outside, while in the midst of Ghanaian politics and society, has been a very interesting & empowering experience, particularly watching Barack Obama’s rise while experiencing the rise of Wanlov, The Kubolor in Ghana.Barack Obama was the Democratic Party’s carefully chosen golden boy of charisma & Clintonesque, Kennedyesque swagger to offset John Carey & John Edwards lack thereof. This was the master plan to bring back some sort of excitement & unity into a slowly dying party. Unfortunately the worst foil for a master plan to squash a revolutionary evolution is an educated human being, let alone, an educated negro.

It is the makings of the underground railroad, the abolitionists, the true humanitarians who volunteer & give of their time & self worldwide, wanting & believing in change, even though they keep getting told that it is a lost cause, the slave sneaking in the education and sharing the knowledge with others , being the best worker or apprentice, while calculatingly building on a goal, in preparation to go beyond the teacher’s set plan to have the student walk in his footsteps, until he is ready to relinquish power. Forever working for him & within his steps, instead of doing better or being more progressive than the teacher.

One can see this as the Bush Story in its basic elements. Surpassing the father into a second term & bypassing the intended plan because he had surpassed the teacher. Maybe Bush flipped the plan & set off the global chaos & imbalances that are effecting us all collectively BY BRINGING IT OUT IN THE OPEN WORLDWIDE! In a manner where the global world is no longer dependant on America to have a say, resolve & aid its problems; therefore they most resolve them on a local & global level because everyone is their own leader & judge!  Real Change was ripe at this time to come out of absolute necessity & thru the true fight & desire of the people, for its urgency! However one deals with the opportunity or necessity is the choice of the people and their leaders in all of its extremes, until we all recognize ourselves as collective leaders. Maybe Bush Jr. saw that the chance for a complete global change is now & bypassed the plan to have a slow deterioration into another war & chose to shake it up and hope for the best instead of the usual status quo of his father & the intended plan. Call me crazy, but think about it. I am far from a Bushy, but I don’t really see Bush Jr. as the epitome of evil, more toward somewhat ignorant, naive, clueless, non-chalant & possibly idealistic.

When the student is ready to unleash & bypass the teacher is when the real battle starts because the student must be absolutely ready, willing & able to win & be the Change! Perhaps George Bush was not exactly that ready & prepared after he surpassed the teacher, but  it’s the difference between the two Harvard men. There’s the one who pays attention , puts in the work to earn the grade because it took a lot of hard work to even get in the doors, therefore you always must have a plan at all times in case you are called upon. Bush however was the one who had the legacy, it was not too much of a battle to get in as long as the basics where put, his life’s plans  already mapped out &  he could coast whichever way he wanted until  he got to each point. no real plan necessary!

Unfortunately, Obama’s calling came earlier than the Clintons/Democrats had expected, but came right on time for some wayward, Bush/Cheney, Clinton -overdosed & rehabbed Dems., republicans, independents & global people, in general, who secretly had wished for this! Real Change has no master plan because it’s about the moment! Like anything in life, you can’t force change, but when you are ready to change -there is a certain force that is undeniable & basically kicks you in the ass because there really is no other choice!Bush Jr. gave more aid/funding to Africa than even Bill Clinton- our so called 1st Black President of the US, who was alledgedly so good for black people globally. I would rather  not give him such accolades , but i will give him that fact that he was good for the economy of the US in general during his time in office, which benefitted us all collectively- so no obvious special sauce treatment.  Bush is now on his tour of Africa to collect on or according to him to “show the success stories in Africa that the USA has played a part in”. 

Perhaps in some strange twisted way Bush Jr. can be a catalyst in writing the wrong of his father, who helped to squash the legacy of Nkrumah’s dream for a united, free & progressive Africa. By putting the focus on Africa & African leaders who will hopefully complete the goals of progress & a united Africa , with African leadesr stepping up to to AID & speak out for their fellow Africans & resolve some of our issues as a collective union, Africa can take her dream out of defferment &  realized !We live in a global world, where we all must make deals & work together for the benefit of all. It is in the workings of those deals that we must be careful to keep just as much of a close & watchful eye on our friends, as we keep on our enemies. We can all go astray at times & greed is the sure fire way to turn friends into enemies. History has proven this whether it comes from cash advances, trade or the bible! Ghana strived as the Gold Coast with many, so called, friends wanting to revel in its success; as has many parts of the world, in history. Ghana along with other African countries are now drilling for oil, with many coming along to revel in that success as friends & investors. Let’s learn from the mistakes of the past & make the right type of agreements to benefit all the people while sharing our resources.

As said with such elation & eloquence by a man at the internet cafe at the airport in Accra, during our conversation with him after he watched the results of the caucuses on line:

“Hilary you are the champion, every one knows you are the champion, you have done well & will do great things, but your time has come & gone , it is now Obama’s time … bow out gracefully & you will still be seen as a champion, but continue fighting & you will just disgrace yourself and tarnish your champion”

It was amazing to see how much people in Ghana were into watching & knowing about the caucuses in the U.S. We are clearly a global world living parallel lives as human beings, all wanting & needing change & a true sense of peace, family & belonging!

Africans didn’t BELIEVE, just as many African-Americans didn’t BELIEVE in the possibility of Obama. I didn’t even believe, but it was never because I didn’t believe in the possibilities strictly based on color. My vote was never going to be strictly based on color, but rather true substance & action. I wanted to see Obama prove that he knew he could win & was ready to do so, “The Fired Up & Ready To Go” attitude that he brought after the rock star period had died down, showcased the fact he realized the difference between those that were there just for the party & those that were there for the long haul, ready to put up the best fight & most of all ready to Win on & for Change! I was not going to have my vote strictly based on color, ethnicity, or ancestry as I hoped no other person would use such a criteria to shortchange a nation & the world, by not choosing the absolutely best leader possible.Obama has brought a true sense of hope, unification , desire & motivation instead of helplessness in working toward change. I watched & kept talking about how young Caucasian college students & young grads, were the ones that recognized that Obama was the true change & pushed him to be the collective people’s choice on a global front.  He truly represents everything global change is about; even if the initial push  of many people’s support was on the basic level of being an active participant in the making of history!

It took the aid of sympathetic slave owners, abolitionists, Jewish, Irish, Italian etc. civil rights activists to build up & move the movements for change in America; sprouting out the women’s movement and other movements. Change always came about because of our collective voice & actions . Change can only have lasting effects & results if it is done & attained in a collective manner. The answers, directions, guidelines, wrongs & rights are all written in history -we just have to recognize, pay homage, learn from it & keep history progressive!We may all have our differences, but there are the chosen few that you just can’t deny or exude much negativity toward – it just doesn’t work & just comes off as basic silly, petty, jealous HATERATION!

Wanlov, The Kubolor is just that human being. Someone that steps up & makes others see that it’s time to step up and unify because the respect of the people is in its unification. He lives & wears his chosen name. He’s Wanlov – a man of peace, reflection & love, & the Kubolor – the epitome of hood boy, thug or gangster culminating into one word, Kubolor! It’s always peace, I mean, Chale, he wears a skirt! However when the battle is brought he slays the mic, by silently shutting down another MC, letting him know NOT to clog up his ears with earwax because he doesn’t know him like that & did not invite him onto his mic/set – all with smooth, sharp, peaceful, Wanlov precision!! WELL, CHALE MEK YOU KNOW TRY!

Wanlov brings the people together & makes it a point to make sure all are recognized as an equally contributing collective of what & who Ghana is, when the focus & the light is clearly shining off of him.

It’s wrong of me to put such pressure to live up to all that I have described, but I leave it at only each individuals personal experience & inspiration. Being in Ghana, I remember how ridiculous I thought it was for the people to put so much pressure on the soccer players , even going as far as threatening a soccer players mother because they felt he wasted goals that he could have scored for the country. It is at most ridiculousness & at least unfair to put such high pressure on individuals to bring us hope , faith or to get that fight & sense of leadership that we all possess in whatever capacity, within & thru ourselves. I can also understand the fact that there are some chosen ones that sort of have to help move the crowd : Rakim, Nkrumah, Ghandi, Che, Bob Marley, Osibisa, Fela Kuti, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Nelson, Mandela, Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Spike Lee, Oprah, Harriet Tubman, Maya Angelou, Marvin Gaye, Mohammed Ali, Azuma Nelson, Abede Pele, James Brown, Sydney Poitier, Hattie McDaniel etc. Whatever your politics & personal feelings, their purpose was felt & If they did not do anything at all , atleast they set off Aspiration & Inspiration !

Aspiration & Inspiration is exactly the catalyst for change that is flowing thru Ghana’s young people with the many rising stars in their entertainment industry. As many stars that come out , there are many more coming up hoping to be like them or to take their spot!  There is no Movement of One! Change for country  & it’s people can only come to frution with the unity of all its people. Being in Ghana & speaking witj so many different types of people from government , entertainment, African American expatriates, European, Lebanese, Liberian, Caribbean- non recognized citizens- who have been living in Ghana for most of their lives,along with the new settlers from all over the globe that came , loved it & decided to make it home showed me a global parallel universe with change occuring all around even in small increments . Many settlers in Ghana quickly realize that although certain western styles & materialism is coveted certain western ideals have not been recognized or attained, with very little sense of urgency in attaining them or foregoing certain traditions or non-traditions; thereby bringing a certain sense of frustration amongst everyone  setting up a barrier to progress & change. If only we can recognize the fact that we all want & believed in one collective mission toward basic peace, belonging, having the basic right to proper food, shelter, clean air, healthcare, clean water, living wage, basic human rights & the basic right to have the ways & means to get ones just due in order to make & have change- then We can ACCEPT CHANGE!

BLACK STAR RISING: The Documentary

What started off with a focus on the Africa cup of Nations & what it represented to Kwame Nkrumah’s call for a United Africa and the Black Stars, playing host to the games at a time of Ghana’s golden jubilee period, turned into a life changing emotional roller coaster of planting seeds to prepare for the bloom of change! Whatever that may mean or entail , I’m excited about it and ready, willing & able to take it , see it thru & follow it where ever it may go! I definitely get now, the power of wanting , having , and needing change & how even in it’s smallest steps or grandiose ways makes a great difference that can only be truly sustained with balance.

I have put up what I could for now – with blogs ,music etc. until we get the actual edited photos, & trailer on line on our global fusions productions website -so stay in the loop.

Check out Mum’s & Stanley’s blog’s & mine at the links below for photos & some video clips.

Check out Mum’s & Stanley’s blog’s & mine at the links below for photos & some video clips.

http://web.mac.com/stanley.lumax/Back_to_My_Roots_08/Back_To_My_Roots_Blog/Back_To_My_Roots_Blog.html

http://mumsinghana.blogspot.com/

myspace.com/globalfusion

I am hoping to put together a promo DVD for Winter Music Conference in Miami- so let me know who can assist me in getting that together quickly & whose going & making moves there that we can colloborate with!

I am also encouraging all of you to take a vacation & share your expertise in whatever field you are in & encourage your companies to send product that most of you will most likely end of discarding to make room for the next season’s collection or inventory.

There are budding stylists, photographers, actors, film makers, bakers, party planners, lawyers, doctors, graphic artists, violinists , pianists, producers, caterers, entrepreneurs, mothers, fathers etc. who can benefit from sharing your own experiences & knowledge in new growing industries. It is not about poor Africans or any feeling sorry for someone having less , it is about our shared experiences & differences & each one teach one. These kids that get so excited when you teach them how to work a digital camera, that some of our kids in the USA may take for granted, also happen to live amongst make shift unfinished mansions on acres of land with their backyards being the tourist attraction of the water falls, where they just hang out & fish daily, something that is unimaginable to many kids in the US! You can’t have a house inside central park , botanical gardens or rainforest, but for them it’s steps away & a part of their infrastructure! It is all a matter of perspective. Eventhough they have something that is priceless, economics does not allow them the means to choose whether to spend the little money they are able to make on proper soccer cleats or the cost of a basic education & food, whether or not they maybe the next super star or not! The crazy part is that the Ghana GH (cedi) is higher than the us dollar -last I check 1 gh was 91 cents! Anyone can see that there’s clearly something wrong in the balance!

“Give a Man a fish & feed him for one day , teach a man how to fish and feed him for eternity”

However that saying may go, it is a very real & true clique. We need to help these young people preserve where they came from and let it benefit them economically, so they have many choices within their own communities instead of always having to put their hopes outside. Allow them to have progression with some preservation. There’s a certain character of a city that Accra possesses, with it’s insane driving & traffic, people banter and just straight hustle that is very reminiscent of 125th street in Harlem USA, and I am sure amongst areas of diasporans throughout the world & just cities in general! It has the crazy city vibe that lets you truly enjoy the peace of going up to the mountains sooo much more!

I recognized that my home will be in the mountains because I am past that city madness stage, but it’s always a little nice to recharge off of some of that energy when necessary. Just imagine your energy level being at 100% being caused by people who are at about 50% and not being acknowledged by anyone to figure out a solution because to do that they would have to get off of the 10 % level by having some sort of direct & immediate finacial or material incentive that may take them to the 50% level OF PRODUCTIVITY & SPEED. I was on the verge of going ballistic until i stopped to really observe the dynamic. They knew things were crazy, but it was not that serious to them because the focus was on individual plans to go elsewhere for change or to just get thru today a little richer than when they started the day.

Getting to know yourself thru others outside of your comfort zone is PRICELESS.

BLACK STAR RISING: The Documentary

What started off with a focus on the Africa cup of Nations & what it represented to Kwame Nkrumah’s call for a United Africa and the Black Stars, playing host to the games at a time of Ghana’s golden jubilee period, turned into a life changing emotional roller coaster of planting seeds to prepare for the bloom of change! Whatever that may mean or entail , I’m excited about it and ready, willing & able to take it , see it thru & follow it where ever it may go! I definitely get now, the power of wanting , having , and needing change & how even in it’s smallest steps or grandiose ways makes a great difference that can only be truly sustained with balance.

I have put up what I could for now – with blogs ,music etc. until we get the actual edited photos, & trailer on line on our global fusions productions website -so stay in the loop.

Check out Mum’s & Stanley’s blog’s & mine at the links below for photos & some video clips.

Check out Mum’s & Stanley’s blog’s & mine at the links below for photos & some video clips.

http://web.mac.com/stanley.lumax/Back_to_My_Roots_08/Back_To_My_Roots_Blog/Back_To_My_Roots_Blog.html

http://mumsinghana.blogspot.com/

myspace.com/globalfusion

I am hoping to put together a promo DVD for Winter Music Conference in Miami- so let me know who can assist me in getting that together quickly & whose going & making moves there that we can colloborate with!

I am also encouraging all of you to take a vacation & share your expertise in whatever field you are in & encourage your companies to send product that most of you will most likely end of discarding to make room for the next season’s collection or inventory.

There are budding stylists, photographers, actors, film makers, bakers, party planners, lawyers, doctors, graphic artists, violinists , pianists, producers, caterers, entrepreneurs, mothers, fathers etc. who can benefit from sharing your own experiences & knowledge in new growing industries. It is not about poor Africans or any feeling sorry for someone having less , it is about our shared experiences & differences & each one teach one. These kids that get so excited when you teach them how to work a digital camera, that some of our kids in the USA may take for granted, also happen to live amongst make shift unfinished mansions on acres of land with their backyards being the tourist attraction of the water falls, where they just hang out & fish daily, something that is unimaginable to many kids in the US! You can’t have a house inside central park , botanical gardens or rainforest, but for them it’s steps away & a part of their infrastructure! It is all a matter of perspective. Eventhough they have something that is priceless, economics does not allow them the means to choose whether to spend the little money they are able to make on proper soccer cleats or the cost of a basic education & food, whether or not they maybe the next super star or not! The crazy part is that the Ghana GH (cedi) is higher than the us dollar -last I check 1 gh was 91 cents! Anyone can see that there’s clearly something wrong in the balance!

“Give a Man a fish & feed him for one day , teach a man how to fish and feed him for eternity”

However that saying may go, it is a very real & true clique. We need to help these young people preserve where they came from and let it benefit them economically, so they have many choices within their own communities instead of always having to put their hopes outside. Allow them to have progression with some preservation. There’s a certain character of a city that Accra possesses, with it’s insane driving & traffic, people banter and just straight hustle that is very reminiscent of 125th street in Harlem USA, and I am sure amongst areas of diasporans throughout the world & just cities in general! It has the crazy city vibe that lets you truly enjoy the peace of going up to the mountains sooo much more!

I recognized that my home will be in the mountains because I am past that city madness stage, but it’s always a little nice to recharge off of some of that energy when necessary. Just imagine your energy level being at 100% being caused by people who are at about 50% and not being acknowledged by anyone to figure out a solution because to do that they would have to get off of the 10 % level by having some sort of direct & immediate finacial or material incentive that may take them to the 50% level OF PRODUCTIVITY & SPEED. I was on the verge of going ballistic until i stopped to really observe the dynamic. They knew things were crazy, but it was not that serious to them because the focus was on individual plans to go elsewhere for change or to just get thru today a little richer than when they started the day.

Getting to know yourself thru others outside of your comfort zone is PRICELESS.

Healthcare/mental illness -a global issue & a global investment!!

Healthcare/mental illness -a global issue!! 

 

Crying for PEACE & SANITY!!

Gunman Was Once ’Revered’ on Campus

 

How many school shootings, actors going to rehab , people dying from prescription drugs and general rebellion & chaos amongst many of our young people have to occur before we realize that we are in a crisis . One that is a global crisis, where the healthcare system is based first on how much money you have rather than the Hippocratic oath, where there is no real governance over the assurances of the Hippocratic oath , No real laws on the books being upheld to grant & take care of the rights of family to have the ultimate ability & say without stigma, to easily & lovingly handle the needs of the family. We are not taking care of our mentally ill children or the adults. The continual drugging of our young people under the auspices of prescription/legal drugs that are administered to keep them in line, to keep their demons down & to help their brains function properly etc. , has turned into out of control dependency & the battle thereafter to go back to “feeling like yourself again”.

It turns into a rejection of drugs & those things who they feel is holding them from feeling like themselves again. It’s a battle of mind & body & when the body wins, it lets go & unleashes the manic where it feels no pain. Some maybe able to come out and deal with the mind, but many are not able to find the ability to find that balance or to go back. The battle is there on the smallest of levels with my grandmother just feeling out of control & wanting to feel like herself again, by not taking the medications that were all for non- mental conditions, just elderly ailments. The feeling of not feeling like herself & not having any control of it was taking her into a craze, but then there is the level of someone who is bi-polar, wanting to feel like themselves again & not having the capability to fully balance & control both mind & body, which can turn into disastrous results like the school shootings & many mentally ill people who seem to be lashing out lately -according to news reports. How many more before we do something about it! It is a public health issue that will effect all of us -one way or the other.

While in Ghana my grandmother was going thru a hard time healthwise & was feeling weak & “unlike herself” as she told me. She prayed to God & asked him to bring her out of this period & told me it’s all in God’s hands. She did not want to take anymore of the countless medications being administered to her, by a young caretaker who knew nothing about what she was giving to my grandmother outside of the instructions on the bottle on how many pills to administer. I looked at the bottles & tried to figure out what was what , what ailment each pill was to cure or ease etc. I, as a college grad could not figure it out , but there was also no real explanation outside of the instructions on how MANY pills to administer. My aunts & mother in the States ended up intervening, in order to take my grandmother to a private doctor. The private doctor was a lot more expensive, but took the time to check her thoroughly & realized that she was taking about 4-6 medications too many for ailments she no longer suffered from & it was now causing her deterioration. All of these prescriptions were prescribed by doctors at the public hospital that takes her health insurance.

My grandmother immediately left the private doctor’s office with a new attitude & automatically felt better because of the type of care she received & the doctor interacting with her & making sure he knew of any pains , illnesses & feelings that she wanted to express. Doctors are not gods & none of them are fool proof, but the one thing that is full proof is the desire to do good, truly abiding by the Hippocratic oath & having a good bed side manner , which is just based on basic human interaction & allowing your patients to be part of the process & to be listened to & heard.

My Grandmother’s own body told her that she was “Not herself” & was finally rejecting the drugs in a way that she had to listen. This time it was not just the basic not wanting to take the pills because she didn’t like it or was making her feel weak type of rejection. This time it felt very different & she no longer wanted to take the pills because it was too much for her & she ended up being right!

It’s unfortunate that money determines what level of care one receives or if they receive any at all, world wide. People are battling the overdosing of prescriptions & taking people outside of themselves. In Ghana there is still a system of local herbal remedies that do work & have been the solution for many. A proper, thoughtful balance with both traditional ( being the one of traditions, no experiment here, many centuries of practice, long before so called traditional medicine as we know it existed) and Experimental ( being the one which we see as traditional in modern times). Prescription drugs & prescribing many of them at once is experimental because you are mixing up chemicals that have not been pre-mixed & tested in a lab together, while with natural remedies -it is of nature in its purest form without any chemicals unless it has been added by people. It is already clear in its formation & growth what natural herbs do & do not mix together naturally. The balance of these worlds with people truly dedicated to taking care of the people’s health is what I truly hope can occur, but it takes individuals to see past self & monetary gain to be able to really see “the human being -just like you”!

We really need to start caring about one another & ourselves because it is destroying us. I came back to find out many more celebrities are in rehab, more school shootings, more diagnoses of mental illness, more campaign talk on the need for proper healthcare without any concrete easily implemental plans that can occur as we speak, instead of waiting until after the election year. Sometimes government seems to think its job is to campaign instead of the actual job of governance. I came back to hear more of the same reporting & no real action taken by government, the people, healthcare unions, systems, workers, etc.

We have been trapped with the greed & why bother to fight the system type of attitude amongst our collective healthcare systems, along with the greed of pharmaceuticals putting out drugs like a fashion house puts out a new collection every season. Having to be sexier, hotter , more powerful, bold & exciting than last season, in order to sell. Unfortunately people’s lives & the amount of prescription drugs being pushed & administered has more lethal consequences than how many layers of clothing & labels you choose to put on your body in a given day!

There’s a whole lot of money everywhere in the world right now because of countless resources that are indegenous to each place in the world & the collective need for these resources. We should all be able benefit in it’s fruits! MTN spent millions on hosting the Africa Cup of Nations, while half of the money could have gone to countless people in need of healthcare & health insurance . Look at a Black Star player like Stephen Appiah providing basic health insurance for his town in Ghana. Individuals can make a diffrence & sometimes it takes individuals make sure government is taking care of it’s people without the excuses on how things take time & the impossibilities rather than getting rid of the red tape & just doing it -just as an individual like Appiah was able to do. Look at the billions of advertising dollars spent on sports events & every type of event. a 1/4 of some of these budgets could fund a lot that ails us a s a country & global community. We all have a collective responsibility. Let’s take care of the basic needs of the people as coperations , individuals & governments, so we can all be at ease with fruits of profit! Sometimes it is the responsibility of the people to show government that it can be done & that the excuses are no longer palatable when individuals have taken it into their own hands & made it work.

The future to me looks bright because while there’s suffering, there is also greatness occurring thru out the world. We have to fix the basics & get back to being Human Beings instead of robots!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7671413252343317954

The Oath Hippocrates
Hippocrates was a Greek physician born in 460 BC on the island of Cos, Greece. He became known as the founder of medicine and was regarded as the greatest physician of his time. He based his medical practice on observations and on the study of the human body. He held the belief that illness had a physical and a rational explanation. He rejected the views of his time that considered illness to be caused by superstitions and by possession of evil spirits and disfavor of the gods.
Hippocrates held the belief that the body must be treated as a whole and not just a series of parts. He accurately described disease symptoms and was the first physician to accurately describe the symptoms of pneumonia, as well as epilepsy in children. He believed in the natural healing process of rest, a good diet, fresh air and cleanliness. He noted that there were individual differences in the severity of disease symptoms and that some individuals were better able to cope with their disease and illness than others. He was also the first physician that held the belief that thoughts, ideas, and feelings come from the brain and not the heart as others of him time believed.
Hippocrates traveled throughout Greece practicing his medicine. He founded a medical school on the island of Cos, Greece and began teaching his ideas. He soon developed an Oath of Medical Ethics for physicians to follow. This Oath is taken by physicians today as they begin their medical practice. He died in 377 BC. Today Hippocrates is known as the “Father of Medicine”

The Oath By Hippocrates Written 400 B.C.E

I SWEAR by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius, and Health, and All-heal, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this stipulation- to reckon him who taught me this Art equally dear to me as my parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve his necessities if required; to look upon his offspring in the same footing as my own brothers, and to teach them this art, if they shall wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation; and that by precept, lecture, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the Art to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath according to the law of medicine, but to none others. I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion. With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art. I will not cut persons laboring under the stone, but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this work. Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and, further from the seduction of females or males, of freemen and slaves. Whatever, in connection with my professional practice or not, in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret. While I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men, in all times! But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the reverse be my lot!
THE END

LET’S CONVINCE CORPORATE ENTITIES WHOM WE PATRONIZE TO SPEND AS MUCH ON THIS

AS THEY DO ON THIS!

THE REAL FUTURE & TRUE WEALTH IS MAKIBG SURE OUR CHILDREN ARE TAKEN CARE OF MENTALLY, PHYSICIALLY & FINACIALLY!

WAVES FOR AFRICA- AFRICA SURF NATION!! Ghana

WAVES FOR AFRICA- AFRICA SURF CAPITAL Recognize! Travel and See: Highlife in Ghana Music and colour and seeping pollution are some of the ups and downs of surfing in a country that, despite being featured in Endless Summer in 1966, is virtually surfer-free. But by feeling out the rhythm of the place, these guys found pointbreaks pulsing in perfect time … and learnt all about West African highlife. Watch out for the wrecks! Words by Sam Bleakley • Photos by John Callahan / Tropica

THE YOUTH OF GHANA IN THEIR OWN WORDS-RIGHT TO DREAM ACADEMY

Emmanuel and Osei talk about our visit to Right to Dream!

On the 8th February 2008, we were very happy to welcome Stanley and his friends who are professional photographers, filmmakers, actor and producers into the Academy for a class with us. We were very motivated because of the way they spoke, relating to their own life stories which sounded very inspirational. Two of the topics which we heard that inspired us the most is to have passion about what you are doing and to also be proud about our nation and culture.
We took something out from passion because through their stories because they all worked for free at some point in their lives just because they had passion for their profession, but they have still been able to achieve their aims. We learned that to choose something to do, you have to have passion for it or else you are not going to end successfully. Our culture was also a topic we liked because they told us that for you to be great you will have to know about your history and culture because it’s a great knowledge that no-one else can take away from you.
Our exciting moment was when Mums gave us some good raps and also had a running race with Edward, a fourth generation player, which Mums lost!
We really appreciated what they did for us because not all people will like to spend their time with young lads like us. From last Friday when they came to visit us, we still have been discussing about the visit because they brought us good messages that can have a good impact on our lives. God bless all of them and we wish that they will come back and take a class again.

Edward Opoku & Yaro Joshua

The Right to Dream Academy was founded in the year 1999. It was founded by a man called Tom Vernon who is from the UK. It is one of the well known academies in Ghana. There are four generations in the Academy but the first and second generations are graduating, leaving the third and fourth generation.
This Academy has been and is doing a lovely job and great work in Ghana by taking scholars from all over Ghana and giving them the opportunity to build a future through sport and education. Full scholarships are given to children so they do not pay for anything.
The Academy is focused and based on three main things which are the following:
Football Side: The Academy have scouts who go around Ghana every day and search for young talented players to help them achieve their dream of playing football to a high level at the same time as getting a good education. The Academy have qualified and food coaches who give the children the right training needed. They also have the right equipment and also give the children all that they need to train.
Education Side: The Right to Dream Academy gives the right education to the boys and they are even more concerned with the education as they are with the football side. Teachers are always available in the Academy to help boys with their school work.
Attitude: Attitude they say is what makes a person. The staff of the Academy see to it that the boys are taught the right moral values and manners. Classes are held in the Academy to teach the boys how to manage all aspects of their life. We are all happy here, as the Academy is helping us to achieve our aims and dreams.

Right To Dream Ghana
Address:
PO Box 21040
Accra Central
Accra
Ghana
E-mail:
info@righttodream.com
Telephone:
00 233 246 125 376
http://www.righttodream.com/

To see more blogs & learn more go to:http://web.mac.com/stanley.lumax/Back_to_My_Roots_08/Back_To_My_Roots_Blog/Back_To_My_Roots_Blog.htm

The Stigma & Tragedy of Mental Illness

I just watched a New York 1  News reporter’s story on a  man with mental illness that just killed a therapist by saying “he had a series of bizarre outbursts in the court room”

These were the bizarre outbursts that the reporter felt the defendant was using as a segway to an insanity plea:

he stood up & told the judge he wanted to say something, the judge replied that he had an attorney to speak for him, he replied “he is not my attorney, I can speak for myself , I am not stupid”

the other bizarre outburst included him saying he was hungry, in God we trust, and that he was being cooperative.

Please don’t call me crazy, but I am still trying to figure out where the bizarre outburst occurred when he had a court appointed attorney , not of his choosing & wished to speak for himself.  Because he has already been labeled mentally ill -automatically if he speaks or acts outside our comfort zone we automatically don’t listen & just shrug it off as bizarre behavior, when there is nothing really bizarre about it .

This is part of the reason why there is so much secrecy around mental illness,  its existence amongst many of us, its treatment & diagnoses. There are many amongst us with mental illness whether it’s diagnosed or unknown,  who live regular normal or  acceptably wild lives. No One would automatically think to say they are exerting “bizarre outbursts” , until their mental illness history becomes known then everyone starts taking inventory of all past & present behaviors  treating them differently which often brings on more of the manic or the depression. All of a sudden those same words & actions that were considered normal automatically become bizarre outbursts. Let’s be careful of the way we handle & perceive this disease & handle it with the same type of stigma free compassion that we give to someone diagnosed with cancer, in order for people to freely seek & attain the proper help to prevent further casualties, tragedies & disasters.! This disease is not the entire definition of who any one diagnosed is.

There are  people who are very dear to me diagnosed with bi-polar disease. They are brilliant , creative, kind hearted & intelligent  human beings, who have to fight every day to maintain the balance of being completely depressed or completely manic, along with all that life throws at you, begging to feel like themselves again & to not let every word, action or lack of action be seen as stemming from “the disease or just plain CRAZY!

Sometimes the solutions/answers are there if we just listen & practice compassion!

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