The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

It is clear I write blog posts when inspired. Today was one of those days . Funny enough, earlier today, I had thought about what am I doing for Africa Day . You know the one that was made a holiday in Ghana within 201 and then was removed as a statutory holiday in 2017? The day on which the Organization of African Unity was formed, even as the OAU is now known as the AU ( African Union ). A day synonymous with Africa's Man of the 20th Century, Kwame Nkrumah. Yes, the guy I like to write to letters to (Letta to Osagyefo) . Anyway, Kwame Nkrumah is also famous for leading the formation of Tema, affectionately known as Ghana's Industrial City. On this Africa Day 2021, I shared about " Building Entreprising Communities & Creating Wealth " at the Rotary Club of Tema 's virtual meeting, inspired by the theme for Barcamp Tema 2019 .  Here is a summary of what I shared. I started by saying  " Happy Africa Day o !" with Diaspora Camp also in mind. I talke

This article first appeared on The Raw Africa in 2017. I have not been blogging as much since but I think these nuggets are still relevant.  Be consistent with what you blog about I started my first blog in 2005 on GhanaThink’s GhanaConscious platform. I was really passionate about Ghana’s development at the time. Hiplife had also become the dominant genre in Ghana and I love it, especially Obrafour. I wanted to marry development and music so I came up with Abocco’s blog — sounds on da ground and see-ins on the scenes . From the blog name, sounds have to do with music while ground means relevance. See-ins was a play on words about what I am seeing and was related to scenes which signifies what was happening in Ghana. I always blogged about Ghanaian songs and how they related to society. An example was a post about Obrafour’s Ako which touched on politics and verbal battles. I blogged often , at least once a month so that the blog didn’t become stale. You do not want a disappointed r

In 2013, the GhanaThink Foundation decided to institute National Volunteer Day - NVDay . This was to encourage many people in Ghana to volunteer, make an impact in our communities, help solve problems in ways we could, and help people. It wasn't just to help people, but help ourselves as volunteers : in building skills - especially soft skills, gaining experience, networks , etc. Info about the first couple of years are on Wikipedia . GhanaThink chose Founders' Day - September 21 . By volunteering around September 21, we would also be doing something for Ghana. On December 5, 2013, the Ghana Volunteer Program program (GVP) was created by GhanaThink to run National Volunteer Day and match volunteers to volunteer opportunities. Even though September 21 became Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, it is still National Volunteer Day. In 2020, NVDay is encouraging the celebration of volunteers and for people to volunteer safely and creatively due to the corona virus pandemic. GVP team mem

I get into a lot of discussion on Whatsapp groups these days. For good reason and good measure :-) I have blogged about some of those via these - especially about volunteerism due to a conversation I was part of in the NUGS Volta Women's Bloc . In April 2020, a video about Fred McBagonluri was circulating on Ghanaian Whatsapp. Fred went to MIT (my alma mater) , was the first Dean of Engineering at Ashesi (one of my favorite universities worldwide) and he now leads Academic City which is  also doing and growing well. Someone reacted to the video seeming to say Fred is able to do the things he does because he went to a top university abroad . I went to one of those and that is not the whole story. Africans who go to universities in Africa can also be world class. Let me expand upon my thoughts with actual submissions I made on the Whatsapp page - called South Tongu Business Hub . Those from Sogakope and nearby, what's up? KNUST alumni who are exposed and have educat

What at all is this 23.3/233 thing? Well, you have probably seen  #233moments  right? Learn about it here . When people ask me about the number or the hashtag, either individually or in a group, I ask them to guess the significance of these numbers. I do not remember most of the guesses, maybe because I am so focused on the answer. Well, the answer is - 233 is Ghana's country code. Deep sigh or whatever emotion you have right now lol. The number can, should be, has been used to brand Ghana. Dig it? Well, I can tell you one person who has been digging it. Khophi! Khophi started this 23.3 questions interview series and I was one of the first to be interviewed. It is a bit of a long video but let your curiosity get the best of you. Blog posts should not always have so much to read, so let's finish it :-) Check out the following 23.3 questions episodes as well.  Kafui Anson-Yevu who I have worked with on GhanaThink  on Barcamp Accra , etc and she also w

A lot of people have always wondered why I talk a lot about 2:33pm (and 2:33am) The number 233 The number 23 #233moments I post 233moments on Twitter  & Facebook . When people ask me, either individually or in a group, I ask them to guess the significance of these numbers. I do not remember most of the guesses, maybe because I am so focused on the answer. Well, the answer is -  233  is Ghana's country code. Deep sigh or whatever emotion you have right now lol. I started posting 233moments at 2:33pm to talk about where I am, things going in with me, important or interesting things I had to say. When I am awake at 2:33am, I also post. Sometimes, I intentionally wait till 2:33am to do the post if it is not far from time, etc. No, I don't post #233moments every day, sometimes I forget and remember too late. Even then, if I really have something important to say, I would post it and use the qualifiers - Way Past, 23.3 minutes past, 3 hours past, etc. It is th

BarCamp Takoradi 2019 is a networking forum to bring people together for a day of learning, sharing, networking and mentoring. The theme is " The Capacity of enterprising youth to create wealth ". Barcamp Takoradi is on Saturday, August 17 at the SSNIT Conference Room. The lead coordinator for Barcamp Takoradi, Herbert Acheampong stated: “ I’m expecting new faces, thrilling ideas and fun”.  Barcamp Takoradi is organized primarily by the GhanaThink Foundation , an organization based both in Ghana and the USA, which has successfully organized 101 BarCamps in Ghana . This is organized as part of the Barcamp Ghana program, which is building a network of changemakers, doers and entrepreneurs in Ghana. Barcamp Takoradi 2019 is the 8th edition held in the Western Regional capital of Sekondi-Takoradi. This Barcamp will connect and strengthen a community of motivated and aspirational people in the Twin-cities, ultimately benefiting the Western region and Ghana.