Ugandan Teenage Girl Becomes Africa's Youngest MP

I wrote this article on Global Voices online. Please take a read.

Proscovia Alengot Oromait has become Africa's youngest Member of Paliament (MP) at the age of 19, after she won the Usuk county election with 11,059 votes. The outspoken youngster replaces her father who died earlier this year. Alengot is a member of National Resistance Movement, headed by President Yoweri Museveni. Other people who stood for the post included, Charles Ojok Oleny with 5,329 votes, Charles Okure from FDC with 2,725 votes and Cecilia Anyakoit of UPC with 554 votes. [caption id="attachment_358766" align="aligncenter" width="375"] Honourable Alengot Oromait. Photo used with permission of monitor.co.ug.[/caption] Many people have come out to congratulate her, whilst some are saying she will not survive her term in parliament because of her age and limited experience. Some people believe this is the beginning of change in Africa and its time to get rid of the overly old leaders and allow young people to take the continent forward. Hon. Alengot's area faces challenges of clean water, electricity and poor roads among others. For now the people of Usuk have their hopes pinned on the 19 year-old MP. Hopefully, she will be in position to represent her area and develop it.

Google map of Alengo's constituency: View Larger Map

Some citizen media comments are sampled below: Solar Sister‏ believes its the young women that are the pillar of change now:

Young women powering change! 19 year old Proscovia Alengot Oromait elected to Uganda Parliament. http://fb.me/28DoJ2IUr 

Joy Doreen Biira requests someone to teach Ms Alomait the basics she needs to learn as an MP:

@JoyDoreenBiira: Alengot Oromait, 19 years old is now a MP in Uganda.... Very Good. But can someone "home-school" her on the basics she needs to know else...

Commenting on New Vision website, Agambagye Frank thinks its good that she was elected and believes this is how democracy should be:

thats why democracy is good pple voted her

lakodo urges Hon Aromait not to leave her boyfriend, now that she has got more money and has a lot of opportunities to get a rich boyfriend:

Hon Prossy , plse dont forget ur little 19 yr old boy friend who used to buy for u chapatis, he kind of also helped u in a way, and remember to take haert not to be scared of some MPs like Moses Ali who snores like the whole roof of parliament is coming down.

Commenting on a story on the Monitor website, nkuutu urges advises the MP to concentrate on her studies, as the MP seat can be lost at anytime and she may have to look for a job:

I just have one piece of advice for the hon MP: Don't worry, be happy. This might be the only time in your life to shine! Come next elections ....who knows. Don't forget your day job ...I mean your studies. No one will give you a job with a CV with "ex-MP but no qualification". Anyone can be an MP, but not everyone is educated. Congrats!!

ProWoman thinks people are treating Ms Alengot like a baby. She goes on to tell them to let her think for herself because she is an adult:

 Proscovia does not need too much advice. You guys are treating her like a baby. At 19 she's an adult. Schooling began at home. Why is every man trying to be a parent to her? Leave this young woman alone to think critically for herself. It seems that there are too many cooks around. Proscovia actually has the figure of Michelle Obama. Tall, athletic, beautiful and confident. Michelle the first Black US first lady did not need too much advice on how to be a first Black first lady in the White House. Congratulations to Proscovia!

Proscovia Alengot was sworn in on Thursday 20, September, 2012. She is the youngest and first female teenage Member of Parliament in Africa.

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By James Propa

UK - Jamaican Company signs Ugandan Artist

You may have heard about Tenza the lady who came to Uganda late last year.
As Tenza and her team called TMD records were in Uganda, They came across a talented lady in Uganda.
The lady is called Aggie Cox has a very rich talent in music. Aggie Cox started singing way back in 2007, but the songs did not hit the chats so well.
In 2009, she did a couple of tracks in her ancestral home Tanzania which got some air play.
Late last year, Aggie's talent was spotted by TMD records crew as they were in Uganda and showed interest in signing her, to which she welcomed warmly. Right now Aggie Cox has a hit single Sweet Mama which describes the love mothers have for their Children.


Aggie has also worked with a number of Jamaican artists including Tenza, and according to on lookers, Aggie is going to represent Uganda and Tanzania on the world map. Aggie gets her inspiration from different Reggae, Ragga, Band and hiphop artists, which makes her flexible for any style.


Aggie Cox is one of the first few Ugandans to get music on itunes and Amazon. If not the first. 
Fro more about Aggie Cox, There is her biography on the TMD website: Click Here


Bellow is Aggie Cox's Sweet Maama Video and the Verbal English Translation below.

Translation
Sweet Mama - Aggie Cox


In This song Aggie Cox brings out the good things a mother does
for their kids as they grow up. She even goes on to appreciate
all the women who give a hand to raise children that are not theirs.
This is an amazing song.


Dedication to the mamas/mothers
I salute you.


I appreciate mother for the good,
and love, all that you give me.
You cared for me to grow up.
and never got tired of strugling
When I fell sick, you spent the nights seated,
Whenever I cried, you made me keep quiet.(positive)
See, I appreciate mum,
You are beautiful mother,
sweet mother.....


(Chorus) Sweet mother, mother, I love you so much, mother
For the love you show me,
and the good things you give me.
And this song is yours.
I looked for what to give you,
and I failed to get it.


You are a lady who deserves respect,
I don't know how to give it to you (enough respect),
You strugled in all situations,
and raised us your childresn.
Am requesting you to accept the song,
I sing, as I appreciate,
See I appreciate mother, sweet mother, yeah


Sweet mother, mother, I love you so much, mother
For the love you show me,
and the good things you give me.
And this song is yours.
I looked for what to give you,
and I failed to get it.


Sweet mother, I appreciate you mother,
You are a sweet mother, yeah,


Every woman out there, and you have a
child you have raised,
even if he/ she is not yours,
but you raised him/her.
This song is yours,
because you deserve it,
You are called mum,
and you are a mother,


(Chorus) Sweet mother, mother, I love you so much, mother
For the love you show me,
and the good things you give me.
And this song is yours.
I looked for what to give you,
and I failed to get it.


Sweet mother, mother, I love you so much, mother
For the love you show me,
and the good things you give me.
And this song is yours.
I looked for what to give you,
and I failed to get it.


fade out....END




Aggie Cox......Watch This Space..........


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By, James Propa

Amazing Download Campaign.

We would like to inform you about this amazing campaign by Derrick Ashong, The guy who hosts The Stream on Al Jazeera. He has an amazing talent in music, public speech and so much more.

We would like you to take part in his camapign by downloading his album.

Read the Posts below for details of how you can be of great help.

You should also know that the Four of us are already part of the campaign, because we believe its worth Standing for.

Bless,

MLK Day in VA

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 1:49PM

As I posted yesterday I spent MLK day giving a presentation at Emory & Henry College in Emory, VA.  After I made the post I had an opportunity to hang out w/ the kids for a smaller workshop & we had a really inspiring conversation.  The opening question was "what can we do to sustain the spirit of change that we've cultivated at school, when we leave & go out into the real world?"  I think the only way to truly achieve what you want in life is to surround yourself with people who share a similar vision.  That's not to say you ought to hang out only w/ people who agree with you - every prize-fighter learns to spar long before they become a champion.  It is to say, though that the people around you will inevitably help to enhance or diminish you.  As my mom always told me growing up "show me your friends, and I'll show you who you are."

Our culture has a tendency to lionize the successful, without necessarily acknowledging the full cast of characters it takes to make a leading man or leading lady.  It can be daunting for anyone to aspire to the heights achieved by those you admire, without realising that they didn't make it alone - no one ever does.

We are all products of our community, and our success or failure is heavily influenced by the people we surround ourselves with.  This doesn't mean, if you came up in a community where no one has done what you aspire to, that you need to lower your aspirations.  The reality is, sometimes to transcend the constraints of the community we're in, we need to go out and build a new one.  I'm blessed to be part of a community of artists, thinkers & change-makers who have something to say about the world we live in and are committed to making a positive impact.  I'm happy to have found some kindred spirits down in Emory!

Check out the video of the event they put together above, plus a bonus excerpt below.

D.N.A

THE MILLION DOWNLOAD CAMPAIGN

You wanna be down? DOWNLOAD!

Million Download Campaign - Voices of Change

Monday, January 16, 2012 at 12:11PM

I'm spending this MLK Day at Emory & Henry College in Emory, VA giving a keynote & a workshop looking at the "power of music in times of social unrest."  I love that I was asked to give a talk about artistry on a day when people are commemorating an icon of the Civil Rights Movement, because I think too often music and other forms of art are relegated to a kind of sideshow in discussions of societal change.  Music is fun, it's cool to kick it with at the club, but when we're talking about serious economic, political and social challenges, there's no room for that sort of "frivolous" thing.

To that I say there's always room for Jell-O.  And there's even more room for creatives to take a place at the table in any discussion of where society is going.  I was asked today before I began my talk about what has happened to "real music" or "music with meaning" in our culture.  I know artists who are making meaningful statements in beautiful and impactful fashion on a regular basis, but who are not necessarily the ones you hear.  The reality is, the consolidation of the Recording Industry has arguably constricted the breadth of traditional outlets for development and promotion of talent - if the best Indie labels are gobbled up by majors, the economics of running a multinational corporation will more often than not trump the kind of risk required to develop, launch and ultimately "break" truly groundbreaking voices.  The very risk that was historically taken by those Indies.

This is not to say that there isn't amazing music being made in the world today, even in the mainstream industry.  But when you peer past the initial veneer of artistic success, you start to wonder how many of today's major acts are actually doing something new, and how many are revisiting and reinventing sounds & styles of the past?

In the end, it may indeed be true that there is nothing new under the sun; as artists we are all discovering, interpreting and building upon those who played before us.  But if we truly want to reframe the kind of music we hear, we need to start by reforming or replacing the systems that deliver that music to us.  

The voices of change may not be perceived as profitable by the Major labels, but they've never mattered more than in these times of global upheaval.  I want to hear songs that speak to my heart & soul, as well as those that stimulate the swaying of savory hips.  In the end, we will vote with our feet, our tweets, our pocketbooks and word on the street, for the music that ultimately matters most to us.

D.N.A

THE MILLION DOWNLOAD CAMPAIGN

You wanna be down? DOWNLOAD!

Campaign Launch Day!

Monday, January 9, 2012 at 4:46PM

Over the last few years, I've been super blessed to have my "voice" increasingly heard on a bunch of issues I really care about.  Given that this is an election year for half the planet, I've decided to jump on the bandwagon & run my own 2012 campaign.  Fortunately this one is not for elected office, so you won't need to see my birth certificate (FYI I was totally born in Africa).

Over the next 50 weeks, with a little help from my friends, I'm launching a campaign to give away a million downloads of music from my latest album AFropolitan.  It will be the biggest Christmas present I've ever given & there's no way in heck I can do it alone.  That's where YOU come in.  So before we go any further, here are a few answers to some of the questions you might have:

Q: Why are you GIVING away music?

A: Because I wrote it to express my feelings about the state of the  world we live in today, and I want you to hear it.

Q: But you're giving it away for free! Isn't that crraaazzy?!

A: Artists don't make money selling music.  Record labels do.  Musicians make money doing shows, licensing music, building endorsements & children's sneaker lines and all kinds of other cool things that tend to be more effective the more people are listening to the music you're making.

Q: But wouldn't you rather people BUY your music?

A: Mmmm, I'm not going to "prevent" you from buying it, that's certainly a nice vote of confidence.  But I'd really much prefer you downloaded & SHARED it with someone you dig, because music is meant to be consumed together.  

Q: Together? What are you some kind of communist?

A: No, but seriously think about it - historically the only way you could hear music was to go out and listen to someone playing it live, because for the bulk of human history the technology didn't exist to record & replay music.  As such if you went to hear music, at the very least there had to be you and the musician there...together.  Furthermore, music is not something we could do "separately" prior to the advent of the Walkman.  If I'm playing one song outloud, you realistically can't be playing another or we'll both quickly go crazy.  So human beings evolved with music as a phenomenon that was fundamentally about togetherness.  But we don't necessarily listen to it that way anymore.
I want to get back to the basics.  And that means I want all my friends & fans listening to these songs together, sharing them with loved ones, talking about them with people who care about music, and hopefully thinking about the meaning in what they're hearing.

Q: Do you have a subversive socio-political agenda in doing this?

A: Yes

Q: What is it?

A: Download the music.  You'll figure it out.  (NB. Do NOT play it backwards. No seriously, it won't sound good)

Q: Can I join your Campaign to get you umm..."elected"?

A: Hell yes, young Paduwan.  Just Sign Up here & we'll tell you how you can be down w/ the coolest kids in town as we raise a lil righteous hell.  If you're picked to participate, it can take as little as 15mins/wk.

Q: Well is there anything else we should know?

A: Uh...probably, but I don't feel like typing anymore so I'm a' cut & paste.  See below...

DOWNLOAD & SHARE!!!
D.N.A

THE MILLION DOWNLOAD CAMPAIGN. 

You wanna be down?  Download. www.derrickashong.com

Today is the day we launch the THE MILLION DOWNLOAD* CAMPAIGN to:

1. Connect the world through the electrifying, consciousness-raising sounds of Derrick N Ashong & Soulfège's new album, AFropolitan.
2. "Break a band" without a corporate label.
3. Change the music industry.

How: DOWNLOAD the album and then use Social Media, Email, www.derrickashong.com and Your Voice to get 10 of your closest friends to DOWNLOAD it and then get 10 of their closest friends to DOWNLOAD it, and then get 10 of their closest friends to DOWNLOAD it, and so on, until we reach 1,000,000 DOWNLOADS.