It Takes a Village Medical Supplies - Last day for donations

Less than 15 hours left to make a donation to "IT TAKES A VILLAGE" and help provide much needed medical supplies and medications to the people of Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.

Please take a few minutes now and make a donation today.  Thanks!

Happy Easter

DONATE to the Medical Building and supplies here

Thank you for your support!

Guinea Bissau in the 60's a video

I came across this video of Guinea Bissau in the late 60's  - 70's and thought I would share with you

A song dedicated to the people of Guinea Bissau

Last night there was a concert in Fresno, featuring Patrick Contreras. I am so sorry I had to miss it.  There's going to be another WAVS/Contreras event in Fresno in July so I put it on my schedule. If you are anywhere near the area I hope you will attend. I'll be sure to post a reminder as the time draws closer.

I'm a music lover and I first heard about Patrick through my friend Chris Collins from WAVS.  The WAVS organization has been doing some fantastic work on another side of Guinea Bissau. Chris and I met last year when he passed through Oakland. Since then he has been a wonderful source of information. There are so few of us working in this tiny country that it is much appreciated when information and resources are shared.

Anyway, back to Patrick (who was born and raised in Fresno, California. He has branded his unique style of violin playing with influences of Blues, EDM, Rock and Hip Hop). After he made a trip over to Guinea Bissau, I went to his Facebook page and fell in love with music!

I'm hoping to do my own interview with him in the coming days, but for now, here is an interview he did on the subject of his visit to Guinea Bissau.

A Day in the Life - its not just an old song

Thanks Chris Collins for sharing this Inspiring story about how one man's trip to Guinea-Bissau changed his life and won him first place in the World Press Photo Challenge.

Daniel Rodrigues is a 26-year-old freelance photographer based in Porto, Portugal. After graduating from the Portuguese Institute of Photography in 2010, he was an intern for the newspaper Correio da Manhã and worked for the photo agency Global Imagens. Two years later, Rodrigues was broke. That was when a stroke of good luck — and good light — changed his fortunes.

His Turning Point conversation with Jesse Newman has been edited.

 Story Source New York Times: click for winning photo and story 
(The winning photo is entitled Futebol Africano. Here is link to some of Daniel's other photography)

A great perch for watching a game of soccer in the village of Djati - photo by Maritza Alvarez-Romero

Not to take anything away from Daniel's photo, but check out these photos taken by our missionary in Guinea Bissau, Maritza (I changed original photo color to black & white). Maybe we should submit some of her photos. Just Sayin!

Hasan Salaam speaks out on his Northwest Tour - Interview

Hasan @ SOS Children's Village in Bissau, Guinea Bissau Website

A sit down interview with our own, Hasan Salaam on his 2013 Northwest Tour.

Hasan organizes food and clothing drives in Jersey City on the third Sunday of each month, works with charities, non-profits, and youth all over the world. In November 2010, he became the first U.S hip hop artist to ever perform in Guinea-Bissau. On this same trip he worked with the young artists, taught creative writing to the youth, and headlined a concert to promote freedom of speech. The “Music Is My Weapon” project is the next step, in an effort to provide change to a country that remains one of the poorest and least politically stable in the world. December 2011, Hasan Salaam released an EP "Music Is My Weapon" employing all profits to build a well, school, and clinic in Guinea-Bissau.

Check it out

and Thank You Hasan for all you do!!

We got this! Update on Medical Supplies for Djati

More than $9 billion worth of medical supplies are discarded each year in the United States. At the same time, less fortunate countries like Guinea Bissau, are in desperate need of medical supplies.

 But today I bring you GOOD NEWS!

We have exceeded our fundraising goal for medical supplies! We have raised $1,615 (to date) plus another $1,000 from Mala's birthday donation for a total of $2,615!!! The donation site will remain open until Mar 28th.

The money will come in handy, as I learned today that a big Health Brigade (led by Raquel & Juan) is planned for the village of Djati on May 4th and 5th. I'm not sure exactly where we are right now with the building of the structure but with a little bit of luck the building will be up and ready to receive patients.

Wouldn't that be grand?

We're not finished yet. We still have the final phase of the project left to go (which will be to raise funds for solar lighting). So please keep on donating. Any additional funds we receive during this phase, will go toward the purchase of the lighting. We would love to get a head start, so if you have a few extra dollars to spare please help us by donating them to the project. And spread the word.

I hope to share medical clinic photos very soon.

THANK YOU to all who have contributed so far! 

DONATE:

If WE build it, they will come!

Today I am posting some photos that were sent to Willie. The photos were taken at recent Health Brigades, (led by Raquel in the village of Quebo, Guinea Bissau, W Africa).

With no access to doctors, hospitals or medication, many, many people in Guinea Bissau go for very long periods of time with no treatment. Unfortunately many of their ailments could be successfully treated if the patients were seen earlier and the problems were not allowed to progress to such acute stages.

Warning - the last 2 pictures are graphic. I made them a little smaller but you can click them to enlarge.  Actually, I started not to post them at all, but often times, a picture really is worth a thousand words. The pictures represent the reality of every day life in Guinea Bissau and I wanted you to see first hand just how necessary it is that a medical clinic be built in Djati.

I hope you will help us to help the people of Djati.

This small child is too weak to respond or even react to the medication but it saved her life

child with Malaria

Another child with Malaria. Malaria is the #1 killer of children under the age of 5

this photo is from a Health Brigade at our school in Djati

Aids

A child burn victim - way too common

Pellagra - due to deficient diet. All she had to eat was corn. She is staying with a family in Quebo who are helping her to recover by feeding her a more well rounded diet

Cancerous growth  - thanks to diagnosis from Raquel he was sent to the Emanuel Hospital in Bissau and treated by a team of volunteer doctors from Spain & Portugal performed the surgery. Most are not this lucky

This man had an infection in his leg which he contracted in a remote village. As strange as it may seem, he actually recovered and is doing well. The only reason he has recovered is because Willie sent his own money to help buy medication for him. 

Raquel sends her love to our entire team 

with a special message 

" Thank you Willie for blessing us in this way" 

I send a special thank you to Willie as well for his dedication, support and his work on our current project.

If you would like to help us with the building of Medical Clinic in Djati, Guinea Bissau, we are currently raising funds to provide medical supplies and medication. We have raised $1,240 of our $1,500 goal. Every little bit makes a BIG difference! Help take us over the top.

Please DONATE

If you are unable to give money, you can assist a great deal by posting this information on your Facebook wall, following this blog and forwarding our information to your friends and contacts! Thank you!

How Black are Black Americans - Trace your DNA

Exactly How "Black" Are Black Americans?

* According to Ancestry.com, the average African American is 65 percent sub-Saharan African, 29 percent European and 2 percent Native American.

* According to 23andme.com, the average African American is 75 percent sub-Saharan African, 22 percent European and only 0.6 percent Native American.

* According to Family Tree DNA.com, the average African American is 72.95 percent sub-Saharan African, 22.83 percent European and 1.7 percent Native American.

* According to National Geographic's Genographic Project, the average African American is 80 percent sub-Saharan African, 19 percent European and 1 percent Native American.

I traced my DNA through African Ancestry.com. African Ancestry.com helps people of African descent discover their ancestral roots. Their exclusive African Lineage Database is the largest and most comprehensive resource of African lineages available today. It includes lineages from 30 countries and over 200 ethnic groups.

This extensive database identifies matches for approximately 85% of the people they test.

   

Vanessa Williams traces her DNA

The project that first sequenced a human genome in 2000 took 15 years and cost about $3 billion.

Now it takes six to eight weeks and costs as little as $100. Takers include actress Vanessa Williams, who has a long interest in tracing her family history.

"I’ve got blue eyes, my brother also has light eyes, and everyone says, 'Well, what are you? You’re mixed with something. What is it?'” Williams told The Huffington Post. "My parents are black ... but I was a bit defensive, because I don’t know, all of my relatives look like me. And we know as much as we can."

Two years ago, Williams found herself choking back tears as she traced her family history during the second season of NBC's now-defunct series, "Who Do You Think You Are?"

 Read the rest of Vanessa's story

 Vanessa traced her DNA through Ancestry.com

Her genome revealed this mixture: 23 percent Ghana; 17 percent British Isles; 15 percent Cameroon/Congo; 13 percent Finnish/Ural/Volga; 11 percent southern European; 7 percent Togo; 6 percent Benin; 5 percent Senegal; 4 percent Spain/Portugal.