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Culture January 2022

Ethiopia. Maqbasa. Name-giving.

One of the greatest feasts among the Guji – an Oromo ethnic group – is that of name-giving. Like all other great feasts, it is sealed with the sacrifice of a bull, dancing and youthful games. In speaking of the maqbasa or name-giving ceremony, we must first mention the gadaa system which divides life from…

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Herbs & Plants. Crassocephallum vitellinum – Anti-peptic ulcer plant.

It is a medicinal plant used for treatment of a number of diseases among them that of peptic ulcer disease. But also for the treatment of stomach complications, malaria and mouth infections in children. It is a flowering herbaceous plant which is widely distributed in the sub-Saharan Africa including in Burundi, Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda,…

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Bolivia. Chakana, the Andean cosmic bridge.

Andean Chakana is the symbol of the principle of relations with people and nature. It is the cosmic bridge between three communities: human, natural and supernatural. The Quechua term Chakana is composed of two words; Chaka means bridge and na is literally a syllable or a consonant but, in the Andean world, evokes a sense…

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Vietnam. The “Zeng” Art.

The Ta Oi is an ethnic group living in A Luoi a rural district of  Thua Thien-Hue province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. The women of the Ta Oi have long been renowned for the skill at weaving “zeng” – their particular type of brocade. It is not only sophisticated but is…

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Advocacy

Burkina Faso. Maimouna Ba. The “Mother of Sahel”.

In Burkina Faso, the ‘Mother of the Sahel’ brings education and hope to forcibly displaced children. As conflict forced thousands of children to flee to the…

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Baobab

Mexico. An Aztec Legend. The Princess of the Night.

As the sun sets over the stony plateau of Mexico, a beautiful white flower opens its corolla among the blade-like thorns of the Cereus Nycticalis: it…

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Youth & Mission

The African Youth. Innovations & Creativity.

With the highest percentage of her population made up of youth, Africa is a bed of opportunities for growth and prosperity. The African youth are a…

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