Nine kilometres each way, rain or shine: That's how far Suzanne Chisulo has to travel to school each day. Chisulo is one of 120 girls who faced problems getting to the Ndapula Community School. Many of the girls were missing lessons at least twice a week.

Nigeria has over the past 10 years recorded high enrolment and completion rates in primary school education. From 67 percent in 1990, enrolment jumped to 74 percent by 2000, and 91 percent by 2007. The schooling completion rate also improved from 60 percent in 1990 to 76 percent in 2003, and 82 percent by 2007. Enrolment continues to rise.

Some 200 young Moroccans from sixteen regions around Morocco attended the first Civil Society Forum from September 8th-12th in Rabat. The forum was organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with co-operation from the youth ministry, under the theme "Mobilise, plead, change".

Most Malawian children are struggling to acquire pre-school education before enroll in primary schools because nursery education is not free. "In Malawi, children aged between 6 to 8 years are generally enrolled in primary school. The problem, however, is that many of these children miss out on early learning and stimulation that would have better prepared them for school," said Secretary for Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development Olive Chikankheni.

AwaaZ Issue 2/09 - The Bombay Africans!

Contents:
- Cover Story: The Bombay Africans
- Linguistic Evidence of Bantu Origins of the Sidis of India by Abdulaziz Lodhi
- Alternative Angle: Paradise Revisited by John Sibi-Okumu
- Memories of a Diplomat – Bhupinder Liddar
- Contemporary India-East AfricaRelations

o Introduction by Gerard McCann
o Asian Diaspora in Nyanza Province ofKenya by Gordon Onyango Omenya and Mildred A J Ndeda
o Race Relations between Kenya’s Africans and South Asians by Zarina Patel

- Four Generations of the Naidoos in the South African Struggle
- Native African, Wananchi by Ramnik Shah
- The Asian Debate in East African Literature by Mwalimu Makokha
- Bats and Balls: Dr Saleem Rana: Farewell to a distinguished Sportsman and Doctor
- Dialogue through Dance by Neera Kapur
- Origins of a Passage to East Africa by Jarat Chopra
- Art Installation by Prina Shah
- Shailja Patel’s Bwagamoyo – The Father: Part II of Migritude

Book Reviews:
o Child of Dandelions by Shenaaz Nanji reviewed by Sunita Kapila
o Settlers Cookbook: A Memoir of Love, Migration and Food by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown reviewed by Warris Virani
o Success with Asian Names by fiona Swee-Lin Price reviewed by John Sibi-Okumu
o Scram from Kenya by James Franks reviewed by Ramnik Shah
o Reading of M G Vassanji by J K S Makokha
o African Identity in Asia by Shihan de Silva by Shehina Fazal
- Footsteps: Bantu Mwaura (1969-2009) and Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem (1961-2009)

AwaaZ Magazine
P O Box 32843 - 00600
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 020 2063405, 0722 344900, 0733 741085
Email: [email][email protected]
Website: AwaaZ
AwaaZ is environmentally responsible. It recycles, reduces and reuses all its material

Salary: Competitive terms and conditions will be offered
Based: Lilongwe, Malawi
Closing date: 17.09.2009
Starting date: January 2010

ICCO is the Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-operation and Kerk in Actie is part of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. Together they provide financial support and advice to local organisations and networks throughout the world that are dedicated to improving access to basic services, stimulating sustainable economic development and advancing peace and democracy. In the region Southern Africa, ICCO works in South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Madagascar. For this region, a Regional Office is currently being set up in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Duties & Responsibilities:
The main responsibility of the Programme Officer is the interaction with the partners and programme coalitions in one country of the region. The programme officer reports to the Regional Manager and works in a multidisciplinary team in direct cooperation with the Finance Officer. S/he will identify and facilitate multi-stakeholder programmes by applying 4 ICCO strategic roles in the programmatic approach: strategic financing, advocacy and lobby, capacity building and brokerage.
• Support programme coalitions to jointly develop and implement programmes
• Assess programme- and project proposals
• Review audit reports of projects and follow-up of recommendations
• Provide input to the financial planning, monitoring, capacity development of programmes and projects
• Control, evaluate and monitor ongoing contracts with local partners
• co-ordinate with other relevant actors in the region
• Contribute to learning, linking and coordinating research and knowledge
• Contribute to strategic policy development and to the development of the regional plan
• Contribute to fundraising opportunities.

Qualifications
• Educational background social sciences plus knowledge in one of the 3 main themes:
o Fair economic development (value chains; access to local and international markets);
o Access to basic services (food security; education; hiv/aids, water and sanitation);
o Democratization and peace building.
• Advanced knowledge of programme and project formulation, accountability requirements.
• Experience with funding of programmes and projects
• Experience with multi-stakeholder processes and institutional donors
• Good knowledge of economic, social and political situation in the region
• Excellent language skills in English (French and / or Portuguese an is added advantage)
• Relevant experience of assessment and analysis of project/programme plans.
• Negotiation, networking, facilitation and communication skills.

Please send your CV with PO-ICCO in the subject line to Mission Talent Recruitment. [email][email protected]
Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted. For more information on ICCO’s programmes please visit our website

Salary: Competitive terms and conditions will be offered
Based: Lilongwe, Malawi
Closing date: 17.09.2009
Starting date: January 2010

ICCO is the Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-operation and Kerk in Actie is part of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. Together they provide financial support and advice to local organisations and networks throughout the world that are dedicated to improving access to basic services, stimulating sustainable economic development and advancing peace and democracy. In the region Southern Africa, ICCO works in South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Madagascar. For this region, a Regional Office is currently being set up in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Duties & Responsibilities:
The finance officer is responsible for the financial aspects of relations/contracts between ICCO and partners. The job objective is accountability regarding the funding to local partners and programme coalitions, by assessing proposals and reports, and contributing to the quality and transparency of the financial management of the partner organisations.

• Financial analysis and assessment of partners, programme and project proposals
• Financial monitoring and evaluation of partners, programmes and projects
• Advise on preparation and review of plans, budgets, reports, and return on investment analysis
• Assess and advise on the financial capacity of partner organisations
• Facilitate capacity building and expert knowledge in financial administration and control

Qualifications
• Relevant degree in Finance and / or other relevant professional qualification
• Substantial experience in financial management of monitoring of projects
• Budgetary responsibility in an international environment
• Competence in use of financial software applications
• Experiences with institutional donors
• Strong interpersonal skills, attention to detail, discretion and high integrity
• Excellent language skills in English and French and/or Portuguese

Please send your CV with FO-ICCO in the subject line to Mission Talent Recruitment. [email][email protected]

Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

For more information on ICCO’s programmes, please visit our website

Rethinking AIDS 2009 will consist of talks that question the widely held dogma that HIV causes AIDS, including whether HIV exists, whether it is sexually transmitted, whether HIV tests are accurate and whether AIDS drugs are safe and effective. The social, psychologic and legal impacts of an HIV diagnosis will also be considered, as well as alternative health approaches for people whose health has been damaged by an HIV diagnosis, by the prescription of AIDS drugs or who have been diagnosed with an AIDS-defining illness.

Since the source of the Nile is in Uganda, and Ali Mazrui’s professorial career began at Makerere University in Uganda, Mazrui has often described his entire academic career as “a child of the Nile.” His Inaugural Lecture when Makerere appointed him Professor was entitled Ancient Greece in African Political Thought but was in fact a salute to Uganda and the Nile in the history of civilization.

Campaigners say they have found serious discrepancies in reports of Sudan's oil revenues which could mean Khartoum's government was underpaying its strife-torn south by hundreds of millions of dollars. The findings by UK-based Global Witness could spark a political storm in Sudan, where relations between its Muslim north and mostly Christian south have remained tense since the end of their two-decade civil war in 2005.

If those in charge are not to continue blocking greater pan-African unity, there need to be more conferences on a United States of Africa, argues Okello Oculi in this week's Pambazuka News. Thoroughly dissatisfied with his own recent experience of a conference between African scholars in Dakar, Senegal, Oculi stresses that while politicians' direct involvement in academic events can be beneficial, it should not come at the expense of intellectual freedom to debate and critique.

Government’s refusal to pay the salaries of thousands teachers, while looking to recruit thousands more, has plunged the schooling system into crisis. With the new academic year poised to start, government and the national teachers’ union are still odds about payment for almost 3,000 teachers who have not received their salaries for over a year.

Farmers could be losing tonnes of crops every harvest just because no one has bothered to tell them that scientists have found more effective methods of using water to farm. Isaiah Mharapara, chief executive officer of the Agricultural Research Council in Zimbabwe said much research has been conducted on water availability, distribution and use, but most of the findings have not been given to the farmers to use.

The fourth World Summit on Arts and Culture, a project of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), will take place in Johannesburg from 22-25 September, hosted by the National Arts Council of South Africa. Mike van Graan, Programme Director for the Summit and Head of the Arterial Network’s Secretariat will write this weekly column in the build up to the Summit, raising some of the themes and provocative issues that will be debated at the event.

In this week’s Pambazuka News, Samir Amin provides a hard-hitting critique of a UN report on

The Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) seeks a Grants Coordinator to maintain its grants database and oversee legal and administrative compliance for its grants portfolio. Based in Kenya, OSIEA implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, free speech, public health, and independent media in Eastern Africa. Working under the supervision of the Finance Manager, the Grants Coordinator manages the daily flow of grant-related data and documentation. This job requires strong computer skills. Search Closes: October 1, 2009.

This week's issue of Pambazuka News (445) will be our last until 3 September, as we are closing for a short break over the month of August. We still very much welcome article submissions during this period, but ask prospective contributors to be patient with us, as you may not receive a response from the editorial team until after 31 August.

The Division of Dramatic Art in collaboration with Drama for Life, Wits School of the Arts, is organising the 2009 Africa Research Conference in Applied Drama and Theatre. This year's conference will aim to facilitate dialogue across disciplines concerning the role of Drama and Theatre in HIV/AIDS education, prevention and rehabilitation.

Are you an Executive Director or manager of a non-profit organization
Are you working in the NGO sector?
Is your organization’s sustainability threatened by shrinking donor support?
Are you in charge of fundraising and resource mobilisation in your organization
Do want to enhance your skills in fundraising?
Are you a trainer or consultant in fundraising and resource mob ilisation for the non-profit sector?
If your answer to any or all of the above questions is yes, then this 20 days course organised jointly by GIMPA, the Resource Alliance (UK) and the African Women’s Development Foundation (AWDF) Ghana is definitely a must!

The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) is seeking to recruit a high calibre, results-oriented and dedicated professional to join its dynamic team at its Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Senior Finance & Administration Officer will be in charge of the financial management, human resource, and administration functions of FAWE’s Regional Secretariat. S/he is expected to develop and maintain functional and efficient systems, processes, and procedures in the three areas of responsibility.