Stories from and

Lebanon: Story of a Migrant House Keeper, Georgette

  3 June 2011

To mark Labor Day, the non-governmental organisation Migrant Workers Task Force has published a video, in which Georgette, a house keeper from Benin working in Lebanon, relates her experiences and speaks of the changes she would like to see in migrants’ working conditions.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Surge in Use of Mobile Phones

  6 May 2011

André-Michel Essoungou writes the following on the site reseautelecom.com: “According to the ITU [International Telecommunication Union], investments in the African mobile phone sector, the prime mover of information and communication technologies, went from US$8.1 billion in 2005 to nearly US$70 billion today. These technologies are about to become the driving...

Côte d'Ivoire: Where Are the African Personalities When They Are Needed?

  27 March 2011

A few months ago,  Marième Jamme asked Bono and Bob Geldof to take less prominent roles as speakers for Africa in the media and leave space for Africans to speak for themselves. Today on the Africa Rising blog,  bloggers  wonder where have the African personalities gone when they are actually needed to get the world's...

Benin: How to help flood victims

  25 October 2010

How to help flood victims in Benin: “So people are homeless, kids aren’t going to school, and disease is rampant. What can we do from our armchairs? I checked with the USAID director and several other international donors to find out what they’re doing. The relief effort is being lead...

Evacuation of The Former “House of West African Students” in Paris

  20 October 2010

Ménilmuche writes on his blog [fr] about the evacuation of “La Maison des Étudiants de l’Ouest Africain” [fr]. In 1950 [Colonial period], French West Africa (AOF) purchased this building to house the elected West African representatives. The building became a student dormitory in the 1960's when the countries reached independence....

Africa: Ajami Writing System

  21 September 2010

Do you know Ajami writing system?: “Ajami writing system has been used for at least at least a thousands years in parts of Africa. As I understand it, the script is a modification of Arabic incorporating local languages such as Hausa [mainly the northern regions of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana]...

Benin: Traveler Recounts Experience at Porga Border

  24 August 2010

Toyin Ajao recounts his horrific experience at Porga border in Benin:”When it was my turn, the officer in charge asked me to pay 5,000cfa to get my passport stamped and I asked why it was so. He did not bother to answer me but commanded me to leave his sight...

Benin: Iyanda's diary in Benin

  30 April 2010

Funmi's diary about her visit and filming experience in Benin: “After all the mystery and hushed tones l had experienced during the research about the holy Aruosa church, l had expected a much more impressive building but the church was pretty nondescript.”

West Africa : Victims of Floods Call for Help

  26 September 2009

Last weeks’ torrential rains triggered disastrous floodings (Fr), killing 159 people and affecting over 600,000 in a dozen Western Africa countries, unprepared to face seasonal rains growing heavier and heavier. (See map). Afropages (Fr) describes the situation in Conakry, Guinea's capital.

Proposal to close Hausa Wikipedia

  28 July 2008

The blog Hausa Online reports that a few days ago a proposal had been made in Wikipedia's discussion pages to delete the Wikipedia in Hausa language, an African Chadic language spoken by more than 24 million people. This comes a few months after the blog Beyond Niamey expressed his concern...

Benin: Election results, if Benin were the United Nations

  4 May 2008

Babilown [Fr] puts Benin's local election results in perspective: “[it's as if] the opposition won China, Russia, Brazil and Mexico, while the ruling party snatched up Belgium and even Canada, but also Crete, Malta, the Cayman Islands, the Vatican, Albania, Haiti, Barbados, Cap Verde, Estonia, Lithuania, Israel, Jordan, Rwandan, Saint...

Benin: Youth and tobacco smoking

  15 December 2007

Jackie writes about tobacco smoking among the youth in Benin: “According to a recent global youth tobacco survey report, more than twenty percent of school children (aged 13 to 15 years) in Benin are cigarette smokers. The survey involved about 50 schools selected in four regions of Benin, namely Atlantique...