The Year 2026: Understanding Your Money in Simple Terms

Letting cash sit idle in a standard bank account means it's slowly losing purchasing power to inflation.

Here are practical alternatives you can consider to put your money to work instead:

U.S Dollar

Australia Dollar

Treasury Bills (T-Bills)

These are short-term government investments (91, 182, or 364 days).

Why: They are very safe, give better returns than a savings account, and your money is locked for a short period so you’re less tempted to spend it.

Money Market Funds

This is a mutual fund that invests in safe instruments like treasury bills and fixed deposits.

Why: You earn interest daily, can withdraw easily, and returns are usually higher than regular bank savings.

Mutual Funds (Low-Risk or Balanced Funds)

Your money is pooled and invested by professionals in bonds, treasury bills, and sometimes stocks.

Why: Professionals manage it for you, risk is spread, and returns can beat inflation over time.

Fixed Deposits / Term Deposits

You give the bank your money for a fixed period (3–24 months) at a fixed interest rate.

Why: You know exactly how much you’ll earn, and it’s safer than risky investments.

Treasury Notes & Bonds (Long-Term Government Bonds)

These are longer-term government investments that pay interest periodically.

Why: Good for long-term savings, steady income, and protection against inflation.

Dividend-Paying Stocks (Beginner Level)

Buying shares of strong companies that pay regular dividends.

Why: You earn dividends and may also benefit if the share price increases over time.

In simple terms:

The bank is good for keeping money safe, but these options help your money grow, beat inflation, and work for you instead of losing value over time.

** Footnote: ** These investments are available through your bank. For more details, simply inquire with your bank representative.

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Your Money in Simple Terms — Kay-Kay Trending Issues run on X-handle @GodsonKankani.

The Last Room: Reflections on Wealth, Possessions, and the Journey into Old Age

Life is a journey every one of us must take—The One Room We All End Up In

Introduction: The Journey No One Escapes

Life is a journey every one of us must take—from childhood innocence to adult responsibility, from the pride of labour to the frailty of old age. No matter how far we travel, or how much we acquire along the way, the journey ends with a truth that humbles us all: at the end, we need far less than we thought.

I write these words not as a preacher or philosopher, but as someone preparing to leave behind the familiar walls of my home to enter a nursing home. After decades of work, collection, and living, I find myself face-to-face with the simple reality of human existence.

The Decision to Leave Home

I am going to a nursing home. Not because I want to, but because life leaves me little choice. My children love me, but they are busy with careers, raising their own families, and carrying burdens I cannot add to. My body no longer obeys my will; daily chores that once felt light now exhaust me.

The nursing home is clean, well-maintained, and equipped with what I need: a bed, a sofa, a small kitchen corner, a fridge, and a TV. It is not a palace, but it is safe. My pension is enough to sustain it, and I even have the option of selling my house if more funds are required. My son, wise beyond his years, tells me: “Your wealth belongs first to you; enjoy it. Don’t worry about inheritance.” And so, I begin preparing for this transition with both gratitude and sorrow.

Looking Around at a Lifetime of Possessions

As I pack, I see clearly what my life has become: a house full of objects. Suitcases, boxes, cabinets overflowing. Stamps I collected, pendants of amber and jade, silver cutlery used only once or twice, books I never opened, clothes that no longer fit my frame. The pantry looks like I was feeding a boarding school—rice, pasta, spices, frozen meat. My cellar holds bottles of foreign wine I never drank. I see photo albums—hundreds of them. Faces of parents long gone, siblings now grey-haired, friends scattered across the world. Some of those faces belong to the dead, yet their smiles remain trapped in glossy paper. All this is here. And yet none of it can go with me.

The Poverty of Abundance

As I stand among my belongings, a strange sadness grips me. All these years, I believed these things were mine. But now I see clearly—they were never really mine. They passed through my hands; I enjoyed them, sometimes neglected them, but they never truly belonged to me. Soon, others will sell, discard, or inherit them. The mahogany furniture that I polished with pride will be deemed impractical by younger generations. My books may end up as scrap paper. My clothes and bedding will be carted off in sacks. Even my carefully tended garden will belong to strangers who will eat the apples and enjoy the flowers without ever knowing my name. Like the Forbidden City in Beijing, once the private palace of emperors who thought themselves eternal rulers, now a museum open to the public—so too will my house pass on, indifferent to my memory.

The Lessons of Possessions

It dawns on me that true foolishness is not in working hard, but in confusing possessions with meaning. For decades, I tinkered, saved, decorated, and accumulated. I believed these would secure happiness. But here I am, realizing that happiness was always elsewhere: in shared meals, in laughter, in kindness, in faith, in love.

Possessions can comfort, yes. But they also imprison. They demand time, energy, and attention. They make us slaves to maintenance and fear of loss. And in the end, when we leave this world, they betray us by staying behind.

The One Room We All End Up In

The nursing home offers me one room. At first, this felt like a loss. But on reflection, I see it as liberation. In the end, what do we really need?

One bed to sleep on.

One set of clothes to wear.

One plate of food to eat.

Everything else is excess. The truth is, life has always been about one room. Even in palaces, emperors can only sleep in one bed at a time. Even billionaires can only eat one meal at a time. Why then do we burden ourselves with mountains of things we cannot use?

Reflections for the Over-50s

For those of us past fifty, it is time to think differently about life:

Health over wealth: Without health, gold and silver taste like dust.

Memories over materials: A shared story with your grandchild will outlast the fanciest furniture.

Legacy of values over legacy of things: Better to leave children honesty, compassion, and faith than wardrobes of clothes. As Scripture reminds us: “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7).

What Truly Matters

So what matters now, at the twilight of life?

• Relationships: Being remembered not for what I owned, but for how I loved.

• Faith and Purpose: Finding peace in God’s plan, knowing I played my small part.

• Simplicity: Living light, unburdened by unnecessary things.

• Gratitude: Counting blessings, not possessions.

The Problem of Letting Go

I confess, letting go is not easy. Every item tells a story. That necklace marked a milestone birthday. That book was a gift from a dear friend. That teapot brewed countless evenings of comfort.

But I also see the futility of clinging. My children do not value stamps, cassettes, or mahogany chairs. These are relics of another era. If I hold on too tightly, I only burden them with decisions and guilt.

So, I choose to keep a few essentials: a small set of pots, a handful of books, a few teapots, my documents, and a bank card. Enough. The rest, I leave to the world.

The Farewell to My House

Before leaving, I kneel at my doorway. Three times I bow, thanking this house for sheltering me. For hosting family meals, tears of grief, and bursts of laughter. For witnessing my growth, my failures, my small triumphs.

And then, I give it back to the world. For the truth is, I never truly owned it.

Broader Lessons for Society

My personal story is also a mirror for our society. In every city across the world, we are locked in endless competition for wealth, status, and material show. Yet how many of our leaders, tycoons, and celebrities discover too late that the riches they fought for cannot follow them into the grave? Many are beginning to learn the wisdom of simplicity, solidarity, and shared values. What if we taught our children early that the worth of a man or woman lies not in cars, mansions, or trinkets, but in service, kindness, and honesty? Wouldn’t our politics be cleaner, our society more peaceful, and our families stronger?

CONCLUSION: Traveling Light

As I prepare for my last chapter, I no longer see my nursing home room as a prison. I see it as freedom. Freedom from clutter. Freedom from illusion. Freedom to focus on what matters most: my health, my peace, my God. I leave you with this thought: When the journey ends, life asks us to travel light.

So, to my friends over fifty, and indeed to every reader, I ask: What do you really need? What burdens can you put down today? What values can you pass on tomorrow?

In the end, we all return our houses, our clothes, our books, and even our bodies to the earth. Only love, faith, and hope remain.

Author: Attributed to anonymous elders, often shared as 'The Last Room' or 'Traveling Light.'

How Did Ruth Buy Her Own Freedom: A Modern Moral Story

Twelve buyers had examined her and turned away. The auctioneer, frustrated, kept lowering the price. A healthy slave sold for $800; a horse for $50.

“I’m offering her for $10!” he shouted. Silence. “Five dollars!” A cruel laugh rang out. “I wouldn’t take her for free!” yelled a farmer. “She’ll die before she reaches my land.”

Ruth’s story was an eight-year nightmare. Sold as a child to a Virginia tobacco plantation, she had worked eighteen hours a day. Her hands were twisted, her nights filled with bloody coughing fits, and—worst of all—she had dug the graves of her three small children with her own hands. They had died of malnutrition.

Even the other slaves avoided her. “That one’s got one foot in the grave,” they whispered.

But while everyone saw a broken woman waiting to die, something extraordinary was burning behind those seemingly lifeless eyes.

Thomas Mitchell arrived at the market with $50 in his pocket. A widower for two years, he struggled to keep his small general store afloat and needed cheap labor. It was in the “rejects” section that he saw Ruth.

The auctioneer, Moses Hartwell, sneered. “She’s been here two months. No one wants her. Sick and defiant, too. Tried to escape three times from her last plantation.”

Thomas noticed the scars—not only from whips, but from hot irons. “How much for her?” he asked, more out of morbid curiosity than real intent.

“Two dollars,” Moses spat. “And even then, you’re losing money. She won’t last a week.”

The other buyers laughed. But something in Ruth’s gaze caught Thomas’s attention. It wasn’t resignation—it was calculation. Against all logic, he pulled two silver coins from his pocket and handed them over.

“Deal,” Moses said. “You just threw away two dollars.”

---

What lessons from Ruth apply to modern society? Ruth’s story speaks strongly into modern life because it shows what quiet, costly goodness looks like in a broken world. In a world obsessed with money, speed, and image, the story calls out systems that still chew people up: cheap labor, human trafficking, sweatshops, prisons run like businesses, and workplaces that burn workers out for profit. It exposes what a society really values: profit or people.

---

As they walked, Ruth—barely able to stand—scanned the storefronts, silently memorizing prices in the windows. When they reached Thomas’s modest house behind the store, he pointed to a small tool shed.

“You have one job,” he said, leaving her a bowl of hot oatmeal. “Get well. You have to live first.”

He set a strict routine: three meals a day. For Ruth, who had survived on rotten scraps, it felt like a feast. The transformation was miraculous. Within a week, her wounds healed, and her cough subsided.

But it was in the second week that Thomas noticed something extraordinary. When he returned from making deliveries, the entire store had been reorganized. Goods that were once scattered now sat in neat categories: dry goods in one section, canned food in another, tools grouped by size. Next to each group, there were small handwritten notes showing profit margins.

“Ruth, did you do this?”

She nodded timidly.

“How do you know about profit margins?”

“I observe, sir. I always have,” she replied.

Intrigued, Thomas began testing her. He left complex invoices and inventory sheets on his desk. When he returned, he found corrections to errors he hadn’t even noticed—and suggestions for improvement.

The truth emerged. During her years of enslavement, Ruth had turned suffering into knowledge. While others focused only on surviving, she had watched her masters’ negotiations, calculated crop profits, and memorized market prices.

“At Master Jefferson’s plantation,” Ruth said one day, “they lost 30% of their profits because they bought seeds at the wrong time.”

---

A person’s true value does not come from price, ownership, or status but from their humanity, resilience, and potential.

---

Thomas was speechless. The woman he had bought for $2, expecting her to die, had analyzed complex business operations during years of silent torment.

One morning, Thomas found a sheet of paper on his desk. It was a detailed summary of his weekly transactions—written in handwriting identical to his own.

“Ruth,” he said, heart pounding, “you can read and write?”

She lowered her gaze, terrified.

“Please don’t punish me, sir. I learned in secret… watching the white children’s lessons.”

Thomas realized the magnitude of his discovery. Ruth was not merely a recovered slave—she was a commercial genius in disguise.

Two months later, Ruth—now weighing 110 pounds—approached Thomas as he struggled with his ledger books.

“Mr. Mitchell,” she said firmly, “your profits could easily triple. Give me six months to run this store, and I’ll prove it mathematically.”

Thomas chuckled nervously.

“You are a failed merchant,” she interrupted bluntly. “You lose 40% of your profits because you buy the wrong goods at the wrong times. You stock candles in summer and run out of tools in planting season. Your prices make no sense.”

Thomas was stunned. Every word was true.

“What do you propose?”
“First,” Ruth said, sitting down (something no slave would ever do), “we buy wholesale directly from producers. Second, we plan sales by season. Third, we offer credit to loyal customers—with interest.”

Ruth implemented her plan with the precision of a general. She negotiated with producers, securing prices 30% lower. She created a credit system customers loved, charging a 10% “convenience fee.”

The results were immediate.
The first month: profits rose 150%.
The second: 200%.
The third: 300%.

“Ruth,” Thomas said one evening, staring at a pile of money he’d never seen before, “this doesn’t make sense. You’re not my property—you’re my partner. I want you to have half the extra profits.”

“I accept,” Ruth replied, “but on one condition. I want to buy my freedom.”

“How much would you pay for a slave with your skills?”

Thomas thought. “At least $1,200.”

“Then that’s our goal,” Ruth said. “In six months, I’ll buy my freedom.”

---

Treating someone as disposable because they can’t produce, earn, or “add value” is the root of both old slavery and many modern injustices.

---

The next opportunity came near a military camp. Ruth noticed Confederate soldiers paying absurd prices for basic goods—50 cents for a bar of soap that cost 10 cents in Thomas’s store.

“Mr. Mitchell,” she said upon returning, “they’re paying five times more. I’m not suggesting we sell to the army—I’m suggesting we dominate that market.”

With their savings, they bought a sturdy wagon and hired two freedmen, Marcus and Samuel. But Ruth’s strategy was more sophisticated. She had studied what the soldiers missed most: scented soap, quality tobacco, and, above all, homemade food.

She rose at 4 a.m. to bake pies, bread, and cookies. They left before dawn.

“Apple pie—just like your mother used to make!” Ruth would call out.

Demand was overwhelming. They sold out by noon every day.

The numbers were staggering.
Month one: $800 profit.
Month two: $1,200.
Month three: $2,000.

But Ruth’s true genius lay in intelligence gathering. As she wrapped goods, she asked casual questions:

“Where are you marching next week? What supplies are short in Colonel Johnson’s camp?”

The soldiers, charmed, told her everything. Ruth memorized troop movements and supply needs, building a mental map of the military market.

“Information is worth more than gold, Samuel,” she told her assistant. “And we’re collecting a fortune every day.”

The winter of 1846 arrived. Nine months after her purchase, Ruth Washington walked into Thomas Mitchell’s office carrying a worn leather suitcase. Inside was $1,200.

She placed it on the desk.

“Mr. Mitchell, I’d like to buy a slave.”

“Which one, Ruth?” he asked, confused.

Her answer struck like lightning.

“Myself.”

Silence filled the room. Thomas, hands trembling, stared at the money.

“Ruth,” he said softly, “you don’t have to pay me. I’ll free you. You’re my friend.”

“No, Mr. Mitchell,” she said firmly. “I want to buy my freedom—to prove to the world, and to myself, that I’m worth every cent. I want it written in the official records that Ruth Washington paid for her own freedom.”

It was an act of supreme dignity.

Her freedom, achieved in December 1846, unleashed a storm of ambition. Ruth went on to establish a chain of five specialty stores across South Carolina—one for soldiers, one for farmers, one for women. She created the South’s first organized home delivery system—decades before it became common.

The prejudice was brutal. White suppliers refused to sell to her; banks denied her loans. Her response was ingenious: she built a network of “front men”—poor white locals who lent their names to her businesses for monthly payments. Officially, they were the owners; in practice, Ruth controlled every cent.

When the Civil War broke out in 1860, Ruth saw the greatest opportunity of her life. She secured exclusive contracts to supply uniforms, boots, and rations to the Confederate army. Her strategy was audacious: she offered prices 30% lower, but demanded full payment up front.

But Ruth did something more. Using her network of front men, she began secretly selling to the Union army as well. The same woman who supplied gray uniforms to the Confederates was sending blue equipment to the federal troops. It was a double-edged sword, but also extremely risky.

In 1863, she was nearly discovered. Investigators from both armies noticed suspicious similarities in the products. Ruth had to burn documents, bribe officials, and relocate entire operations in the middle of the night.

During those chaotic years, as the South disintegrated, Ruth implemented her final strategy. White plantation owners, ruined by the war, were selling their properties at absurdly low prices. Ruth acquired three entire plantations for only $5,000 each—properties that had previously been worth $50,000.

But instead of cotton or tobacco, Ruth transformed the land into diversified farms: vegetables, corn, cattle, and chickens. Desperately needed products.

She hired hundreds of newly freed slaves, offering them fair wages, decent housing, and education for their families. She created the first organized community of free Black workers in South Carolina.

By 1865, at the end of the war, Ruth Washington owned three productive plantations, twelve stores, and an estimated net worth of $200,000. This placed her among the wealthiest 5% of all South Carolina residents, regardless of race. Her fortune was greater than that of her former master.

That master was Robert Hayes, the owner of the tobacco plantation where Ruth had almost died. The man who had sold her for $2, considering her a waste of food.

In the fall of 1865, Hayes was a broken man. The war had taken everything from him. His plantation had been confiscated, and he survived by begging in Charleston. When he heard the rumors about Ruth, the wealthiest Black woman in the city, he refused to believe them. But hunger got the better of him.

Ruth was inspecting one of her newly acquired fields when she saw a ragged man approaching along the dirt road. She immediately recognized those cold eyes.

Robert Hayes, holding his battered hat in his hand, asked for work in a humble voice, not recognizing her. “Miss Ruth, I… I need any job. Anything you can give me.”

Ruth looked at him in a silence that seemed like an eternity. Then, in a calm but firm voice, she asked, “Do you remember me, Master Hayes?”

The man frowned. Ruth continued. “I am Ruth. The slave you sold because I was nearly dead. The one who worked 18 hours a day on your tobacco plantation. The one you said wasn’t worth the food she ate.”

Robert Hayes’s face went completely white. His legs trembled as he finally recognized those determined eyes. The dying slave he had scorned for two pieces of silver now stood before him, landowner, elegantly dressed, radiating power.

Hayes fell to his knees, unable to speak.

Ruth watched him for a long moment, not with hatred, but with the cold calm of someone who has closed an impossible circle. She turned away and, without saying another word, continued inspecting her fields, leaving the ghost of her past trembling in the dust.

‘Morally messed up, no matter the technology.’ The moral behind the story!

A society that tolerates, shrugs at it, or benefits from it without protest is morally “messed up,” no matter how advanced its technology looks.

The story’s moral resonates strongly today because it highlights how people choose to treat the most vulnerable when no one is watching. It exposes what a society really values: profit or people. A human life is never a “low‑value asset,” no matter how poor, sick, inconvenient, or unprofitable that person seems.

Disclaimer: This content does not have independent historical documentation and is intended for inspirational purposes only. Use it to spark your imagination and motivation!

YAME Digital

Socio-capitalism: Walking The Bridge Between Heaven's Order And Earth's Economy

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“In the Kingdom of God, nothing exists for itself alone; everything lives to give.”

By: Chez Winakabs; Founder of Sociocapitalism

When we study nature, we see an undeniable pattern: the sun shines for the earth, rivers flow for the valleys, and trees bear fruit for creatures they will never meet. There is no hoarding in divine order—only circulation.

This is the pattern Sociocapitalism draws from: wealth, like water, must flow to give life. When it is dammed up by greed, communities downstream dry up. When it flows wisely, the desert blooms.

For centuries, mankind has wrestled between two extremes—capitalism’s unrestrained appetite and socialism’s heavy-handed redistribution. Both began as attempts to solve human need, yet both, when unbalanced, drift away from the moral rhythm that sustains life.

Sociocapitalism is the bridge—a system rooted in divine reciprocity. It accepts that profit is not evil, but it refuses to allow profit to be purposeless. It recognizes individual ambition but anchors it in collective responsibility.

THE SPIRITUAL DNA OF SOCIOCAPITALISM

1. Wealth as Stewardship, Not Ownership
   In divine order, humans are caretakers, not absolute owners. The earth is the Lord’s—and we are tenants entrusted with a portion. Sociocapitalism applies this by urging that every enterprise ask: “What am I leaving behind for the next generation?”

2. Multiplication Through Giving
   In the parable of the talents, growth came to those who invested their gifts. But the return was for the master, not for selfish accumulation. Sociocapitalism echoes this truth—profit must multiply social good.

3. Justice as the True Currency
   Scripture calls for “just scales” in business. A fair wage, honest trade, and equitable opportunities are not modern inventions; they are ancient commands. Sociocapitalism simply reintroduces them into today’s marketplace.

4. Work as Worship
   In God’s economy, farming, fishing, building—all honest work—was sacred. Sociocapitalism restores this view, turning every business, from a street kiosk to a tech firm, into an altar of service.

NARRATIVES THAT PROVE ITS POWER

• The Well That Never Runs Dry
  In a drought-stricken village, one family owned the only well. Instead of selling water at a price the poor couldn’t pay, they set fair rates and reinvested earnings in digging more wells. Soon, every family had access to clean water—and the original well-owners became respected leaders, not just wealthy merchants. This is Sociocapitalism in action: profit with purpose, gain with gratitude.

• The Tailor Who Employed the Orphans
  A small-town tailor, once an orphan himself, built his business but kept a standing rule—hire at least two young people without families each year. Over time, those youths became skilled workers, started their own shops, and the town’s economy flourished. He profited, yes—but so did everyone around him.

WHY THE WORLD IS RIPE FOR SOCIOCAPITALISM

We live in a paradoxical age: the world has never been richer in resources yet poorer in shared prosperity. Billionaires race to space while children walk miles for clean water.
Sociocapitalism is not naïve to profit—it embraces it—but it forces the question: “Profit for what?”

It is a model fit for:

• African agribusinesses that want to feed the continent before exporting surplus.

• Urban youth tech hubs that solve local problems before chasing foreign contracts.

• Faith-led communities that see the tithe as an investment in people, not just buildings.

MARAMPA AS A LIVING TESTAMENT

If Marampa, rich in minerals and human capital, embraces Sociocapitalism, it can pioneer:

• Community-owned mining royalties reinvested into schools, hospitals, and agro-parks.

• Skill academies are linked directly to local industries.

• Green energy micro-grids owned by residents, not outsiders.

Marampa could be the first chiefdom where business is measured not only in profit margins but in poverty reduction rates and community happiness indexes.

FROM THE PHILOSOPHER’S DESK

Sociocapitalism is not utopia—it is a discipline. It demands that we resist greed as we would resist disease. It requires that wealth becomes a river, not a pond.

In the divine economy, the greatest is the one who serves. Sociocapitalism is simply an economic translation of that eternal truth.

If heaven measures greatness by how many lives you touch, shouldn’t Earth’s economies do the same?

 Footnote: The concept! We will receive all hard copies by December, which will then be shipped from Ireland.

The Prince of Wales School Celebrates 100 Years of Excellence

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The Prince of Wales School in Freetown, Sierra Leone, was inaugurated by the then Prince of Wales on April 6, 1925. This prestigious institution was the first government secondary school in Freetown and the first in Sierra Leone to emphasize the teaching of Science and Mathematics. It attracted students not only from Sierra Leone but also from other West African countries.

The Prince of Wales School's bold attempt to feature a Live Lion in its Centenary Thanksgiving Anniversary has been denied by the Sierra Leone Police citing public safety.

Theme: ‘The King of Academic Jungle’

Drawing inspiration from the school motto ‘Forward’ and the Lion Crest, the Class of 2003 formally approached the Sierra Leone Police with an extreme proposal to import a Cape Lion (Panthera Leo Melanochaita) from the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Their vision was to have the lion, accompanied by four professional lion tamers, participate in the parade from Kissy Road to Kingtom on April 6th, which marks the 100th anniversary.

The Sierra Leone Police weren’t ready for the jungle to move into the Streets of Freetown. In a letter dated 29th March, the Inspector General’s Office denied the request, citing public safety.

Rival schools and critics soon begin trolling 'The Move' with memes on social media.

P.O.W Lion don loose oh, unu keych am ooh😃😃😃

Regardless!

The jubilee celebration reminds us of the enduring bonds forged over 100 years of academic excellence.

“Series of Events ”

— Source

“Princewaleans and partners visiting the historic Bunce Island Slave Castle.”

— 8 April, 2025

“The Prince of Wales School Freetown, CENTENARY THANKSGIVING SERVICE 2025.”

— 6 April, 2025

Thanksgiving Service

Time: April 6, 2025, 1:00 PM Freetown Time Zone | 09:00 AM USA /Eastern (New York) /Maryland | 2:00 PM United Kingdom /BST (London)

Please click 'Join Thanksgiving Service’

Meeting ID: 897 7262 9180 | Passcode: 536992

The Prince of Wales Thanksgiving on Sunday, April 6, 2025. A cross-section of Prince Waleans at home and abroad

“Prince of Wales Muslim Service.”

— Source: Mosque

Princewalean Wives | Friends unique support

Thanksgiving Prep

FORWARD to POW

BuBu na de Dinner & Dance

Congratulations on the humorous perspective !

Congratulations on the humorous perspective of people 🤣

---

POW Centenary Transition Walk

Model Junction to Prince of Wales, Kingtom. Re-enactment of the school move from Model School — FORWARD to POW!

Dinner & Dance — Celebrate 100 Years of Prince of Wales School

The Princewalean: 100 Years of Excellence

The official launch will be on 1 April 2025 on Amazon! A collection of essays and articles, primarily composed of reminiscences and mostly authored by alumni, celebrates the achievements of principals, teachers, and distinguished graduates in various disciplines and sports. These writings also highlight the school's contribution to the development of Sierra Leone and West Africa.

Tap HERE to Get Your Copy on Amazon.

School Athletics: Handing prizes to donors and athletes

Theo Edwards for YAME Digital

This page will be continuously updated—please refresh later for more information.

SSI Recipients Will Get April Check on Regular Schedule, But Upcoming Months Will Vary

Mike Snider, USA TODAY

Sat, March 29, 2025, at 6:01 AM EDT

After getting two Supplemental Security Income checks in February, beneficiaries will get their April payment at the normal time – but the month of May brings more payment quirks.

Usually, SSI checks hit on the first of the month, unless the date lands on a federal holiday or weekend. April 1 is a Tuesday, so that's when SSI checks will arrive.

About 7.4 million Americans who may be disabled or have limited resources get monthly SSI benefit payments. About one-third of those who get SSI also get Social Security.

Traditional Social Security payments – for those who are older or retired – are issued for most recipients on Wednesdays throughout the month. So, if your birthdate falls between the first and 10th of the month, you are paid on the second Wednesday of the month; between the 11th and 20th, you’re paid on the third Wednesday, and if you were born after the 20th of the month, you get paid on the fourth Wednesday of the month, according to the Social Security Administration’s calendar.

Recipients who began getting Social Security before May 1997 are paid on the 3rd of the month – and if they also get SSI, that benefit comes on the 1st.

Social Security: Program change coming this week: Agency begins taking back 100% of overpayments

SSI payment calendar: More quirks ahead

A sign in front of the entrance of the Security Administration's main campus on March 19, 2025 in Woodlawn, Maryland.

In May, SSI recipients will get two checks: the May SSI payment is scheduled to be issued on May 1, according to the SSA calendar, and the June SSI payment on May 30 – payments are issued early because June 1 falls on a weekend.

That means in June, as it was in March, SSI beneficiaries will not get a payment in that calendar month.

The calendar quirk crops up again in August when SSI recipients will get two checks – the August payment on Aug. 1 and the September payment on Aug. 29 – but no payment in the calendar month of September.

SSI recipients will also get two checks in October, but not one in the calendar month of November, according to the SSA calendar.

When are SSI payments sent out for April? See the full 2025 payment schedule

Supplemental Security Income checks will be sent out on the following dates in 2025, according to the SSA calendar.

• Tuesday, April 1, 2025 (Check for April 2025)

• Thursday, May 1, 2025 (Check for May 2025)

• Friday, May 30, 2025 (Check for June 2025)

• Tuesday, July 1, 2025 (Check for July 2025)

• Friday, Aug. 1, 2025 (Check for August 2025)

• Friday, Aug. 29, 2025 (Check for September 2025)

• Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 (Check for October 2025)

• Friday, Oct. 31, 2025 (Check for November 2025)

• Monday, Dec. 1, 2025 (Check for December 2025)

• Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025 (Check for January 2026)

What is SSI?

Supplemental Security Income is a benefit payment for those with limited income or resources aged 65 or older, who are blind or have a qualifying disability. Children with a qualifying disability can also get SSI, according to the SSA's website.

In general, adults who qualify for SSI do not earn more than $2,019 from work monthly.

If you or someone you know thinks they may be eligible for SSI, you can begin the application process online, in person at your local Social Security office, or by calling 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time during the work week.

If you think you may want to apply for Social Security or SSI in the near future, you may want to create an online account soon if you haven't, as the agency is implementing “stronger identity verification procedures,” including online identity proofing, starting March 31.

Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse

Follow Mike Snider on Threads, Bluesky and X: mikegsnider &@mikegsnider.bsky.social &@mikesnider.

Sting and the Piano Man Rock Las Vegas

In a postelection depressive haze, I ventured to Las Vegas searching for something that would lift my spirits — The gift of music. Trigger's many sense memories reflect the soundtrack of our past lives and present. I had long been an admirer of Sting, from his days with The Police as a prolific and talented musician. In addition, Billy Joel's catalog is equally impressive. The moment both these two mega artists took the stage, we were transfixed.

It reminded me of a childhood when my parents gave us the joy of music. We listened to everything from classical, rock, jazz, and all the other forms of music genres.

The gift of music is that it triggers many sense memories that reflect the soundtrack of our past and present lives. So, when I had the opportunity to see Sting and Billy Joel two true musicians at the new Raiders Stadium in Las Vegas I was delighted.

It is ironic that although our country is so divided among political parties, on this day, we were just people—of all ages, ethnicities, and walks of life there to have a good time.

Hmm! Maybe the next 'President-elect' should be a musician. Because all of the nonsense falls away when we listen to music. All the stress and worry of our everyday lives evaporated with the first strum of Sting's guitar and the mellifluous melody from the piano man's keys.

I have seen Sting on several occasions and his undeniable talent and artistry will always keep me coming back.

This was my first experience seeing Billy Joel and I'll admit I was worried because he has not had any new music in decades.

But I am humbled to say that I was wrong! The dinosaurs of Rock' n' Roll are still living and breathing and putting to shame many of today's artists who give half-hearted shows, with a lot of "digital" support.

These two 70-year-old brought the house down with over two hours of phenomenal performances.

Musicianship and quality songwriting are alive and well and we thank them for being a part of the fabric of our lives. We clapped, sang, and danced through the entire show and were left only wanting more. Even after the show, we marched out with the crowds reminiscing, laughing, and talking about one of the greatest concert experiences of our lifetime. The modern-day musician should take notice.

It was a nice sense of community before we all headed back to our political corners.

Ola George for YAME Digital

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Do you have a show /concert you'd like to share? Post your comments below.

It Took Just 5 Days

Michael Moore goes viral with a post about Kamala Harris

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Nothing like it had ever happened before in American history.

And yet, by this past Thursday, a mere five days after President Biden’s 1:46 PM Sunday afternoon announcement of him ending his re-election campaign and handing the candidacy over to his Vice President, Kamala Harris, the Wall Street Journal (no friend to women, People of Color, young voters, the poor or the working class), WSJ — this grand oracle of Capitalism, conservative ideology and the force that is Rupert Murdoch — ran this stunning historic headline, truly one for the ages:

Kamala Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, two genius parents, one a Stanford economist, the other a brilliant Berkeley scientist, both active in the 1960s civil rights movement of their beloved adopted country, America, and proud to have their children be among the first to integrate a public school in California — that Kamala Harris was now, in 2024, accepting the all-but-certain nomination to be the Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States.

And, it should be noted the chance to become the first woman ever to hold this esteemed office.

Yes, that was just one week ago. A euphoric nation exploded in a joyful belief that finally the promise of the American Dream was no longer just a “promise” nor a “dream” but a roaring reality that immediately took off like a rocket.

Each day this week has seen a new record set for a presidential campaign:

A Record-Smashing Surge of Volunteers Signing Up Across Key Swing States (a total of 170,000 throughout the nation as of this morning);

The Biggest One-Day Haul of Campaign Contributions Ever 60% of them from first-time donors (the total overall take is more than $350 million as of today);

The Largest Zoom Call Ever for a Campaign Meeting (160,000 participants, with more than double that expected on Monday night’s “Women for Harris” Zoom — feel free to join in, click here);

The Most People Ever to Register to Vote Over a 48-Hour Period: Almost 40,000 New Voters!

85% of all convention delegates (3,404 of them) endorsed Harris after she had only been a candidate for three days — and all this 4 weeks before the Convention even starts!

Historians and political scientists agree that this level of enthusiasm this quickly is unheard of in modern American politics. Trump is furious. He is planning to sue to “keep Harris off the ballot.”

Good luck with that. It won’t work. Apparently, somewhere along the way, Trump Van Winkle must have fallen into a deep sleep and missed the memo that many white men like him also seemed to miss:

“America is no longer your America, the exclusive club for the gender missing its second X chromosome, which then makes you prone to war, violent outbursts, something called ‘mansplaining,’ harassing the other gender, dying on average 6 years before that other gender — and yet still holding the majority of the wealth, the property, the tee times and most of the seats in Congress (72% of those seats at last count are yours).”

That America is being shown the door.

Here’s what New America looks like:

Seventy-nine percent of the United States is either Female (51% of the country), Persons of Color (42% of the country is now Black, Brown, Asian, or Indigenous), or Young Adults between 18 and 39 (the Gen Z-ers and Millennials now make up 42% of the country!) — or some combination thereof of these three demographics.

This Country Is Female, young, and Not-So-White anymore.

It's not the best place to run for president if your three main personality traits are misogyny, bigotry, and sounding like everyone’s Uncle Don.

Oh — and then there’s this…

Here’s the truth about who our fellow Americans really are (and here’s the list nobody has bothered to show you because, well, we need to keep perpetuating our own belief that we are stuck living in a white, Christian Nationalist, conservative, red-neck, deep-fried-Oreo-loving country — when, in fact, the vast bulk of the United States is not like that anymore):

• 69% of Americans support legal abortion.

• 72% of Americans don’t own a gun.

• 90% of the country wants more gun control laws.

• 72% of us believe the climate crisis is real.

• 71% of all Americans approve of labor unions.

• 79% of us insist the rich must pay more in taxes.

• 76% of us want a much higher minimum wage.

• 70% of all voters believe marijuana should be legal.

• 73% of the country wants student loan debt relief.

• 74% of Americans want more affordable homes.

• 65% support term limits on all Supreme Court justices.

• 84% of Americans want free Pre-K and 3-K.

• 69% of Americans support same-sex marriage.

• 65% of Americans want to end the electoral college.

• 89% of Americans oppose gerrymandering.

• 70% of us are demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

• 72% of all Americans want money removed from politics!

• 70% of Millennials say they would likely vote for a Socialist candidate.

That is who we are.

— Michael Moore: Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various social, political, and economic topics.

Mr. Trump — how do you expect to win when what you believe in is the opposite of what more than two-thirds of the country believes regarding many of the major issues of the day?! You are running as a right-wing wackadoodle in a country that has seriously become more open and progressive. The majority of Americans HATE what you stand for. Just look at those poll numbers I listed above. Those percentages don’t come from me. They come from Gallup, the Associated Press, PEW Research, CNN, and others. They come from the American people.

The Republicans have LOST the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 presidential elections! Since 1988, the American people have made it abundantly clear: They don’t want a Republican running the country.

The ONLY reason we were stuck with Bush and Trump is because the Founders created the Electoral College in order to appease the slave states and try to avoid a Civil War (and that seemed to work out ok).

But here’s the kicker: The majority of these 3 groups — women, young people, and People of Color — vote Democratic in every election! The statistics don’t lie: 51% of women are Democrats, as are 61% of young people, and 83% of African Americans. Those facts alone should guarantee that the Democrats hold a majority of political power in the United States. But as long as there is gerrymandering, the Electoral College, and voter suppression, the concept of “one-person, one-vote majority rule” — the singular underpinning of a true Democracy — is sadly missing as the “Democracy” is still yet to be realized.

So what’s the takeaway here? It’s quite simple:

THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN THERE ARE OF THEM!

We are now the majority.

We are a Liberal Nation.

We are going to elect the first woman — a Black woman, no less! — to be the President of the United States.

So what could possibly go wrong?

THE ONLY WAY TRUMP CAN WIN IS IF LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS STAY HOME.

So, as I see it, that’s the only way we can lose. If too many people sense it’s the same old political hoo-ha, the Democratic vote will be seriously depressed, millions will stay stuck in their despair, and all of this may lead to a Trump victory.

This must not happen. The overwhelming jolt of joy from this last week must continue, but with ACTION — and that is where you and I come in!

In my next letter to you, I will reveal the blueprint/playbook/ battle plan for what we millions — the majority — must do over these next 100 days.

I think you’re going to like it. It includes simple things we can all do. It will be fun. You’ll meet new friends.

There are door prizes! You might become a local hero. And we’re all gonna party like it’s 2029!”

— Michael Moore: Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various social, political, and economic topics.

Chicago Teen Dorothy Jean Tillman Earns a Doctoral Degree at 17

Dorothy Jean Tillman II at Arizona State University’s commencement in Tempe, Ariz., this month. Ms. Tillman earned her doctoral degree in integrated behavioral health from the school at age 17. Credit...Tillman Family, via Associated Press

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“... hopes her story resonates with girls who are talkative, outgoing ‘out-there kind of girls who are trying to figure themselves out but are very smart.’”

— Dr. Tillman

Dr. Dorothy Jean Tillman II earned a doctoral degree in integrated behavioral health from Arizona State’s College of Health Solutions at only 17, making her the youngest person to achieve this even before being eligible to vote. Dr. Tillman hopes her story inspires talkative, outgoing, and smart girls who are trying to figure themselves out.

When Dorothy Jean Tillman II successfully defended her dissertation in November 2023 to earn her doctoral degree from Arizona State University, she couldn’t wait to share the news with her best friend.

Dr. Tillman, now 18, took part in Arizona State’s commencement ceremony and delivered remarks as the outstanding 2024 graduate at the College of Health Solution’s convocation.

Lesley Manson, program director for the doctorate of behavioral health at Arizona State and Dr. Tillman’s doctoral chair said Dr. Tillman displayed extraordinary perseverance, hard work, and dedication at her young age, tackling every challenge head-on. She can serve as a real role model,” Ms. Manson said.

Dr. Dorothy Jean Tillman II earned a doctoral degree in integrated behavioral health from Arizona State’s College of Health Solutions at age 17

Dr. Tillman was part of a gifted program before transitioning to home-schooling. From a young age, Dorothy excelled in her academic pursuits.

By the age of 7, she was already completing high school-level work. She began taking college-level module tests and applying the credits towards higher education.

At 10, she earned her associate degree in psychology at the College of Lake County in Illinois. At 12, she received her Bachelor of Science in Humanities at Excelsior College in New York, and at 14, she earned a Master of Science from Unity College in Maine. She chose those fields because they can help scientists ‘understand why people treat the environment the way they do,’ she told Time for Kids in a July 2020 interview.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dorothy surprised her mother, Jimalita Tillman, by expressing her desire to pursue a doctorate. This was while Dorothy was already a year into launching a STEAM camp startup and seeking funding for the organization.

Because of her age, Dr. Tillman lived at home for her higher education, mostly studying online. Despite being a social butterfly, she found ways to stay connected with friends through after-school activities.

She was accepted into the management concentration at Arizona State’s College of Health Solutions, an online doctorate program. Her thesis on developing programs to reduce the stigma for college students seeking mental health services is based on a study she conducted for an in-person internship at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

“Children like Dr. Tillman possess an intense drive to master their skills. She refers to this as a ‘rage to master,’ highlighting the powerful motivation these children have. Winner also points out that their natural abilities make the learning process enjoyable and effortless for them. Schools are often not equipped for such gifted children, she added, which may lead parents to home-school their children.”

— Ellen Winner, a professor of psychology at Boston College and the author of 'Gifted Children: Myths and Realities.'

Dorothy not only focuses on her school work but also dedicates her time to running the Dorothy Jeanius STEAM Leadership Institute. The institute inspires hundreds of underserved young people in Chicago, as well as in countries like Ghana and South Africa, to pursue careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). The program includes guest speakers and open conversations about each of the five areas of STEAM.

Dr. Tillman recognizes her mother, Jimalita Tillman, as one of her greatest motivators. Jimalita Tillman's mother, Dorothy Wright Tillman, was a civil rights activist who worked alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and served as a Chicago alderman. Dr. Tillman is named after her grandmother, hence the "II" at the end of her name.

Theo Edwards for YAME

First Black Deputy Mayor of Camden, London, England

From being a refugee to holding the position of Deputy Mayor

Guest Contributor, UK

A remarkable achievement: Eddie Hanson, a Sierra Leonean refugee, has shattered barriers by becoming the first Black Deputy Mayor of Camden, London, England.

Eddie was elected as councilor in May 2022 and was appointed Deputy Mayor of Camden on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at the Council's Annual General Meeting.

A native of Sierra Leone he fled the devastating eleven-year civil war that claimed thousands of lives.

‘I was just a child when Sierra Leone was devastated by war. I was captured by one of the militias and taken away for a long time. As a child in war, survival was uncertain. The fear of losing my parents and loved ones was constant,’ recounted Eddie, sharing his experiences from the civil war in Sierra Leone.

A devastating conflict resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives. Eddie's family was among the hundreds of lucky families who managed to flee the war in Sierra Leone, although his brother wasn't so fortunate - he was killed during the war.

‘My family was lucky,’ he said. ‘I’m eternally grateful to my parents and sisters because of their sacrifices.

Eddie is a member of the UK Labour Party, CEO of The Game Changers UK, and a former cabinet adviser, His remarkable journey from councilor to Mayor was far from easy.

As the United Kingdom tightens its borders and immigration laws, Eddie warns that asylum seekers face treacherous journeys before they stand any chance of applying for help from the UK government.

Raw, Unfiltered Truth About Growth Especially As a Young Man

Nick Wood (aka. Krio Borbor)

3:39 PM · Apr 11, 2024, from Sierra Leone: Krio Borbor on his Twitter handle, wrote:

14 years ago almost to this very day, I came to Sierra Leone. I was your classic 'white man' from America who had no idea this country existed or that Africa was a continent and not a country.

If I’d known the physical challenges/changes I was signing up for when I boarded the plane …

• no electricity

• bucket showers

• sweaty poda poda rides

• rice for every meal

• run belleh

or the mental/emotional challenges …

• learning a new language

• being a minority in a new land

• homesickness

• betrayal

• questioning if what I believed was true

I can’t 100% certainly tell you that I would have still agreed to come _just being honest.

But it’s a catch-22 because I know what all those challenges and experiences did for me when I stepped on that plane to return to the USA 2 years later.

I wasn’t the same person

“I was humbled by force, my belief in God was unwavering, I felt empathy for everyone around me, and my confidence in myself was indescribable.
I craved growth and learning over pleasure”

— I had BECOME

I came here as a prideful, immature, and insecure boy. I left a confident, humble, and purpose-driven man. So, for those who know me as Krio Borbor, this is where it all started.

Nick Wood, from Utah at age 19 was assigned a two-year humanitarian mission to Sierra Leone in 2010. A Latter-day Saints missionary, Krio Borbor laments, 'It was the experience of a lifetime and it certainly changed me forever.'

Now, he lives in the country with his family after completing his Mormon missionary assignments.

He has a large following on Instagram, where he records his adventures in Sierra Leone and his passion for the language and culture.

Responding to critics, Krio Borbor revealed that since his arrival, he hasn't earned any money in Sierra Leone.

BBC Africa took notice and produced a video back in 2019. The reaction of many Sierra Leoneans to the BBC Africa video of this former Mormon missionary Nick Wood aka. Krio Borbor and his stay in Sierra Leone, suggest unrecognized elements of white privilege or supremacy ~ thoughts from a Wakanda Warrior.

In this BBC Africa One Minute Story in January of 2019, he explained his love of the country and why he is teaching his children Krio

“Krio Borbor recognizes his privilege by making himself vulnerable. In a video he shared on January 21, 2019, Krio Borbor used words with metaphors of neo-colonialism and white privilege. However, in that video, Krio Borbor made it clear ‘he just doesn’t know what’ he might do to make a difference. This means – he is not in this country with an agenda to exploit or impose his views on us. Krio Borbor might be naive to some of his white savior complexities, but he can recognize them with vulnerability.

Krio Borbor’s views on Sierra Leone are from a strength perspective. I have scanned through his pictures and videos; they tend to portray a positive image of our country. His posts energize people to get involved with our country in different ways. He is in NO WAY negatively appropriating our CULTURE, but selling our COUNTRY in a positive dimension. A good number of our Western-based NGOs are busy showing the negative side of our country – and this man is reversing the conversation.

Krio Borbor has shown humility in understanding our context. The guy (Krio Borbor) has taken his genuine obsession with our country to another stretch. He has learned the language, eaten our food, hung out with our people, and plugged into our complicated country. He has done this with a heart of humility. You can sense his love for our place, people, and patterns. He is for real!!!

Krio Borbor might be struggling with elements of white privilege (which he might not recognize), but his positives surpass the negatives. He has done a good job by staying away from our politics and pop culture. He used social and mainstream media to develop a ‘tourism brand’ for our nation _This is something we have not done well as a people. We might disagree or agree – but don’t take one thing away from the man – he loves our country.”

— Paul A. Conteh (Lecturer/Public Affairs Analyst)

Fast forward to ‘The reaction’ to Apr 11, 2024, from Sierra Leone: Krio Borbor on his Twitter handle—

14 years ago almost to this very day I came to Sierra Leone 🇸🇱

I was your classic “white man” from America who had no idea this country existed or that Africa was a continent and not a country 💀😳

if I’d know the physical challenges/changes I was signing up for when I boarded… pic.twitter.com/KdObyCadpn

— Krio Borbor (@krioborbor) April 11, 2024

Tap to Read the Response. Launch the Twitter 'Read the replies,' and select a browser of choice if you haven't got an 'X' /Twitter account.

So, the question is: ‘White privilege or a life of humility?’

Humility in the Bible is presented as the practice of meekness, obedience to God, respect for self and others, submissiveness, and modesty (Colossians 3:12-13). People with humility put others' needs before their own, sacrificing for the love of others.

So, the question is: White privilege or a life of humility? You decide.

Related

“Fatu Kanu @fatu-kanu7 Replying to @krioborbor”

— the video she is referring to [attached]

Excerpts from the video The First Lady Fatima Bio, wife of the current president Maada Bio discusses the enduring impact in present-day SaLone at a symposium at Harvard. 

The interesting irony and explanation of @krioborbor's experience in Sierra Leone as challenging is blamed on foreign partners, especially the British. They are the cause for the blackout and bucket shower.'

The Tragic Story of Sierra Leone Under the Bio, SLPP

Level of deceit

“The SLPP Administration needs to apologize to the citizens of Sierra Leone.”

— Commentary in the local dialect Krio by Concord Times Newspapers (SL) former editor, Atomic Pen:

“Fatima Bio exposed her husband: The analysis.”

— Arthur Pratt /Courtesy video

Running thread commentary! Launch the Twitter 'READ REPLIES,' and select a browser of choice if you haven't got an 'X' /TWITTER Account.

‘A mineral-rich nation buying electricity from a #Turkish ship anchored on the city's shores has failed to pay its dues, and the ship's owners have reduced their output, plunging the entire capital into darkness.’ @AlphajorbaBah

A mineral-rich nation buying electricity from a #Turkish ship anchored on the city's shores has failed to pay its dues, and the ship's owners have reduced their output, plunging the entire capital into darkness. This is the same nation that organised elections recently. Yet, the… pic.twitter.com/SvoZt0seFA

— Alpha Bah (@AlphajorbaBah) April 19, 2024

EDSA apologize! What a mockery

EDSA, apologize!

Going viral in SL social media right now. 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/mUYNdzpaWP

— Yame.space (@SpaceYame) April 19, 2024

Paopa v2.0 is nothing but lightweight and trivial. The struggle is real.

Article Source: By Theo Edwards

Deported to Sierra Leone, He Lost Everything. He’s Fighting to Return

'Friday the 13th. Would you believe?' 

Samuel Anthony said

Deported to Sierra Leone, he lost everything. He’s fighting to return.© Family photo

Because he was a permanent U.S. resident — he had a green card but not citizenship — he went straight from prison to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Under the Trump administration, the rhetoric against immigrants was rising. An immigrant from Africa with an arrest record, even if it was nonviolent, was a target.

“There was nothing but darkness. And you just know that everything’s over,” said Samuel Anthony, remembering the night he was forced to leave his home. “It was like being placed in a coffin. But you’re still alive.”

Anthony, 51, was talking to me from Sierra Leone, where he has been since 2019 when an immigration officer escorted him onto a plane at Dulles Airport that took off into the dark sky across the Atlantic to a country he left as a little boy.

To the Department of Homeland Security, Anthony is just one of 359,885 people deported from the United States that year.

To the family he left behind, he’s a man of promise, taken. Imperfect, as we all are. But in a national moment of reconsideration for those who’ve paid their dues, his loved ones say he never truly got a second chance.

“He struggled with addiction,” said Samilia Anthony, his sister. D.C. in the 1990s was awash in crack. Even the mayor — Marion Barry — was swept up in the mania that left thousands dead in a decade when Washington statistically became the nation’s murder capital.

Anthony went to one of D.C.’s best public high schools, went to college at St. Augustine’s College in North Carolina, and still fell into the life, struggling to overcome demons of childhood abuse that are finally being talked about, they both told me.

In 1996, he pleaded guilty to a drug charge and got a harsh, 20-year sentence for over 50 grams of crack cocaine, according to court documents. Possession of crack in those years got sentences that averaged 4.8 times longer than if the cocaine had been powdered, according to the Department of Justice.

As sentencing reforms began to address the disparities in how our justice system approached the drug epidemic, particularly in the nation’s Black neighborhoods, Anthony’s sentence was reduced, and he was released early. But because he was a permanent U.S. resident — he had a green card but not citizenship — he went straight from prison to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he was back in custody until his successful release in 2014.

Anthony got out of immigration custody in time for some family milestones. The next year, he was deported back to their native Sierra Leone. © Family photo

He did everything our system asked of him. He checked in regularly, got a job running a stock room at a grocery store, drove Uber, and started getting his commercial driver’s license. He bonded with his daughter and was the sibling who always checked in on mom. He bought a newly constructed townhouse in a revitalized section of Deanwood.

“Samuel was all about D.C.,” his sister said. He loved go-go music and the mom-and-pop joints around town. “He was making up for the time he lost in prison, spending a lot of time with family.”

He began a nonprofit mentoring teen who flirted with the life he left behind. But even living straight, he always felt scrutinized and endangered.

The United States deported just under 70,000 people in 1996, when Anthony went to prison, according to government data. As he was reentering life in D.C. in 2013, under the Obama administration, our nation reached its highest deportation numbers to date — 432,228.

Last year, the Biden administration doubled the number of immigrants it deported the year before, as immigration becomes a key talking point in the upcoming election.

Anthony lived straight, did all his check-ins, and didn’t tangle with the law again.

Anthony was in the United States long enough to see Shanel, his brother, married in 2018. © Family photo

Anthony was taken to Texas, where he was held for a while, then brought back to Dulles, where he was eventually put on a plane with nothing but the clothes he wore, a toothbrush, and some thermal underwear he got in the Texas facility.

Then, in 2019, when he showed up for an annual appointment with the local ICE office, he was taken in. This was under the Trump administration, and the rhetoric against immigrants was rising. An immigrant from Africa with an arrest record, even if it was nonviolent, was a target.

Anthony was taken to Texas, where he was held for a while, then brought back to Dulles, where he was eventually put on a plane with nothing but the clothes he wore, a toothbrush, and some thermal underwear he got in the Texas facility.

“Friday the 13th. Would you believe?” he said.

The plane laid over in Morocco for 15 hours, then he was taken to Sierra Leone, where he hadn’t been since the 1970s. There were new sounds, new smells, new foods, and different people. He had some family members. Mostly, he was alone.

“All it was? It was depression. It was suicidal thoughts,” he said. “I was going to the beach and just wanting to go into the water and never come back.”

He’s found work here and there. But he hasn’t found a community. His accent is D.C., his mannerisms are D.C., and he doesn’t belong to either of the ruling political parties in Sierra Leone, which he says is the only way to get work. His return is seen — in society — as a badge of shame, he said.

He missed his mother’s death and couldn’t get a special visa to return for her funeral.

“Even though I was born here, I wasn’t raised here. I wasn’t brought up with this type of environment,” Anthony said. “America to me is everything. I went to school there, I was at university there, went to prison there, did everything there. To be honest, prison was easier than this.”

He is working with the National Immigrant Justice Center to try to get home.

That’s how I met him, through their associate director of policy, Nayna Gupta.

I first met her when she was trying to get Howard Bailey home. Bailey was a veteran who built a life, a trucking company, and a family in Virginia when he was suddenly deported back to his native Jamaica — in a shocking 5:30 a.m. raid on his home in 2010 — because of an old marijuana conviction.

This veteran finally gets to return after being deported more than a decade ago

I followed his nightmare for years, as Gupta and the immigration lawyers she works with pushed for his return. It took 11 years. His wife had moved on, his company dissolved, but he returned, and we were there as he stepped off the plane.

Last year, I watched him get sworn in as a U.S. citizen.

Howard Bailey, a Navy veteran, finally became a U.S. citizen after a naturalization ceremony at the federal courthouse in Richmond 13 years after he was deported to his native Jamaica because of an old marijuana conviction. His mother, Jean, was there for his ceremony on June 21, 2023. © Petula Dvorak/TWP

Anthony’s road may be harder. Unlike Bailey, his drug conviction was not pardoned.

“His story really resonates with me during Black History Month,” Gupta said. “It’s a glaring example of how we have tried to fix the worst harms imposed on Black families from the war on drugs but failed to do so for Black families who immigrated to the U.S. decades ago.”

In our infancy, still, on righting our wrongs, this nation of immigrants should dig deeper.

Life In Sierra Leone

Since his deportation, Samuel has suffered a high degree of mental suffering. He is completely isolated because he has no friends or family in Sierra Leone, he does not speak any of the native languages, he does not understand the tribal laws in the country, and he is shunned as a criminal deportee. As a result of this deportee status, he cannot get a job. Samuel feels suicidal due to his isolation and the burden of financial dependence on his family.

Samuel has a pending U-Visa application with U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) and has asked DHS to grant him humanitarian parole so that he can reunite with his family and seek the mental health support he needs while pursuing his U-Visa status. Samuel has also requested that DHS exercise prosecutorial discretion to agree to reopen and dismiss his immigration case so that he can come home.

Samuel is represented by Sarah Gillman at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

Credit: Story by Petula Dvorak

Caps Off to You, Graduate!

Estelle Nyandah Edwards

LaSalle University Class of 2023

Congratulations to Estelle Nyandah Edwards on her four-year journey at LaSalle University. We're so proud of you and honored to celebrate graduation day with you! As an Explorer, you never lost. You value the pursuit and exploration of knowledge and faith. 

It finally paid off after years of hard work and sacrifice— a degree in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice. Your program of study allowed you the opportunity to excel in the Judiciary Field. Your future is beyond bright.

May 13, 2023 Commencement

La Salle News

Click or Tap to Take a Look Back: La Salle graduates across all 3 schools reflect on their journeys

Highlight reel - Commencement 2023: Prepared for whatever comes next

“Classmates, when you enter the world, continue to remind yourself about how powerful the education is that you received at La Salle. Believe in how much you can accomplish, and if you are ever in doubt, bet on yourself. Use the tools in your toolbox and apply them to every situation you face.”

— Leah Brown, ’23, Student Commencement speaker

And Congratulations! New Graduates

So What Next

Time for the next step –Universal job skills that can boost your career.

Students have worked hard to get here. It has been a long time coming, and this last year has probably been very challenging. After all the festivities are over, it is time to change focus and to anticipate, 'What's Next.' Time for the next step –Universal job skills that can boost your career. If mastered, it can improve your job prospects.

Transitioning to your next step:

It is not a coincidence some people can hop jobs and industries with ease. They move from one role to a seemingly unrelated one –these lucky souls have universal job skills that have stood the test of time – (aka) transferable skills.

Great communication skills. Can you string two sentences to your colleagues with ease, and do you listen well? Can you put yourself in someone else shoes? These skills may leapfrog you to the front of a job queue. Remember communication, is not just verbal. Good writing grammar spelling is crucial to getting ahead despite what your friends might say. Almost everyone has to send work emails, and as you progress up the promotion chain, you will probably need to write reports.

Flexibility, adaptability, and innovation: Change is a given in organizations, and those people who can be flexible, adapt to change, and innovate are sought after. The employer is more impressed with the person who embraces the new system and sees the potential improvements it brings - rather than the employee who grudgingly accepts that s/he will have to change. Being open to new ideas is an invaluable skill.

Great interpersonal skills. The personable person gets ahead at work. Working well with others is a prerequisite for almost every job – even if you only see your colleagues at weekly team or Zoom meetings. What’s more, if you can build internal or external relationships, organize colleagues to collaborate, you will rack up both brownie points and achievements. Some of the skills you need to succeed in interpersonal relationships are listening, fairness and empathy. Being resilient and able to bounce back is also essential.

Technical skills and initiative universally regarded -Computer skills. Good computer skills get you noticed even if your job doesn’t directly rely on them. You might help your boss solve a confusing and difficult problem or question with an Excel spreadsheet or even more demonstrate the use of the company database more efficiently to colleagues.

Knowing how to find information is a beneficial skill in most industries. The ability to research a subject or issue and give options, tell the boss what the company has done in the past in similar circumstances, or find out how other organizations tackle it.

Finally, relax easy and kudos on your achievement as a COLLEGE GRAD.

And Black History for All

America’s redemption will come when it truly comes to terms with its troubled past

As an African American, there are vast areas of our history that I was not aware of. But do not worry, I knew the significance of Juneteenth, and no, Trump did not enlighten me on the matter.

While in high school during Black History, we learned about the usual suspects, and we skated through the Civil War. And I drew anxious gazes from classmates and teachers alike at the thorny issue of slavery. As we watched a plethora of slave-related movies, some of my fellow African American students crouched in embarrassment.

A handful of Black History classes added to my sliver of knowledge in college. The adage that if we do not learn from past mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them in the future. Today, we are at a critical inflection point as the issues of systemic racism threaten to engulf a divided nation. Slavery, violence, and prejudice against minorities are the virulent dark stains on the American tapestry - a litany of broken promises and deadly intent.

1921 Greenwood, Oklahoma: The site of the worst massacres in US history. Greenwood dubbed the Black Wall Street, was a mecca of black prosperity until jealous whites burned it to the ground and slaughtered town residents by the hundreds. Attacks were even launched from the skies as privately owned planes strafed the terrified community below with incendiary devices. Over 10,000 residents were made homeless, and the black lives and prosperity were decimated.

Photos

Justice was denied to the people of Greenwood, nobody was ever prosecuted, and insurance companies failed to honor their obligations to compensate for devastated property and business owners. Today, Greenwood is a hollow shell of its former self. Over the decades, infrastructural and commercial development has bypassed the and unemployment rates for minorities remain high.

“This our history. 401-year odyssey encompasses tragedy, triumph, and the indomitable spirit of a battle-scarred people.”

The multicultural hordes on the streets are demanding an end to systemic racism. America's redemption will come when it truly comes to terms with its troubled past. And strive for that elusive, more perfect union.

The euphoria of Obama’s presidency and the potential of a post-racial society seems to have dimmed in the obsidian shadow of Trump's dark American vision.

We can do better and must do better, the people demand it.

For the wider society, learning about black history and being enlightened by it is crucially important in the quest for empathy and mutual understanding. We live in momentous times with a real chance to reset and end systemic racism.

If the chains of the nation's painful past are broken, then surely we will all be ‘Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.’

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Related

“Black History Month”

— February

The artist stitches together Black history one portrait at a time.

A former art school teacher, Bisa Butler, used the art of quilt making to stitch together the African American experience and celebrate Black life in America.

#NorahO'Donnell, #CBSnews, #BlackHistoryMonth, #BisaButlerArt, #BisaButler

Video Credited: CBS News

She transformed their stories onto fabric one portrait at a time.

Broadsides by Sage

Add Birding to a list of things you cannot do while black.

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Photo Credit:

Cooper Vs. Cooper

Amy Cooper was walking her dog in Central Park’s Ramble area of New York, a little patch of semi-wilderness in an otherwise manicured park. She allowed her dog off the leash, which is against the rules.

The verbal dispute between Amy Cooper, a white woman, with an unleashed dog, and a black man Birding in Central Park would have gone unnoticed in a city preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic.

That changed when bird-watcher Christian Cooper (no relation) pulled out his phone and captured Amy Cooper calling police to report she was being threatened by “an African American man.” The Widely Watched Video, posted on Facebook by Christian Cooper and Twitter by his sister, sparked accusations of racism and led to Amy Cooper getting fired.

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It could have been a great inter-racial love-story for a Hollywood motion picture. The Hysterical Dog Owner Meets Stoic Bird-lover.

However, in light of the murder of George Floyd, there is no doubt Ms. Coopers’ antics could have ended tragically.

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Fatal Distraction

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Photo: Win McNamee/Getty

With the Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections and deaths skyrocketing, Trump has enough blame to assign to everyone else. The hit list is impressive. It includes China and the World Health Organization (WHO) to name, but a few.

The initial slow response, lack of testing, and the absence of a national plan have left us all shaking our heads.

Dr. Kill

I was always worried about trump bullying the medical and scientific community into submission, and it seems he has succeeded. The rush to reopen the country before getting the pandemic under control is scary. Lives will be lost, and essential workers are merely sacrificial pawns in a cynical bid to bolster his reelection.

The Coronavirus Taskforce is now invisible. Hmmm! Maybe I could take that Lysol enema.

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Bronx Bomber

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Andrew Cuomo; New York Governor

Honest, Intellectual, witty, and feisty. If Joe Biden contrives to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in November, my nominee for 2024 has got to be the ‘Bronx Bomber,’ Andrew Cuomo.

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Dark prophet

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Muhammad Ali is a sporting hero not solely to his athletic skills, but also, of his unwavering social activism. In the sixties, his opposition to the Vietnam war led him to be stripped of his title and exiled to sporting wilderness.

In the present day, Colin Kaepernick is the social prophet unappreciated in his era. The NFL quarterback (QB) blackballed for taking a ‘knee’ against racism and police brutality.

Colin, everyone is taking a knee now!

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Newly Available 'Battlezone Domination' White House Edition War Games!

The perfect game for wannabe armchair general

Terrorize peaceful protesting civilians with your own highly trained goon-squad. Flashbang grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets all at your disposal. Bible photo-op not included.

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Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

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Female Genital Mutilation

FGM: The Hot Button Topic

By J Reynold Weeks: Credit Source:

Acknowledgments: Dr. Nina Smart, the United Nations, recognized Ambassador and Representative, FGM/C. Policymakers and researchers.

Growing up in West Africa, it did not seem to be of importance to me when young girls mostly in their teens with distinguished colorings on their faces and other parts of their bodies were paraded bare-breasted if there were any to be bared, in the streets of my village.

As I grew older, I became curious. Was it to satisfy the social norms that seek to suppress the girls’ sexual desires or expressions? Was it a religious ritual, or was it a cultural practice in my country alone?

Every year, there are about 3 million girls forced to undergo a procedure to remove or modify their genitalia to fulfill social norms which look to suppress women’s sexual desire and expression. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) as: 'all procedures involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injuries to the female organs.' The practice has no known health benefits. Moreover, it most frequently occurs to girls from infancy to age 15. Adult women are also at risk.

Approximately 200 million girls and women alive today have survived FGM/C, and an estimated 3 million girls are at risk of FGM/C each year according to the group Equality Now.

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Although 43 countries globally have banned the practice, it still occurs at a very high rate in at least 30 countries where it is measured. Mainly in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. While now considered to be both child abuse and a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights, FGM/C is a deeply entrenched practice with roots in inequitable gender norms.

Despite my youthful misconceptions to the contrary, FGM/C not rooted in any religious or theological tradition. This practice is not limited to any one country, region, religion, or culture.

Frequently FGM/C is tied to cultural traditions and norms related to perceived purity and family honor around virginity and girls’ sexuality. Since these beliefs are rooted in cultural norms, immediate change is difficult even in countries where strong laws and or policies exist.

Infection, obstetric fistula, excessive bleeding, difficulties related to menstruation, sexual problems, infertility, cysts, scarring, increased risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth in some cases death, believed to be negative health consequences. Many survivors of FGM/C experience physical trauma, pain, and complications, which can lead to psychological harm such as post-traumatic stress, flashbacks, fear, anxiety, and depression. Research also suggests that in countries or communities where FGM/C is prevalent, individual girls who do not undergo the process are at risk for trauma and isolation as a result of social stigmas stemming from their non-conformity.

As such, it is clear that programs that seek to outlaw FGM/C or change individual behavior without addressing the root causes and social norms may do more harm than good.

"Actions The U.S. Took To address FGMC/C in its Foreign Policy," will be the next publication.

Broadsides by Sage

Inside Baseball - The Cheaters

The adage goes 'Cheaters never win, and winners never cheat.' Doesn't seem to apply to Major League Baseball (MLB), and World Series champs, the Houston Astros. In the wake of the sign-stealing scandal, the Astros widely seen as champs with an asterisk. During preseason their players were subjected to abuse from fans and fellow professionals. The Astros slide into infamy only been halted by the delayed start to the season due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

A few officials lost jobs, and half-hearted apologies offered. The Astros did not forfeit their title, winning bonuses, and no substantial fines against the club. Indeed, perhaps, MLB needs to follow the example of the International Olympic Committee, which came down hard on Russian drug cheats. In the soccer world English giants, Manchester City banned from the Champions League after violating financial rules. Cheaters should never prosper, and only the fear of strict censure will root them out.

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Russian Roulette

There are billionaires I love and respect not only for their business acumen but also because of their humanitarian efforts. For example, Bill Gates, through his foundation, has impacted lives globally. Especially in the realms of health and education. In contrast, Mark Zuckerberg is all about the money. Despite the 2016 debacle in which we were trolled by bad actors through social media, Zuckerberg seems willing to take cash from anyone without any moral qualms. What Price Democracy?

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Wall Street Hustle

Shocking revelation, politicians look out for their own personal as well as political interests. Three senior senatorial figures so far have been named in a stock dumping after secret coronavirus briefing. All three sat on key committees that had inside knowledge of the looming crisis. Be ready for a few investigations.

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Crimes And Punishment

No tears for Harvey Weinstein. It took years to bring this vicious predator justice. Hope he embraces "Rikers' style hospitality." Kudos and love to the brave women who put this monster down.

Much respect!

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Broadsides by Sage

Donkey Derby

It has just begun, and yet I’m exhausted already! The Democratic primary is driving me nuts. Yang wants to give me cash, bickering Bernie, and slick Mayor Pete all add to the air of a reality TV show. Uncle Joe looks jaded and Elizabeth has a plan for everything. Pick someone already! I will vote for Daffy Duck if it looks like he could beat Trump.

Hero Takes a Fall

I was gutted by the untimely and tragic death of Kobe Bryant. There is no doubt in my mind he was the GOAT; however, his contributions were not just limited to basketball. Bryant’s charitable deeds often understated and were lauded as a loving family man. Unfortunately, no book about Kobe would be incomplete without a chapter on the alleged rape charges against him. That being said, with Kobe and other victims lying dead in still smoldering wreckage, I was stunned by reporters fixated on the allegations. There are a time and place for everything, please note Miss King. RIP Kobe.

Gone Hollywood

The Oscars thankfully drew the curtain on an overblown award season. I’m not sure what annoys me more, Hollywood’s lack of diversity or a stunning absence of originality. Thank god for Netflix, 'Parasite,' and Tarantino. I can count the number of times I went to the movies last year with fingers to spare. Two movie tickets, cokes, and popcorn are no longer a cheap date! Hollywood’s endless caravan of retreads, sequels, and over-hyped comic-book fantasies, kept me out of the theaters. In my opinion movie execs naked pursuit of megabucks has diminished ‘Tinsel town magic. Finally!

The Corona Madness

As the scary Corona Virus turns into a pandemic, the ugly face of racism and prejudice has come to the fore. Sino phobia is real. Asian stereotypes are back in vogue with an extra side dish of fear and suspicion thrown in for good measure.

In California, since the onset of the outbreak in China; anxiety, and misinformation related to the coronavirus have fuelled anti-Asian prejudice. Fake flyers telling diners to avoid Asian-American restaurants because of the coronavirus. People signed petitions urging school closures over the virus in some areas.

Many may be quick to assume just because someone is Asian or from China that somehow they are more likely to be carriers of the virus.

An empathy shortage here and amid this crisis let’s hope we do not lose our humanity.

Stay woke, your friend Sage.

'TFS' Twenty-twenty Vision

Ubiquitously long pall over the nation

By Anonymous

I have been sick, and I had to take an extended mental health break during the holiday season. I believe the doctor diagnosed my malady as TFS, more commonly known as Trump Fatigue Syndrome. The symptoms include bleary-eyed, exasperation, rising blood pressure, and irritability. I had to stop the insanity and ban myself from watching the news and political shows.

For better, but mainly worse, the Trump presidency casts a ubiquitously long pall over the nation. The man will not give us a well-earned break. The threat of war with Iran spoiled my revelry on the eve of a new year. Furthermore, he was still virtue active across all TV and social media platforms. He whined incessantly about the unfairness of the impeachment hoax and the usual cavalcade of lies and hyperbole.

People; TFS is real, and with the just-completed Senate hearings, I'm experiencing a relapse. We are waiting in vain for common sense, and truth to prevail; however, I fear we are heading for a constitutional train wreck. With Mitch McConnell pulling the strings of this craven caucus our wait for profiles, in courage and patriotism will be a long one.

Gun rights activists and white supremacists march in harmony in Richmond, Virginia, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day no less a word from our President.

Environmental laws that safeguard our air, water, and wetlands are being gutted.

Trump is the Pied Piper of climate change skepticism, blithely leading us into the abyss as Australia burns and Koalas run for their lives.

So depressing. My friends, the only cure for TFS is going to be at the ballot box in November. The road may be long. People may have to overcome foreign intervention, voter suppression, and perhaps even intimidation. The burden of preserving should not be taken lightly, defy TFS, and fight to end our long national nightmare.