New African Link

I've added a new link to my collection of African links at the side of this page: StewDiaw African Apparel.  They're offering African clothing, jewelry, accessories, soap, drums, and other items.  Check it out!

Famine in Niger/the Sahel???

Just happened to be thinking about Africa today. I checked some of my links and looked over a few blogs written by expats living in Africa. I also happened to run across this news article: Millions face hunger in arid belt of Africa. I read that article right after viewing this report (The Famine Scam) about the 2005 "famine" in Niger. Fascinating! I have to say that my eyes were opened by that report; it's given me a completely different way of looking at such crises and the impact of the help that is provided. Highly recommended viewing.

I have a lot of respect for what's been done by the Garvi family in Niger. Information about their work can be found here: Eden Foundation. That seems like the ideal way to contribute. Their support page is here.

Dupsie's

Note that I've added a new link in my African section: Dupsie's. (http://www.dupsies.com/) The physical address is
2289 South Cobb Drive
Smyrna, GA 30080

The shop features a great selection of clothing, jewelry, and other accessories from Africa. Check it out!

For Lovers of World Music

A few days ago I was looking for some information about The Gambia (a possible destination next summer) and ran across two really interesting sites. If you love music, in particular African music or world music, you'll have a lot of fun visiting these two websites.

http://www.the-real-africa.com/
There it's possible to find African music videos by artist and by country. Here are a few that I enjoyed:
http://www.sirelazik.net/video/malouma01.html
http://www.musicvideos.the-real-africa.com/senegal/youssou_n_dour_birima_clip.html
http://www.musicvideos.the-real-africa.com/mali/tinariwen_chet_boghassa.html
http://www.musicvideos.the-real-africa.com/mali/toumani_diabate_the_mande_variations.html
http://www.musicvideos.the-real-africa.com/mali/ali_farka_toure_savane_2.html

The other website is Benn loxo du taccu. As it says on the front page: 'That's Wolof for "one hand can't clap" and this is Matt Yanchyshyn's world music for the masses.' Very simply, it's a journal of this guy's travels and the music he encounters along the way. It's interesting and the music is really unbelievable. There are dozens of great tunes there that you can download. So, what are you waiting for? I won't keep you any longer...

Bike Tour

I just can't seem to get motivated to write about Lithuanian events/news since I returned from the U.S.A. If someone's waiting specifically for such topics, all I can say is forgive me and maybe I'll have the time and inclination to write about those things some time in the near future.

But something else caught my eye today. I was visiting http://www.ibike.org/ today and started thinking about the possibility of going on one of the tours they offer: Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Togo/Benin, and Ghana. At US$1490 for two weeks (includes lodging and two meals a day while traveling), the price seems a bit steep. There's no way I could afford such a trip this year, but I might be able to do it (or something like this) next year. But I was wondering... Would anybody out there be interested in such a trip (specifically, joining me on such a trip)?