Tag Archives: Raises

Boy Who Became Viral Meme Raises Thousands Of Dollars

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A chubby-cheeked little boy whose serious expression turned him into a meme could end up educating an entire village.

Jake has become one of the most famous schoolchildren in South Africa since people began sharing a picture of him, joking he was everything from a grumpy driving instructor to an unimpressed security guard.

But Jake lives thousands of miles north, in a small village in eastern Ghana, unaware of his new-found fame.

In fact, up until Wednesday, not even the man who took the photograph knew it had proved such a hit.

Cameraman Carlos Cortes travelled to Ghana in 2015 to make a documentary about Solomon Adufah, an artist returning to his home country from the US.

 The picture of Jake, then four, was one of hundreds taken by Cortes while Adufah taught art and creative studies to the children.

“I just caught Jake in the moment of his teaching,” Cortes, of Chicago, told the BBC. “He definitely has a pensive look on his face.”

The two men then returned to the States, unaware they had captured a future star.

But the schoolboy’s picture began doing the rounds after Adufah shared it on his Instagram account.

When he first realised it had gone viral, he was unsure of how to react to the posts, worried they were making fun of Jake.

“I thought, I’m not going to respond,” the 27-year-old told the BBC. “But then I remember a moment when I thought, what if all these ‘likes’ turned into actual funds to help?”

Jake and his friends live in a rural village, and for some families sending their children to school is more than they can afford.

What is more, the primary school is also in need of supplies.

“I remember one day we spent 20 minutes just trying to make sure we had enough pencils for all the kids,” Mr Cortes said. “That’s what the campaign is really about.”

So Adufah, who has lived in the US since he was 16, set up a fundraising campaign, hoping Jake will really inspire people to turn their likes into cash to help pay for his education, and that of the other children in the village.

Within 24 hours, it had raised $2,000 (£1,642) – 10% of its target.

Adufah said: “This money could make a huge difference to the kids – this could be something really positive going forward.”

Credit: BBC

Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign Raises $143m In August

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Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign raised an eye-popping $143 million in August for her candidacy and the Democratic Party, the best showing of her campaign, her team said Thursday.

The haul allows team Clinton to begin September – and the election’s home stretch – with more than $68 million on hand.

Of the $143 million raised last month, $62 million was raised for Clinton’s campaign.

“Thanks to the 2.3 million people who have contributed to our campaign, we are heading into the final two months of the race with the resources we need to organize and mobilize millions of voters across the country,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement.

“These resources will help us to register and turnout millions of voters to elect progressive candidates across the country.”

By comparison, Barack Obama raised a total of $97 million in August 2012, including $84 million for his campaign, according to the New York Times.

Clinton throughout August participated in 37 private fundraising events in 11 states plus the capital city Washington, according to an AFP count. Most were on the West coast, home to Hollywood celebrities and Silicon Valley executives, or in the traditional Democratic donor bastions of Massachusetts and New York.

The minimum contribution required to attend the events varied from $500 to $250,000, with higher contributions equating to more exclusive access.

Read More: punchng

El-Rufa’i Raises Committee On Army/Shiites Clash

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Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State has set up a nine-man committee to produce a white paper on the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Army/Shiites clash in the state.

The Army/Shiites clash in Zaria last December had left many people dead.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Samuel Aruwan, Media aide to the governor, in Kaduna on Wednesday.El-Rufai said that the committee would commence work immediately and submit the draft white paper within two weeks.

The committee is headed by Adamu Mansur, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education.

The governor also mandated the committee to make any other recommendation that would assist government in addressing issues raised in the report.

The committee members were the permanent secretaries of the Ministries of Environment and Natural Resources, Works, Housing and Transport, Local Government, Cabinet Affairs and Special Services.

The other members were the permanent secretaries Ministry of Justice, Civil Service Commission, and Mr M. Aliyu of the Ministry of Justice, as well as Mr Alexander Sule of the Office of the Secretary to the State Government.

Credit: Guardian

Institute Raises Alarm Over New Maize Disease

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With Nigerians still grappling with high price of food stuffs, the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, IAR&T, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, has raised an alarm of looming acute scarcity of maize in the South-West sub-region of the country due to the discovery of a new maize disease ravaging maize on the field in the area.

The institute which is the zonal coordinating research institute for maize in the South-West in a statement issued in Ibadan yesterday by its Head of Public Relations Unit, Mr. Adeniyi Amusat, said uncommon pest/disease is presently ravaging maize farm in the South West agro-ecological zone of Nigeria which may likely lead to shortage of maize in the region.

While calling on all stakeholders to aggressively address the looming danger, he maintained that if not checked there may be scarcity and shortage of maize as experienced with tomato recently.

The statement noted that the new discovery portends serious danger for production and consumption of maize in the country as it forms larger percentage of live stock feeds formulation especially in poultry.

He however, assured that IAR&T which is the institute saddled with maize production mandate in the region is already setting machinery in motion to control the menace.

Credit: NationalMirror

UNICEF Raises Alarm Over Number Of Child Suicide Bombers

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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised alarm over the increase in the number of children involved in suicide attacks in some West African countries.

The agency described those involved in the attacks as victims deceived into the act.

This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja and signed by UNICEF Regional Director for West/Central Africa, Mr Manuel Fontaine.

According to the statement, the affected countries are Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun and Niger with majority of them as females.

“The number of children involved in suicide attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger has risen sharply over the past years, from four in 2014 to 44 in 2015.

“More than 75 per cent of the children involved in the attacks were girls.

“These children are victims, not perpetrators, who are being deceived and forced to carry out deadly acts of violence in Nigeria and in neighbouring countries,” it said.

In the data released by UNICEF in the statement, Cameroon recorded the highest number of suicide attacks involving 21 children, followed by Nigeria with 17 children and Chad two between January 2014 and February 2016.

It added that the frequency of all suicide bombings increased from 32 in 2014 to 151 in 2015.

According to the statement, in 2015, 89 of the attacks were carried out in Nigeria, 39 in Cameroon, 16 in Chad and seven in Niger.

It added that the calculated use of children coerced into carrying bombs had created an atmosphere of fear and suspicion.

The statement said it had devastating consequences for girls who had survived captivity and sexual violence by Boko Haram in Northeast Nigeria.

In addition, it said children who escaped from or were released by armed groups were often seen as potential security threats.

“Children born as a result of sexual violence also encounter stigma and discrimination in their villages, host communities, and in camps for internally displaced persons.’

“As suicide attacks involving children become common place, some communities are starting to see children as threats to their safety.
“This suspicion towards children can have destructive consequences,” it said.

The statement, however, said UNICEF was partnering with communities affected by terrorism and insecurity to fight stigmatisation against children, survivors of violence towards better environment.

Credit: NAN

Army Raises Panel To Investigate Involvement Of Personnale In Elections

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The Nigerian Army has set up a five-man panel to investigate the alleged involvement of some soldiers and officers during the governorship elections in some states during the 2014 and 2015 elections.

President of the panel and the General Officer of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Maj. Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, who inaugurated the panel at the headquarters of the division on Monday in Kaduna, said the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, insituted the panel based on weighty allegations against some army officers and soldiers during the elections.

“The last general elections conducted in March 2015 elicited criticism in some quarters, especially from the Nigerian Army personnel during both the gubernatorial and presidential elections,” Oyebade said.

According to him, “These allegations were centred on the gubernatorial elections conducted in some states such as Ekiti, Osun, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom to mention a few.”

Credit: ThisDay

Nigerian Army Sets Up Panel To Probe General Over 2014 Ekiti, Osun Guber Polls

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The Nigerian Army on Tuesday set up “a high powered” Board of Inquiry to investigate alleged malpractices and involvement of its personnel in the 2014 Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections.

In February, SaharaReporters posted audio recordings and transcript of meetings of some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, with some army officers on how to use the military to rig the gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun States in 2014.

“The audio recordings and affidavit were provided by Sagir Koli, a Captain in the 32nd Artillery Brigade stationed in Ekiti State, who has since fled the country for fear of retaliation.

“Capt. Koli recorded the conversation on 20th June 2014 when he was asked to accompany his Commanding Officer, Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh, to the meeting. The venue was Spotless Hotel in Ado-Ekiti,” said the website.

Since the exposé, there had been calls by the then opposition APC and civil society organisation for the federal government to investigate the matter and prosecute the actors.

But the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Sani Usman, said on Tuesday that the board would investigate the alleged unprofessional and unethical conduct of some Nigerian Army personnel during the two elections.

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El-Rufai Raises Alarm About Fraudsters Impersonating Him

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The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, on Monday raised the alarm that fraudsters are using his name to defraud job seekers in the state.

The Governor warned those applying for employment in the State Civil Service or contracts to be wary of such unscrupulous elements.

In a statement he issued through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, Governor El-Rufai said that security agencies were on the trail of the fraudsters.

According to him, the fraudsters specialised in duping persons under the guise of securing government appointments and contracts in the state for them.

He warned the public, especially those seeking jobs or contracts in the state, against the nefarious acts of the syndicate in order not to fall victim.

According to the statement, the fraudsters have been dropping a Bank account, with the name Martin Anderson and telephone numbers circulate through Facebook and other social network platforms.

Credit: channelstv

Amber Rose Raises White Flag, Intends To Make Amends With The Kardashians

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Amber Rose is ready to “have a conversation” with Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian after a Twitter feud erupted when the 31-year-old model slammed Jenner for her relationship with 25-year-old rapper Tyga, the ex to her friend, Blac Chyna.

The drama began in February when Rose spoke to Power 105.1’sThe Breakfast Club. “She’s a baby, she needs to go to bed at 7 o’clock and relax,” she said of Jenner. “That’s ridiculous. [Tyga] should be ashamed of himself. For sure. He has a beautiful woman and a baby and left that for a 16-year-old who just turned 17.”

Kardashian was quick to tweet back in defense of her younger sister and called out Rose’s stripper past. She most recently brought up the spat during her interview with Complex magazine.

“I just feel like it was unnecessary for her to say anything, and I used her own quote back,” Kardashian, 31, told the magazine. “It was from her talking about when she became a stripper so I’m like, ‘How are you judging and saying Kylie should have a curfew?’ What I thought was crazy was she was telling my sister to act a certain way or have a curfew, but [she wasn’t] doing the same. So just don’t comment. How was I slut-shaming by saying don’t throw stones at glass houses? There was no slut-shaming. I am not one to slut-shame, I have done slutty behavior myself.”

Rose then spoke to celebrity blog Perez Hilton.com, calling the feud “extremely misunderstood.”

Wiz Khalifia’s ex also seemed to have some remorse for what was said. “So, for me to say, ‘yeah, she should probably go to bed,’ maybe was in poor taste and I understand that,” she admitted. “But I feel like that should have been more of a phone call that Khloe could’ve had with me. She could’ve called me. We run in the same circles. She could’ve gotten my number for sure.”

Rose added, “But that’s her sister so I understand where she was coming from, and I feel like it escalated to the point where it shouldn’t have gotten that far.”

The model goes on to say that she always thought “Khloe was cool,” though they’ve never met. “It really wasn’t about them,” she insisted. “It just kind of turned into that, and, via social media, it just made everything a lot worse.”

Rose was adamant about showing how over the spat she is, proclaiming, “Because I really don’t want to argue with those girls. It’s not that serious for me.”

Back in March, Rose had explained to ET why she felt the need to speak up about Jenner and Tyga’s rumored romance.

“I could have totally minded my own business when it came to her sister,” she said. “But, me being a dancer at such a young age, dealing with older men gave me the humility and knowledge to speak on such a subject. [But] I can understand why it came across the wrong way to her. I get it. But, that’s a phone call she could have had with me.”

Months later, she’s so eager to make amends with the Kardashian-Jenner girls that she invited them to her Amber Rose Slut Walk. The event will be held at Pershing Square in Los Angeles on Oct. 3, and is a “movement on this cause against sexual injustice, victim blaming, derogatory labeling and gender inequality.”

Read More: ETonline