Feature Article: Sierra Leone - Jamaican Historical Connection, by Donald Osman
Articles:
• Feature Artist: Dave Azi, Nigeria • Cameroon-Caribbean Connection: Telling Our Stories • Unashamed! A CREWShall Testimony
Also Inside:
• 11 Questions with Tarshea Williams, Jamaican Reggae Artist • KIDS’ CREW: Oke (First Episode) • I Am a Black Man by Michkael McKenzie • Vox Pop: Are We Connected?
CREWShall Connections in Faith and Culture
Testimonials PROF. RUPERT LEWIS Professor Emeritus, University of the West Indies, Mona There is a wealth of spiritual knowledge, musical traditions, doxologies, sermons, based on the Bible that our ancestors have left us. We need to acknowledge this heritage and harness it for living. The KW Magazine: CREWShall Connections in Faith & Culture, can help resurrect this legacy. p MELLO AYO Multidisciplinary Artist, Writer and Performer, Canada I am currently working on a book featuring a sketch of Jamaica’s multi-religious landscape. The book covers a potpourri of subjects pertaining to colonialism, slavery and various liberation and justice movements related to Black Power, Third world independence and Pan Africanism. When I received my first issue of KW January 2020 featuring Marcus Mosiah Garvey, I knew I had found a source to help validate my research. The perspective of viewing religion and Christianity through a justice and Afrocentric lens is refreshing. For the first time, I came across an independent grassroots magazine that unpacked both the mental enslavement AND liberative aspects of Christian religious thought and practice, while offering believers an alternative understanding of faith and worship. p SANA WILLIAMS Junior Architect, Kingston, Jamaica I enjoyed reading the KW Magazine. It typically addresses issues not spoken about openly or even at all; in an unbiased and inclusive way. I also enjoyed the rich colours in the imagery, the style of writing and the Christ-centred approach in the language. I fully appreciate the magazine’s acknowledgement of our history and culture as a part of our lives, our Christianity and the essence of our being. I even went as far as using the topics in the magazine to make suggestions for my church’s youth services. p
Contents
FEATURE 8
Editorial ................................... 6 Sierra Leone - Jamaican Historical Connection ..................................... 8 Poem - Black Story Before Time... 12 Feature Artist - Dave Azi, Nigeria.14
14 26
Vox Pop: Are We Connected?...... 18 Hard Truth: Growing out of Adversity......................................... 20 Cameroon Connection................ 22
29
My Village...................................... 26 KIDS - CREW: OKE.......................... 29 How Do You Use These Darn Chopsticks?!.................................. 34 Health Feature............................... 36 A CREWShall Testimony Unashamed!.................................. 38 11 Questions with Tarshea............ 42 No Let Go....................................... 46 Devotional...................................... 48
38 42
Editorial
“A
people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” This is one of the famous quotes from Jamaican national hero and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Marcus Mosiah Garvey. In order for us to know our history, the stories will need to be told. In order for us to know our REAL history, the stories will need to be told from the perspectives of our own people. This is what the KW Magazine is seeking to do in this issue which is being published in the season of Black History Month. 6 | KW Magazine March 2021
In Jamaica, February is not only observed as Black History Month, but also Reggae Month, commemorating the birth of the biggest reggae ambassador, Robert Nesta Marley, and many other significant Reggae artists. In celebration of both our history and our music, KW Magazine is highlighting our stories from various places told by our own people. The Feature story comes out of Sierra Leone. A captivating tale of travel and interchange between the African Continent and the Caribbean, told by Sierra Leonian and Director of LEAD Africa, Don Osman. In addition
KW worship
KOM MEK WI
Volume 3 - Issue 1 Mama Edith Oladele of Antigua & Barbuda tells two riveting stories of connecting Africa and the Caribbean, and Dana Barrett shares a CREWShall Testimony of her journey to self discovery. Reggae Gospel Artist Dave Azi from Jos, Nigeria is our Featured Artist and Jamaican Female Reggae artist Tarshea Williams answers our 11 Questions. Don’t miss out on the devotion article by Brother Joseph Zintseme, facilitating reconciliation for people of African descent all over the world. Oh! And what a perfect time for consummate storyteller Sylvia Gilfillian to begin a new series. It’s about a little boy named Oke who was rescued by his sister in Nigeria and … not giving away any more! Read it for yourself!
KW Magazine is an almost quarterly magazine of CREW 40:4 - a non-profit entity based in Jamaica, whose mission is to spread the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ through culturally relevant expressions of worship. The magazine’s aim is to facilitate conversations about worship and cultural identity among Christ-followers on the African Continent and in her Diasporas.
We are so excited about our young poet Michkael McKenzie, an AfroCaribbean American (his mother is Jamaican) who especially wrote a piece for this issue. He aspires to be a pastor, actor and lawyer, because “he wants to serve as a voice for the voiceless while telling them about the goodness of Christ.” There is hope for our future when our young people engage with our past! So come - let’s explore OUR stories together! p
Telephone: + 876 820 0258
Disclaimer: We may not agree with all views expressed by contributors or interviewees. Editorial Team Jo-Ann Richards Goffe Marcel Goffe Angela Slack Sylvia Gilfillian e-mail: kommekwiworship@ gmail.com Website: www.crew40-4.com
KW Magazine: CREWShall Connections in Faith & Culture
Published by: PUBLISHING
March 2021 KW Magazine | 7
Feature Article
SIERRA LEONE JAMAICAN
HISTORICAL CONNECTION 8 | KW Magazine March 2021
M
ountain ranges. Stunning beaches. Colonial wooden houses. Gothic architecture. A church founded by Maroons, parishes, suburbs, street names with classic British names. One might be forgiven for mistaking this description for Jamaica, but it actually describes the former British African colony of Sierra Leone.
Caribbean. Populated by various ethnic groups, thousands from this country were cruelly transported during the brutal Transatlantic Slave Trade to Caribbean islands including Jamaica. They were shipped across the Atlantic from Bunce Island, a slave fort on an island off the coast of the Sierra Leone peninsula, to Caribbean islands, including Jamaica. Bunce Island remains in ruins today. C o nv e r s e l y, A small country As Liberia was America A f r i c a n the size of The Caribbean people Republic of in Africa, Sierra Leone have had a direct Ireland, Sierra was the Caribbean in connection with Leone is often Sierra Leone since Africa. overlooked by the founding of tourists visiting the political state Africa. Yet with its stunning beauty of Sierra Leone in 1792. Although and rich history, Sierra Leone is a the founding settlers of the colony must for Jamaican visitors to Africa. of Sierra Leone were primarily As Liberia was America in Africa, African Americans, a few African Sierra Leone was the Caribbean in Caribbeans were represented among Africa. In 1787, the British founded this number. Two Jamaicans were the “Province of Freetown” among the Nova Scotian Settlers. which later became a British But it was the arrival of the Jamaican crown colony. Freetown Maroons in 1800 following their then was the principal base deportation from Jamaica after the for the repatriation of slaves. Second Maroon War which began a By 1792, 1200 freed slaves new era. from Nova Scotia joined the original settlers - the The Maroons settled in the area of Maroons (another group of Freetown still known as Maroon slaves) - and established the Town. Street names such as first freed slaves’ settlement Westmoreland Street, Trelawney in Africa. Freetown is the Street, and Walpole Street capital of Sierra Leone. commemorated places associated with the Maroons in Jamaica and Sierra Leone has had long-standing a so-called British ‘benefactor’. ties to the African diaspora in the Staunch Methodists, the Maroons March 2021 KW Magazine | 9
built St John’s Maroon Church in Sierra Leone Creoles. Distinguished the early 19th century. The ‘Maroon Sierra Leoneans of Jamaican Church’ remains a bastion of descent have included professionals Maroon heritage in Sierra Leone like professors, lawyers, doctors, and a reflection of the Christian politicians, engineers, and artists. In faith of their Creole descendants. the 19th century, William Fergusson, In the area of fashion, the Jamaican a mixed-race Jamaican medical Maroons contributed to the Maroon doctor, was the first black person to Kabaslot or cover slot which is still serve as governor of Sierra Leone. worn by Creole women and other Fourah Bay College, the educational Freetownians. citadel that was a bastion of The Maroons were not the only Creoledom which gave Sierra Leone African Caribbeans to settle in Sierra the title, “Athens of West Africa,” bore Leone. Hundreds similarities with of African- Influenced by Jamaican the academic Caribbean people output of the from Barbados, Maroon Creole, Krio has University of T r i n i d a d , several similarities with the West Indies. Guyana, and Sierra Leoneans creole languages across Jamaica, settled have also settled temporarily or the Caribbean including in Jamaica and permanently other parts of Jamaican Patois or in Freetown the Caribbean, between the 19th Patwa. contributing to and early 20th the local culture. centuries; as soldiers, missionaries, Sierra Leoneans like John Akar, colonial officials, merchants, and Berthan Macauley and others left artisans. These African Caribbean their country in the 70s and 80s to people intermarried with other settle in Jamaica. The influence of blacks from the African diaspora in Jamaicans is still felt in modern-day Freetown, and liberated Africans or Sierra Leone in three areas: language, formerly enslaved Africans released music, and cuisine. from slave ships, to form the Sierra Leone Creole ethnic group. The Although English is the official Creoles were Christians, literate, and language of Sierra Leone, the lingua maintained a distinctive lifestyle. franca is called ‘Krio’, a word derived Surnames such as Gabbidon, from the local pronunciation of Campbell, Shepherd, Richards, ‘Creole.’ It is the mother tongue of Palmer, Jarrett, etc, can still be the Sierra Leone Creoles and other found among the Creoles. Caribbean ethnic groups in the country and is ancestry is common among the spoken as a first or second language 10 | KW Magazine March 2021
by millions of Sierra Leoneans. styles of the emergent Creoles. These Influenced by Jamaican Maroon colonial houses can still be found Creole, Krio has several similarities across the Western Area of the with creole languages across the country. Caribbean including Jamaican Patois (Patwa). Words The connections such as ‘unu’ between Sierra Cross cultural exchange or ‘una’, ‘pikin’ Leone and the [child], and and the existing ties C a r i b b e a n , chakra in the between Jamaicans and e s p e c i a l l y Krio language Jamaica, are Sierra Leoneans, especially are similar to immense. African Jamaican Patois Creoles, can be fostered. Caribbean people words. have contributed significantly to the development of In music and dance, traditional Creole Sierra Leone. A group of Jamaican music is derived from the Goombay Maroons visited the country in 2010 music of the Jamaican Maroons. The and established connections with beating of the Goombay drum, the Maroon descendants in Sierra Leone. gyrations, and the coordinated dance Recently other African Americans moves are a cultural contribution and African Caribbean people have of the Jamaican Maroons. Similar also visited Sierra Leone. Cross to language, music, and dance, the cultural exchange and the existing local Creole cuisine in Sierra Leone ties between Jamaicans and Sierra also reflects culinary ties to their Leoneans, especially Creoles, can Caribbean ancestors. Ginger beer be fostered through entities such as prepared in Caribbean style is also a the church, heritage organizations, favourite drink. The use of herbs like and tourism. The affirmation of thyme, bay leaf and black pepper in these ties will reinforce the enduring cooking stews and soups is common ties between Jamaicans and Sierra among the Krios. Leoneans, between the Caribbean and the African continent. p Similar to Jamaica, Freetown is divided into parishes. St. George’s Parish, St. By Don Osman President/CEO of LEAD Andrew’s Parish, St. Patrick’s Parish, Africa among others, divide the suburbs of Transforming the Western Area of Sierra Leone. Communities by Houses with stone foundations and Empowering Leaders wooden superstructures resembling Caribbean architecture came to characterize the basic architectural March 2021 KW Magazine | 11
BLACK STORY BEFORE TIME © Judith Falloon-Reid Author, Filmmaker, Media Personality Nov 12, 2019
12 | KW Magazine March 2021
Our history did not begin with slavery,
It began with mighty Nubian Queens and kings Emperors, Pharaohs and mighty things. It began in a garden, a story untold
A continent so rich our ancestors lined their chariots with gold. To confuse us and misuse us
they divide us and deride us.
Teaching us that browner the skin The more we will win, The less melanin
The richer the thing.
Forcing it into our psyche ‘til we all bleach out wi skin Pitting brother against brother,
In a fight to be seen as equal but better. House slaves treated with less disdain,
Yet forgetting that slaves they still remain. But our history did not begin with slavery It did not begin on a ship.
Our history transcends voyages or ill fated trips, More than savagery and pain
More than jungles and dancing in the rain. We were Creators of the alphabet While the west was illiterate,
The first calendar man ever know
Was created in Egypt 5000 years ago. Builders of pyramids and Sphinx
Modern engineers still can’t think. A legacy rich with science & math
Charted civilization’s original path.
Our history did not begin with slavery
Don’t let them trick you with Tom foolery, Our history did not begin with slavery.
March 2021 KW Magazine | 13
14 | KW Magazine March 2021
D
ave Azi was born 10th August 1971 in Funtua Katsina State in the northern part of Nigeria, He is from the Afizere tribe, popularly known as Jarawa from Jos, east local government plateau state, which is two hours drive from the federal capital Abuja.
spiritual rebirth and the beginning of his walk with Christ, being discipled by the two gospel music groups in Jos. In Nigeria, Dave Azi is known as a reggae gospel singer, producer and a sound engineer. There are many popular songs from his twelve albums, but the most popular tracks are
Dave has five siblings and is the second born in the Azi family. His first encounter listening to reggae 1. Give Thanks music was through his late father 2. More than Conquerors and some of his uncles. He found 3. Last Train to Zion. it to be beyond description due to the melancholic sweet melodies, Apart from ministering in many cities in Nigeria, and especially he has also I am so happy to teach the lyrics. extended his Dave’s interest many the word of God ministry to in music started over the years, and also Ghana. at the age of reaching out to them Dave has 6 in the mid c o n n e c t ed through gospel Reggae 1970s. King especially the with He was music Stitchie from motivated by ghetto youths.” Jamaica, and Bob Marley, many Rastas in Peter Tosh and Black Uhuru, the Caribbean. He describes his Michael Jackson, Lional Richie, connection with them as being Billy Ocean, New Life Singers and divine for a great purpose - to Winners Band. reach out to them with the love of His turning point to CHRIST was Christ. when he started attending live Christian concerts in the late 80s, organized by a band called New Life Singers and Winners Band, He was trained musically and discipled by them. August 1 1990 is the day he celebrates his
“My greatest wish as a Nigerian gospel reggae musician is to grow bigger and better, also for God to enable me to reach out to more and more souls for the kingdom of God through my music,” says Azi. March 2021 KW Magazine | 15
because they need more laborers in the vineyard. When asked to share more about mentoring youth, Azi said “Give thanks to God almighty Father for using and connecting me with thousands of youths especially in Nigeria and Africa at large. I am so happy to teach many the word of God over the years, and also reaching out to them through gospel Reggae music especially the ghetto youths.”
Azi’s ministry is called Brightsounds and has three main arms: 1. Reggae Academy 2. Live Band Stand 3. Orphanage Outreach.
and
Prisons
The Reggae Academy is one of its kind in Nigeria. They train the youths in the Word of God and music, It’s like a school where you can be trained how to play Reggae music professionally. They are given voice training, and taught how to play drums, guitar, keyboard and other instruments. They also train the youths in production, especially reggae production. This is very important 16 | KW Magazine March 2021
With regard to the Prison ministry, he recalled the day more than 20 prisoners he ministered to accepted CHRIST as their Lord and Savior. A few weeks later some of them were released by the government. Dave has been through many trials and afflictions - spiritually, physically and materially. He is currently getting ready to release the latest album as a response to this. It is an album of expression of God’s faithfulness in his life through it all. GOD IS FAITHFUL!
p
Dave Azi Bright Sounds Reggae Academy brightsound2016@gmail.com WhatsApp +2348037159485
W
TH E
GA TH IS
IS
A
D
OD W
S! I D
RD O
H T OF
! D OR L E
ACTS 17:26, 27 (NEW INTERNATIOINAL VERSION)
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
AKS 17:26,27 (JAMIEKAN NYUU TESTIMENT) Gad mek wan man fos an aal di ada chraib a piipl iina di worl kom fram da wan man de. An iivn bifuo im mek dem, Gad mek op im main wen an wich paat a di ort dem a-go liv. Gad du dat so piipl wuda si se dem niid im. Da wie de dem mait-a sorch fi’im an chrai fi fain im, iivn duo im no de faar fram non a wi.
March 2021 KW Magazine | 17
VOX POP
ARE WE
CONNECTED?
How connected do you feel to your brothers and sisters of African descent who live across the Atlantic, far away from where you are? This is the question we sought to answer in this issue’s Vox Pop.
The remaining 8.3% represent: 1 Scottish/Irish 1 European living in the US 1 African living in the Caribbean 1 Jamaican living in Jamaica 1 Jamaican who didn’t identify where they currently live.
73 persons responded to the survey. Here is their profile:
It’s very interesting to see that there were two Jamaicans who did not identify themselves with Caribbean people in this survey!
Caribbean persons living in the Caribbean........................... 60.3% Caribbean people living in North America/Canada................ 13.7% Africans living on the African Continent...............................8.2% Caribbean people living in the UK...........................................6.8% African people living in the UK... 2.7% 18 | KW Magazine March 2021
68.5% of respondents have never visited their brothers and sisters of African descent who live across the waters. Of those who have, the majority (13) went for ministry. A couple went for conferences. One went for tourism and one for business. Three went to visit family/friends, and one went in the spirit of
Sankofa - The Return! An overwhelming majority have not visited because it cost too much money! For others, they have just never thought of it before. 17 respondents agree and 45 strongly agree that they would like to take the trip. The rest hovered between neutrality and strongly disagreeing. Among those, most just didn’t consider it to be important or they hate flying. We have been considering the idea of creating space on
the KW Magazine platform for something similar to penpals which I suppose is also facilitated by social media platforms like Facebook. Would our readers be interested in connecting with each other? To this question, responses were as follows: Yes - 57.5% Not Sure - 32.9% No - 9.6% Perhaps this is enough of an indicator that we should give it a try! What say you?? p
March 2021 KW Magazine | 19
Lessons from the story of Dr. Lynda’s journey from Barbados to the UK
20 | KW Magazine March 2021
In “Hard Truth: Growing out of Adversity,” author Dr. Lynda InceGreenaway bravely recounts her past to share the incredible lessons she has learned from a life filled with love and loss. Dr. Lynda Ince-Greenaway is a leadership coach, motivational speaker, social worker and lecturer living in the UK. She has helped countless professionals and entrepreneurs achieve their goals and ambitions through her services at Connected Life Coaching. However, her journey has not been easy, as is the testimony of many from the Windrush generation. In her memoir, “Hard Truth: Growing out of Adversity”, she revisits the moments that drastically impacted her life, explores the transformations those experiencing grief and trauma undergo, and shares how to move forward in the face of adversity. She masterfully interweaves the elements of her story with tools that focus on how to address life’s challenges. Dr. InceGreenaway’s relatable story will inspire readers and reveal the moments in her life that made her into the strong, yet caring, woman she is today. On her journey, Dr. Ince-Greenaway lost her father as a teen, was separated from her mother who went to the UK
from Barbados to make a new life for herself and her children, suffered abuse, faced racism, became a wife, widow and mother all in a very short space of time … and the list goes on. Overcoming adversity is the backdrop to survival in this memoir which reveals times of happiness and innocence, of sadness, loss, grief, emotional pain, triumph, resilience and success. Readers of this stirring book will receive comfort and support if they need healing from loss, discrimination, and bullying, through an understanding of the healing power of faith, love, and family. They will discover how Christian values, hope, and family helped Dr Ince-Greenaway cope with loss and build a life full of resilience, success and happiness. p “I have learnt that life is challenging,” Lynda says, “but I have also learnt that the very act of fighting back, persevering and moving forward makes it possible to overcome adversity and become resilient.” Get your copy of “Hard Truth: Overcoming Adversity” today from Amazon or from www.Balbaopress.com. Contact Dr. Ince-Greenaway at: www.Connectedlifecoaching.co.uk Lyndalifecoaching@gmail.com March 2021 KW Magazine | 21
CAMEROON CONNECTION TELLING OUR STORIES
I
n this article, I will relate two experiences in Cameroon which point to the discovery of many Caribbean people being of Bamileke origin. The most striking of these is the discovery of the palm plaiting or weaving craft here in the Caribbean, and what I witnessed myself in a village called Batcham in Cameroon. In 2014, I visited the village, the birthplace of a young friend, Ps. Claude Fouotsa. As we were driving out I ‘just happened to look to my left and saw’ a lady sitting plaiting a wide band of straw which was coiled on the ground beside her. “We do that same thing in 22 | KW Magazine March 2021
Antigua.” I said to myself Two weeks later at home, up St. Mary’s Street I ‘just happened to look to my left and saw’ a woman seated in front of her store plaiting with the wide band of weaving coiled up on the sidewalk beside her. Just like the woman in Batcham. I circled the block and returned to speak with her. I explained my mission and asked her who taught her the craft. She responded that her mother taught her, her mother’s mother taught her mother and so it went back for several generations! She was not too excited. Nevertheless, I could not get the similarities out of my
mind and over the years had asked my friend from Batcham to get a photo of the woman I’d seen there. Six years passed. In July 2020, I received a Whatsapp greeting from a friend in the village. I reminded him about getting the photo of the weaving lady. About 5 minutes later, there came a short video and photos of the lady doing the weaving and with the finished work coiled on the floor
in Antigua.) The second could identify exactly what the Batcham lady was doing. Yvette, who taught at the department of Culture for years, had herself photographed plaiting a smaller strip to send to her counterpart in Batcham along with photos of items made here.
Yvette Williams - Antigua
Christine Matare - Cameroon
in front of her. I was overjoyed. I sent the photos to two women here - Yvette Williams and Girley Joseph - who I know engaged in the craft. They identified the work and one said “Everybody in the village knows how to do that!” (Liberta and Swetes villages
The lady in Batcham - Christine Matare - was overjoyed. She was surprised that there were other people in other parts of the world who do the same thing! She was aware though that many from Batcham were taken away in slavery. Could Yvette, Girlie, Christine and Claude be from the same village and even related? My second story is of Nde Taboula, an old slave found in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in 1981 by Jean Tawembe, then 27 years old. Recognizing that the old man spoke the same dialect as he did, and after hearing his tragic March 2021 KW Magazine | 23
story, he took compassion on the desolate, desperate old man and returned him to his home village of Baleng. The whole village was overjoyed; they had lost many in slavery and he was the first to ever return. He was honoured by the chief of Baleng, Majesty Nembot Gilbert, the grandson of the chief who sold him to Germans in 1912, when he was about 12 years old. Graciously Majesty Nembot removed his own robe and placed it over the old man and crowned him Chief of the Returned slaves. Nde Taboula, who had never slept with a wife, was given a house and treated royally and died a happy man 10 months later.
Chief Jean Tawembe and Edith Oladele
In 2007, 26 years later, Jean Tawembe received an invitation to his palace from his Majesty, the King of Bafut. He went. The King of Bafut, a revered and wise king, told him that for 25 years he had been observing how he honoured Nde Taboula, the old slave. Greatly surprised, he was inaugurated as the new King of the Returned Slaves, with a kingdom of the same name. His mandate is to call 24 | KW Magazine March 2021
home the descendants of slaves who want to return to Cameroon. In great trepidation of this new role, he visited me in Bafoussam and asked me to be his Honorary Mafor – Queen mother of the Returned slaves with the same mandate. I am honoured to serve.
Museum etsablished by Chief Jean Tawembe - Cameroon
Today, Majesty Jean Tawembe has constructed a museum to tell the story of slavery from the slave descendants across the globe. The Diaspora is invited to bring memorial exhibits from their countries to tell our stories. Also being established is a Guest House where returnee visitors may experience traditional Bamileke culture in a setting where Baleng hospitality and Diaspora slavery history meet. p Edith Oladele National Coordinator, African Slavery Museum of Antigua & Barbuda Email:oladelee221@gmail.com
I AM A BLACK MAN “I am a black man in a black boy’s body, Why am I a threat to you? Do you know that I love the same things that you love, and that are an Interest to you? I am black man in a black boy’s body with hopes and dreams. Honestly, I am sick and tired of seeing and hearing our mother’s scream, for their black men. We are being taken away because of the color of our skin. I want to live without fear, do you know that killing us is a sin? I am tired, I have no more screams. I want to be able to live and build my dreams. I want you, yes you, to love me and I will love you back. Because I am a black man” © 2020 Michkael McKenzie (13 years) Award-Winning Poet & Essay Writer Future Pastor, Actor & Lawyer USA
March 2021 KW Magazine | 25
N
My Village
ever a day passes that I am not grateful for the opportunity to say thank you to my people - my history - most importantly my villagers. You see, I am just a 13-year-old boy who lives in the “mighty United States of America” some call it the most powerful country in the world. However, sometimes I feel slighted and in contradiction with the name of my birthplace because we are far from united.
26 | KW Magazine March 2021
I have not allowed myself to be brainwashed, not even at 13, to believe that we did it all on our own. My love for reading has introduced me to many heartwarming and (some) heartbreaking stories that have all contributed and are still contributing to the makeup of my existence. I have relied on my own experiences and sometimes I find myself in awe as to the contributions that have already been made by those who look like me. They are my mother, father, grandmother,
grandfather, uncles, aunts, friends and friends of friends. I simply call them my village. I remember when I turned 12, my mom took me to Jamaica to celebrate my birthday. I always looked forward to my annual trip but this one was extra special. I was going to be spending my actual birthday with my village. My aunt bought me the most beautiful birthday cake and everyone came to celebrate my birthday. It wasn’t a party, but there were people from all walks of my “village”. Some whom I knew, others who knew me; but all in all, I felt a sense of family. As they took turns going around the room to celebrate my existence, I couldn’t help but admit how lucky I am to have such love and support all in one room. The love that lingered throughout the room left a heavy sense of pride that I still hold dearly in my heart. Then it was my turn to return the toast. I thanked each and everyone of my villagers for the love, encouragement and support they have given me throughout my life. I told them that I am aware that none of this would have been possible without their love, input and sacrifice.
And so, these are values I live by even when I am not “home”. I know none of what I am able to enjoy is by chance, but by the sacrifice of blood stained hands that are constantly at work. Overworked moms and dads who worked tirelessly to make sure that I am not denied. I think we need to celebrate these heroes and share their history and their story. We all need to be educated on the truth. I remember reading that Matthew Henson was the first to discover the North Pole but because he was black, someone else took the credit. If our objective is to grow into a more diverse and a “united community”, we should not be reiterating the same racist and hateful lessons and messages into the minds of the younger generation. In conclusion, it is important to me, not only to denounce lingering lies that are still being taught, but to shine light and thank my villagers who came way before my time. The ones who made it much easier for me to enjoy the simplest things that life has to offer. I am truly grateful for my villagers. My village rocks! Thank you! p Michkael McKenzie is 13 years old, poet - winner of the 2020 Hartford Youth Creative Contest - musician and amateur performing arts talent. He made the top 5 out of 1400 applicants at Berkshire School in Sheffield Massachusetts where he is looking forward to spending his high school years. He aspires to be a pastor, an actor and a lawyer.
March 2021 KW Magazine | 27
NO ONE CAN COMPARE TO US!
Tel: 876-908-0862 / Cel: 876-521-8791 17A West Lake Avenue, Kingston 10
E-mail: romacservicesltd@yahoo.com / Website: www.romacservices.com 28 | KW Magazine March 2021
KIDS CREW
OKE
Setting: A village near the Nigerian coast line
The year is 1803 and the rainy season has come to an end. Little Oke is seated at the doorway of his sister’s hut and from the spot where he is plaiting a slender rope, he can hear her coughing from the darkened interior. His eyes, grown accustomed to the bright sunlight pouring down onto the yard, takes some time to adjust before he can make Nandi out where she is lying on her side, on a mat spread on the compact earthen floor. Nandi is expecting a baby and is very sick. He can see her large eyes in her sunken face and her expression shows her suffering. Oke quickly looks away from her and continues to plait the rope. He knows that what he is planning to do is wrong but he feels desperate in his desire to help her. Oke was entering this tenth rainy season when Nandi took him by his hand and led him to her garden at the side of her hut. She started pulling weeds from among the okra and bean plants, asked him to help and while they both bent their faces close to March 2021 KW Magazine | 29
the earth, she told him the truth about his origins. “Okechukwu, I am not your mother. I am your sister.” Oke gasped and made to stand upright but she hissed, “Keep weeding and do not draw any attention to us. I cannot afford to let anyone in this compound know the truth.” Oke knew that Nandi was referring to Chima, her husband’s senior wife who liked neither her nor him. She often complained that her husband’s resources should not feed another man’s child, especially a foreign one and quarreled with them often. Nandi continued her story, her voice low and even. “When you were to be born, everybody hoped that you would be a boy as Mother had already given birth to six girls. However, Mother brought you into this world with her last breath. The midwife said you were healthy and beautiful but the Dibia that Father consulted announced when he heard of Mother’s death that you were evil because only an evil child would kill its own mother. They left you beside mother’s body with plans to throw you away into the Evil Forest the next morning. When they left you, I wrapped you in one of Mother’s old wrappers and took you to a nursing mother in a nearby compound. She was afraid to feed you but I gave her all of my waist beads and earrings and after she fed you, I took you and ran into the night. I walked with you for a day and a half and when I got to this far village, I told them that you were my child and that my husband and my entire family had been killed by slavers who invaded my village. They believed me and took us in. After Oke found his voice, he quietly thanked Nandi for saving his life. He wanted to run to her, hug her and cry tears of gratitude but he was growing up and being frequently reminded by the men in his village that tears were unmanly. Well, today Oke intended to prove that he was a man by going into the forest by himself to trap bush meat. He had gone with a hunting party the week before and had seen the spot where they trapped a half a dozen fat grasscutter rodents. He had also heard Nandi tell one of her visiting friends that grasscutter stew was one of the few things that stayed in her stomach after she had eaten. The woman had warned Nandi about eating too much of that meat as she could give birth to a baby ugly like 30 | KW Magazine March 2021
the long-toothed rodent. Oke finished plaiting the rope, made a loose noose at one end and slipped away from his sister’s hut into the women’s fields that bordered the back of his village. He walked without haste because he did not wish to draw attention to himself. When he got to a stream that was a tributary of the Big River, he sped up his walking. In his mind he was nursing visions of the grasscutter that he would catch after he had baited and set his trap. As Oke walked, he could feel the heat of the overhead sun prickling the skin on his back but he paid little attention to his discomfort. Soon he heard water rushing over pebbles and he stooped and made his way through thick shrubbery to the bank of the stream. The water was shallow and he began to cross, heading for the dense forest on the other side. Oke was halfway across when an unfamiliar object caught his attention. He stooped to pick up what was a red glass bead when he heard a splash and looked up. Oke froze, still in a half stoop as he lifted his head and looked up at three men who were blocking his escape. These men were strangely foreign and dressed in clothes that Oke had never seen before. Their bodies were completely covered by cloth and when he looked down he could not see their feet as they were completely covered by what he later came to know as boots. The tallest one in the middle had skin like a grasscutter after it had been singed and scraped of all its hairs and eyes the color of a cloudless sky. Oke screamed, “Nandi!” but knew even as he did that she could not hear him and he would never see her again. p Sylvia Gilfillian
Educator & Author
March 2021 KW Magazine | 31
Flags of Africa
Can you match the countries to their flags?
32 | KW Magazine March 2021
March 2021 KW Magazine | 33
How Do You Use These DARN CHOPSTICKS?! A Memoir of a Jamaican Woman who Lived and Studied in Japan. By T. A. Hyman COMING IN JUNE 2021…
F
BOOK SUMMARY rom a car to a bicycle, a handshake to a bow, and a fork to chopsticks, this book chronicles T. A. Hyman’s experience of living and studying in Japan, while pursuing a master’s degree at one of Asia’s top universities. This book gives you her first-hand account, often comical, of adjusting to a new way of living, 8000 miles away from her home town in Jamaica, while grappling with culture shock. This experience forced her to learn more about herself and find her true identity as a black woman. She uses her experience of trying to use the chopsticks for the first time as a metaphor for her experience in Japan— 34 | KW Magazine March 2021
very difficult in the beginning but, after some time, mastery comes. Let her take you on a journey, from the moment she arrives in Japan—oblivious to the cultural norms—to her gradual adaptation to these norms, to the terror of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and her abrupt departure from Japan. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: T. A. Hyman was born and raised in the beautiful parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Mary, Jamaica. She is a Geo-Scientist, a Poet and an Entrepreneur who loves to ‘tun har han fi mek fashion’ (translated: very creative). In 2008, she was awarded a Japanese Government Scholarship
(MEXT) to pursue a Msc. degree in Sustainability Science at the University of Tokyo in Kashiwa, Chiba—a complete 180-degree turn in culture! Nonetheless, the Japanese influence on her life led her to form the company SKOLASTIK OASIS CARIBBEAN (SOC) in 2016. SOC’S mandate is to provide information and application support to Caribbean nationals, Members of the Diaspora and the African continent, enabling them to access both academic and business opportunities all over the world.
business persons and government officials prepare to study, work and do business in Japan, and any other foreign country for that matter! Secondly, to encourage readers to find their true identity, and fulfil their God-given purpose on this earth. p PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! https://lnkd.in/eVQxiNy OR EMAIL: skolastikoasiscaribbean@gmail. com Visit her website at: https:// skolastikoasiscaribbean.wordpress.com/ Facebook: SKOLASTIK OASIS Instagram: skolastik_oasis
T.A. Hyman desires that this book help students, working professionals,
LinkedIn: T.A. Hyman PAPERBACK COPY: US$22.00 + shipping and handling
March 2021 KW Magazine | 35
Health Feature Excerpt from Auntie Jo-Jo Goes Vegan
W
hen you find something that works for you, it’s natural for you to want to share it with the world! So I went on a mission to encourage as many people as possible to adopt a healthy vegan lifestyle. I took to Social Media not knowing whether anyone would join me … but people did! I kept it simple. Here is how we proceeded. 36 | KW Magazine March 2021
THREE RULES! 1. Eat only plant-based foods. If it used to have a face, it’s off-limits. If it’s connected to something with a face, it’s also off-limits. This includes milk (and other dairy products like cheese and ice-cream), eggs and fish. Avoid processed foods, especially sugar. 2. Get moving! Exercise for at
least 30 minutes, for at least 5 days per week. 3. Hydrate. Drink at least 8 8-oz. glasses of pure water per day. THREE INCENTIVES 1. Daily tips and links to help you along the way. 2. Weekly live online encouragement. 3. A digital certificate of completion at the end of the journey for those who stay the course. THREE BENEFITS 1. Feel better 2. Look better 3. Get stronger PREPARATION 1. Clear refrigerator and cupboards of off-limits food. Noooooo don’t touch the food that doesn’t belong to you if you are sharing your space with persons who are not a part of this challenge! 2. Go shopping for as many fruits and veggies, nuts and beans as you think you will need. Don’t purchase more perishables than you can consume though, because you don’t want to have to throw them out due to spoilage. 3. A high-speed blender will come in very handy (Nutribullet/Ninja will do. I love
my Vitamix but it is a bit pricey if you don’t already have one. ) A food processor can work magic you wouldn’t believe, too. If you are able to invest in one that would be awesome. 4. Do you have a nice water bottle to travel with? If not, then get one! 5. Start exploring online and gathering vegan recipes so that we can share with each other, and so that you will see the wide range of possibilities. 6. I hope you have good, strong walking shoes. If not, you should plan to get some. However, walking is not the only form of exercise. In fact, some don’t have that option. Comfortable clothes for exercising is a good place to begin. The best part of the challenge was the support we gave to each other. In Jamaica we have a saying that goes: “Encouragement sweeten labour!” The most awesome part though was getting the results at the end. Blood pressures descended. Clothes fit better because people lost inches. Energy increased. Numbers on the scale went down. It was wonderful! p (This is an excerpt from the upcoming book by Jo-Ann Richards Goffe Auntie Jo-Jo Goes Vegan, coming soon!)
March 2021 KW Magazine | 37
Unashamed!
G
rowing up in Jamaica, I learned very early in life about the parameters that I was expected to live within as a woman of African descent and how I was to perceive myself in relation to women of other ethnic backgrounds. Society taught me 38 | KW Magazine March 2021
that the black woman was like an unfinished work of art, having plenty of potential to become something beautiful, but never quite the masterpiece. Things spoken and unspoken about her told me that her “africanness” was not welcomed but tolerated. It
was a compliment for her to have “chiney eyes” and “cooley hair”, but her dark skin and broad nose were resented. The more she was able to deny her ‘africanness’, the more valuable and esteemed she would become. Like many other females of African descent, I grew up with a subconscious belief that my physical appearance, and particularly, my hair, was something I had to wrestle with to conform to a ‘higher standard’, anything other than African. The lingering trauma of a colonial past has left many females, like me, with a poor sense of self and tainted standard of beauty which elevated anything resembling the colonizer, including their hair. It was typical of black girls to desire long flowing hair as was modeled by older females who mostly wore lengthy extensions to cover their natural hair. I remembered in primary school, my friends and I would twist our ribbons and let them hang loosely on our shoulders to make us feel as though we had longer hair. We also could not wait until we were old enough to ‘process’ our hair. We were told by older females that having a relaxer made our ‘coarse and tough’ hair ‘more manageable and soft’, and we accepted this as previous generations of females had. I have worn Jheri Curls, Wave Nouveau, Cream Relaxers…you name it. This way of life was justified as being fashionable, socially presentable and professional. I now realize it
was only a semblance of beauty. For the last several years, I have been on a path of spiritual growth and maturity. I grew up in a Christian home, so my faith is fundamental to my life. This has been a season of getting to know Christ more personally and more intimately and a pursuit of more authentic worship. One thing that I have learned is that there is no getting closer to God without His light exposing the broken and dark areas of our lives. In my pursuit of authentic worship, the inauthentic areas of my life were exposed and confronted. One such area was the image of myself that I had portrayed to the world. I used a Cream relaxer to modify my physical appearance. I resisted God’s conviction with the argument that it was just cosmetic and there was nothing more to it (I honestly believed that then). God asked me a simple, yet profound, question. He asked me to explain why I wore a relaxer. As I reflected on this question, I became increasingly uncomfortable about my reasons. I tried to rationalize it away as a personal choice and preference but there was more to this than I was willing to admit. What I wore on my head exposed the issues of my heart. At that moment, I realized that I had not been wearing cream relaxed hair merely as a choice but as an expectation. I had been faithfully following the script society had written for me. In retrospect, I now March 2021 KW Magazine | 39
realize how the chemicals I had been
she is surrounded by women who naturally look like her ‘’fabricated self,’’ this stands out and sends an The lingering trauma of undesirable a colonial past has left m e s s a g e many females, like me, with about her selfconfidence. a poor sense of self and
using to alter my God-given coils, was my way of making the world more comfortable for those who did not appreciate tainted standard of beauty I was forced me in my which elevated anything to face the authenticity as resembling the colonizer, question of a black woman. identity, not The hair God including their hair. just for me, had chosen for but for our me became my shame. Without then unborn children. It became realizing it, I was agreeing with important to us that our children the rest of society that my hair was knew and authentically loved inferior. who they were. I realized that if they were going to learn to live The urgency of what the Holy Spirit authentically, I had to model this was revealing to me became even for them. The change had to more obvious when my husband begin with me. I realized that I and I moved overseas, where we had to become the standard that now live, in an afro-ethnic minority I wanted our boys to have of the context. Being in the minority, I am black woman. Six years ago, when surrounded by women with long our first son was only one year straight tresses, as straight as my old, I asked a friend to ‘chop off’ relaxed hair, except that theirs was my relaxer. I did this when he was authentic. The fact that they were still very young so that he would wearing their own hair in its natural always know me wearing my state and I was not, spoke volumes natural hair. The next thing to go to me. I wondered, why did these was my makeup. women have the freedom to wear their own hair and what stopped There is nothing inherently me from doing the same? It is easy negative about wearing makeup for a black woman with straight and extensions. It is the heart and relaxed hair or long flowing intent behind the act that matters. extensions to go unnoticed in a Some women wear these as an predominantly afro-ethnic context, artistic and cultural expression, because this is the expected and others for fashion and others for acceptable norm. However, in an legitimate reasons associated with afro-ethnic minority context where illness. Put it this way, if a woman 40 | KW Magazine March 2021
dreads the thought of leaving her home in her own hair and without makeup, then she has given too much power to her extensions and makeup. I had to reckon with the truth that I had given too much power to these externals. The primary reason why I wore makeup was to ‘conceal’ or mask what I believed to have been my imperfections. Makeup for me was a coverup. It was how I ‘concealed’ my indiscipline when I got acne breakouts from eating too much junk. It was how I tried to ‘conceal’ my, so called, “negroid nose” through contouring. I have also seen other black women try to ‘conceal’ their dark melanin
by using makeup that was a few shades lighter. I felt inauthentic and I wanted to be real. My desire is to know and worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth, and for me, this meant forsaking everything that veiled my true identity. It is my hope, as I write, that women of African descent would refuse to be confined by social parameters which seek to mask their true identity, become the authors of their story and rewrite the script. p Dana Barrett, Linguistics Instructor/Professor, Canada
CUTTING EDGE OASIS AMBULANCE SERVICE
• Privately owned and operated service in the area • On call 24/7, 365 days a year • Advanced technology in all ambulances
• Emergency and non-emergency transport • Nursing home, doctors office and hospital transportation
AVAILABLE FOR SPORTING EVENTS Four Paths, Clarendon
876-846-5764 | 876-519-8758 Email: dr.bradedwards43@gmail.com
March 2021 KW Magazine | 41
uestions
KW Tarshea Williams with
42 | KW Magazine March 2021
1
5
I started singing as a child. My father would take me along when he was preaching and I would sing before his message.
God is my main influencer, his message of hope and redemption, his love for the poor, the sick and the lost.
When and how did you start singing?
2
Were you always singing gospel?
I grew up singing in the church so yes, I have been singing gospel songs all my life.
3
Is singing a full time career or is there something else that you do?
No singing is not a full time career for me. I have a 9-5 where I operate as a Freight Forwarder/Custom Broker at Abrisc Shipping & Brokerage Consultant.
4
You seem focused on culture. Was there anything in your family or church background that led you down that path? Truth is I am focused on my mandate given by Christ. That is to spread the message of salvation, to defend those that are the weak, to stand up against oppression and support the poor and forgotten.
Who or what were your main influencers?
6
In 2008 you entered the Jamaica Gospel Festival Song Competition and ended up in the top 10. What impact did that have on your career? It was my starting point as a professional artist. It provided opportunities and exposure that I otherwise would not have achieved.
7
Your most recent release - Black Skin - is not the typical kind of song that is performed by gospel artists, in that it encourages self-acceptance for the person of black heritage, and doesn’t overtly speak of Jesus. What led you to write such a song? Black Skin - is a song about upliftment. As you already know the black race has been enslaved and suppressed for thousands of years. No other race has suffered as such. The scars have left us as a people with low esteem, divided and in conflict. Over the years I have written several cultural songs like, Peace, Children, Family man, etc. March 2021 KW Magazine | 43
8
What has been the response to Black Skin by the unchurched and by the churched? The song has been accepted and appreciated and loved by all so far; to God be the glory.
9
What would you say is your mission in the world?
Firstly, the message of salvation, of hope, of redemption. Secondly a message of peace, of love, of unity.
10
How important is it to you that the Jamaican church uses Jamaican language and music genres in corporate worship?
44 | KW Magazine March 2021
It is critically important because our culture is part of who we are. If we use an imported culture to worship God that culture has become the middleman between us and God robbing us of true intimacy in worship.
11
What’s in the works for Tarshea Williams in 2021 … and beyond? The release of my Gospel and Cultural albums. I continue to work the work that Christ has started in and through me. I will continue to spread a message of hope, of God’s love and protection, of salvation and redemption in these difficult times. p
CREWSHALL HOST
CO-HOST
CONVERSATIONS
Join us
live
on FaceBook
Connecting Africans at Home and Abroad Featuring key custodians of our history and culture as they share their stories
Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. EST A KW Magazine Production
March 2021 KW Magazine | 45
No Let Go Words and music by Jo-Ann Richards Score by James Gilliland of DiverseChurchMusic.com G‹ C‹
Nyabinghi
b2 &b 2
G‹
chorus
Vocals
C‹
™™ œ
œ Uol
œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
aan bre-da sis - ta in
Jii - zas Krais, uol
aan no let
b ‰ jŒ &b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ G‹
5
C‹
aan bre-da sis-ta in
b &b
10
C‹
œ ˙ rie- shan,
b &b
15
G‹
˙
Œ
Œ
G‹
Jii - zas Krais, uol aan no let
G‹
C‹
C‹
œœ œ œœ œ
Œ
a no plie wi a plie
b &b
21
G‹
G‹
C‹
‰ j œ œ
œœœœ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
wi naa
G‹
si-dong pan di chruon a go
liv
wid
œ
‰ j ‰ j œ œ œ œ œ œ
plie.
Bot wan die
C‹
Ó
œ œ
pre-chorus
C‹
Œ œ œ œ œ œ
si-dong pan di chruon a go pro - tek wi.
Œ
bridge 1 G‹
Œ
an wan
G‹
C‹
C‹
di wan
we
G‹
wi,
b &b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Ó
riich wi yee
nof nof nof ba-da - rie - shan,
G‹
kraa -siz
Œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
nof nof nof so-fa - rie- shan,
C‹
œ œ œœœœ
œ œ œ
œ œ
b &b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ
30
C‹
œ œ œ œœ œ ˙
nof nof chrai-yal an kraa-siz riich wi yee 26
Wi kom chruu nof nof nof so-fa-
C‹
C‹
œ Uol
œ œ œ œ œœ
nof nof chrai-yal an
G‹
Œ
G‹
Œ ‰ j œ œ
G‹
nof nof nof chri-bu - lie -shan
Ó
go.
verse
C‹
go.
Œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
‰ jŒ œ
œ œ œ
Wi naa
go get
œ ‰ œj œ ‰ œj
die
di wan
we
G‹
œ œ œ œ Œ
ong - gri no muor
3 3 b j j j 3 &b ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ
34
C‹
C‹
G‹
an wi chuot naa go jrai no
b œ œ Ó &b œ œ œ œ
39
G‹
skaach wi op no muor!
muor,
C‹
G‹
di at son naa go bon wi op no muor,
nar no iit naa go
D.C. al Coda
C‹
Œ
C‹
œ
Uol
46 | KW Magazine March 2021
™™
œ
plie.
bridge 2
Œ Œ
G‹
C‹ 3
3
œ œ œ œœœ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Bot di Lam in - a di mig-l a dichuon a go tek kier a
2
3 b &b œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ w
44
G‹
C‹
G‹
wi, laik ou wan she-pad
b &b
50
G‹
œ œ œœœ ˙
b &b ˙™
G‹
Gad gweihn jrai op
b &b œ œ œ Ó
62
Ó
™ œ ˙
C‹
œ
An Gad gweihn jrai op
aal wi yaiy
3 ‰ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ
C‹
G‹
Wi naa go get ong-gri no muor
G‹
an wi chuot naa go jrai no muor,
3 b j j 3 &b ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Ó
C‹
C‹
G‹
di at son naa go bon wi op
no muor,
G‹
G‹
C‹
aan bre-da sis-ta in
b &b
77
C‹
G‹
Jii - zas Krais, uol aan no let
G‹
‰ jŒ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Jii - zas Krais, uol aan no let
b &b
82
G‹
b &b b &b
go.
G‹
œ aan
92
G‹
C‹
Uol aan bre-da sis-ta in C‹
™™ œ œ œ œœœœ Uol
œ
Uol
œ œ œ œœœœ
G‹
Œ
go.
no muor!
G‹
Œ
go.
Œ
œ œ œ œ
aan bre-da sis-ta in
C‹
Jii - zas Krais, uol
G‹
C‹
ending
‰ jŒ Ó Œ ‰ jŒ Ó Œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
aan no let 88
Ó
C‹
Ó
chorus
C‹
nar no iit naa goskaach wi op
b ‰ Œ & b ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œj
72
œ An
3 j œ œ ‰œ œ œ
G‹
Œ
C‹
Œ œœœœ œ œ œ œ œ Œ
waa - ta
67
Œ
C‹
3
aal wi yaiy waa - ta
C‹ pre-chorus
G‹
G‹
C‹
Im a go liid wi go a wan plies wier fresh kliin waa-ta ev - a a ron
C‹
œ
C‹
Im a go liid wi go a wan plies wier fresh kliin
3 j œ œ ‰œ œ œ œœœ Ó
G‹
‰ j ™ j œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ
tek kier a shiip
G‹
waa-ta ev - a a ron 56
Ó
‰ j ™ j œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
C‹
3
G‹
C‹
œ œ
no let
‰
Uol aan bre-da sis-ta in
j Œ œ
Ó
G‹
Œ
go.
G‹
‰ jŒ œ œ œ œ
aan no let
C‹
go.
C‹
Ó
Œ
Jii -zas Krais, uol aan no let
œ
œ
Uol
aan
œ œ
‰
no let
G‹
œ Uol
‰ jŒ œ œ œ œ
aan no let
j Œ œ
go.
C‹
Ó
Uol
Œ
œ
go.
C‹
Uol
∑
G‹
U ∑
go.
March 2021 KW Magazine | 47
GOD OF NATIONS Devotional Devotional
“A
nd He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” Acts 17: 26-27 (New King James)
nations, cultures, value systems from other nations including religious militancy have pushed people off of their God-given boundaries (physically, culturally, socially, spiritually etc.). This is causing a real issue of confusion in the minds of people around the world in both the dominated and the dominant. The confusion has generated a chronic identity crisis and continues to do so. The identity crisis in its turn is The invasions and impositions of causing people to be more distant from 48 | KW Magazine March 2021
God and making it difficult to know separation. It gave me a window within Him and His attributes, as the Creator. the community to learn to know and understand the community and their When I first got involved in missions worldview. They provided a place for us in my native nation of Cameroon, to stay and food to eat for we wanted I was spending a great deal of time to take part in their annual festivity of ministering in the interior. There were unity and the signing of the treaty with less foreign invasions at the time in the British. these regions. People had a reverence for God and knew some of his attributes I woke up the morning after the festival, and showed respect for the nature hearing the birds singing and the people around them. They needed to know going through their activities, and I Jesus Christ who God appointed as the first thought that I was in Africa. I felt mediator between Him and them. He is a deep sense of being at home; a sense the one that can deliver them from the of belonging to this community and a power of sin and its devastating effects sense of understanding them and their in their communities. culture. I also had a sense that it would be the easiest thing for me to present Part of the worldview of the Bantu to them Jesus Christ as their Mediator people to whom I belong is that when to God for I perceived that the fact God created everything, He retreated that they have preserved their culture to his abode. He is lofty, All Powerful and identity throughout the centuries and All Knowing. No human being can meant they were not far from God. reach Him except through mediators through whom we go with our offerings Indeed when one accepts and embraces and sacrifices to plead with Him for who God made him to be and lives a particular need in the family or within these boundaries (national community. The seers prescribe what social and cultural identities) it is very is needed and the priests perform the easy for such a person to have the prescriptions. understanding of who Jesus Christ is and to entertain an authentic, genuine I recall when I first visited the Maroon and deep relationship with God. This is community of Accompong Town in because he or she sees God not through Jamaica in January 2009. Our small team the filters of a foreign culture which protocolled the Colonel (community makes God foreign and distant, but leader) and his deputy with gifts. The through their own culture which brings respect and honor we showed them God close and personal. p created a connection in a very personal way with both of them and a friendship Joseph Zintseme Cameroonian serving with was forged between us. The Colonel Youth With A Mission and I were elated like two brothers (YWAM) who have met after a long period of March 2021 KW Magazine | 49
SUPPORT KW MAGAZINE!
• Purchase the pdf downloads ($5USD per issue) in our E-Store at www.spurropen.com • Make a donation to the KW Magazine Tribe under the ‘Giving’ tab at www.spurropen.com 50 | KW Magazine March 2021
Awaiting Advert
KW Magazine is a CREW 40:4 Publication
www.crew40-4.com
Published by: SelectArrow Publishing www.selectarrow.net
