Africa:
Our Gold Medalists for 2012
December 31, 2012ByIt’s been a fantastic year for Africa. There have been good, bad and ugly days for our beloved continent, but on 2012′s last day, Africa on The Blog has chosen to close the year with praising and honouring those individuals we feel have gone above and beyond to put Africa on the map for all the right reasons. Without further ado, here are our Gold Medalists.
Credit: bellanaija.com
Folorunsho Alakija - Folorunsho Alakija is a Nigerian oil tycoon and fashion designer who has ousted Oprah Winfrey as the richest black woman in the world: http://ht.ly/fP0J8
Credits : mmofraghan.org
Kelvin Doe - 16-year-old genius inventor Kelvin Doe from Sierra Leone was the youngest person to be invited to ”Visiting Practitioner’s Program” at MIT , and is a self-taught engineer:
Credits: Desmond Tutu’s Google+ Page
Archbishop Desmond Tutu - Although Desmond Tutu has retired from public life, he never fails to voice his true and honest opinion exposing those who try to defile what is right and just not only in South Africa and the rest of Africa, but also in the world.
Here is an interview of Desmond Tutu by Sir David Frost
Credits : theelders.org
Graca Machel - Humanitarian and wife of former South African President and hero to many, Nelson Mandela. She is a woman who constantly stands up for peace and human rights, more specifically for the rights of women and the advancement of education for women in Africa.
Credits: Africansuccess.org
Unity Dow – High court judge who has fought for equality and justice in Botswana for many years. Notably, she has been the presiding judge in Botswana’s longest trial concerning the Basarwa’s (bushmen) rights to return to their ancestral lands. Her landmark case dealing with citizenship rights through mothers of newborns gave men and women equal rights when it came to citizenship.
Credits: lusakatimes.com
Christopher Katongo - Zambian skipper Christopher Katongo was voted the BBC’s African footballer of the year not too long ago. The former military officer helped his nation win their first African Cup of Nations title in 2012.
Credits: 1.bp.blogspot.com
Dr. James Mwangi – CEO of the Kenyan Equity Bank. His efforts at financial inclusion of the bottom pyramid in Kenya have been feted worldwide and saw him voted Forbes Africa person of the year for 2012.
Credits: newzimbabwe.com
Hokozani Khupe – As Zimbabwe’s Deputy Prime Minister, Khupe has fought a hard and sometimes lonely battle to have maternity fees scrapped in the country. She has achieved measurable success and she continues to fight on. In the past few years Zimbabwe recorded high infant and maternal rates due to a collapse in the health delivery system.
Credits: Newzimbabwe.com
Maud Chifamba - Forbes recently released a list of powerful women in Africa and one of them was Maud Chifamba, a 14-year-old whizz kid, who just became Southern Africa’s youngest university student. As an orphaned poor rural girl, her only hope was probably marriage, but she fought against the odds and is now at the University of Zimbabwe, where she’s studying for a degree in accounting.
Credits: nehandaradio.com
David Coltart – Zimbabwe’s Education Minister. He has fought almost single-handedly to restore Zimbabwe’s education sector to its former glory. Teachers are back in class, pupils now have textbooks and are learning. Grievances remain, but at least Coltart has put education back on the tracks.
Stephen Kiprotich – (Photo from http://news.xinhuanet.com/)
Stephen Kiprotich - won Uganda’s only London 2012 Olympic Gold medal and also made history for winning Uganda’s second Olympic Gold Medal in Olympic History
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
Verone Mankou - Congolese entrepreneur whose company, VMK, recently launched what’s being referred to as first “African-designed” smartphone and tablet
Have we missed anyone off this list? Have your say!
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