Government agencies removed about a third of indigenous children from their families over the 1950s and 60s, and about 85% of those children were then placed with non-indigenous families. Sometimes called the Sixties Scoop, the period spurred federal legislation requiring child welfare officials to seek indigenous families when placing children for foster care or adoption. Now, a divided Supreme Court is debating the Indian Child Welfare Act, which provided those protections – and nowadays, nobody can reliably predict just what the Justices might do. One bright spot for Oregon tribes, our legislature passed a state specific version of the federal…
Author: catfish
Chik Chak Shabbat is on a list of books removed from schools in Duval County, Florida. Illustration by Kyrsten Brooker (book cover); iStock (background graphic) By Beth Harpaz December 7, 2022 What’s so controversial about neighbors helping an old woman make cholent for Shabbat? That’s the storyline of the picture book Chik Chak Shabbat, which is one of 176 titles removed from school shelves in Duval County, Florida. PEN America, a nonprofit organization that works to defend free expression, is protesting the removal, calling it a “book ban.” Three writers whose books are among the 176 attended a Tuesday meeting…
In this episode of Inspire Africa, Barbara Loundou first takes you to DRC. A young engineer in Goma has designed a portable iron that works with a rechargeable battery. It’s a very practical solution for people who live in areas with no electricity or with frequent power cuts. Also, would you sit on a bench and confide in a caring grandmother about your problems? A Zimbabwean doctor came up with the idea to address the issue of limited access to mental health services. The topic is still largely taboo in Africa. The idea inspired FIFA for this World Cup in…
Lagos-headquartered venture capital firm Future Africa is teaming up with TLG Capital, a London-based open-ended credit fund, to launch a $25 million venture debt fund earmarked for portfolio companies. The fund created from TLG’s existing funds will help Future Africa’s portfolio companies preserve their runway in an increasingly tight fundraising environment. Last year, African startups raised over $5 billion and one common theme from two mega-rounds that were announced was some dependency on debt funding: B2B e-commerce platform TradeDepot and fintech MFS Africa. The event signaled that startups need debt irrespective of their business type. Over the last two years,…
“Ho-Ho-Ho!” has turned to “No-No-No!”Santa is in short supply this year, according to Mitch Allen, founder and head elf at HireSanta.com, the Fort Worth company that operates as a clearing house for many Santas nationwide.“We can’t keep up,” he said. “People, companies, organizations want their Santa Claus.”HireSanta.com is seeing a 30% increase in demand over 2021 and up 125% over pre-pandemic levels in people, and organizations reaching out to his company to have Santa at an event, Allen said.“We just don’t have enough Santa Claus entertainers to meet the huge demand that we’re seeing,” he said. “For every one new…
Luis Enrique is donating all of his Twitch earnings to a children’s hospice project in Barcelona, after he lost his own daughter aged nine to bone cancer in 2019 – with Spain manager having over 5,000 paying subscribers from his 800,000 followingBy Pete Jenson for MailOnline Published: 08:55 EST, 6 December 2022 | Updated: 09:19 EST, 6 December 2022 Luis Enrique is giving all the money raised from subscriptions to his stream on Twitch to a children’s hospice project in Barcelona.The Spain coach who lost his own daughter to bone cancer in 2019 made the announcement on the eve of…
Kris Austin says he has not changed, but the politics surrounding him have — and he believes they’re moving in his direction.The former People’s Alliance leader’s defection to the Progressive Conservatives in March was a stunning moment in New Brunswick politics this year.But he argues it made sense given his goal remains the same in 2022 as it was when he founded the Alliance in 2010: to nudge the party system into giving New Brunswickers a sharper contrast and a clearer choice.”I think there needs to be a separate distinct ideology between the two [mainstream political parties], and back then…
Return to menu“The 20th-Century Children’s Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud,” edited by Janet SchulmanFor any parent on a tight budget, this is the book that will last for hours. — Bethany S. Mandel, editor of the Heroes of Liberty seriesFollow Alyssa Rosenberg’s opinionsFollow“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” by Judith Viorst; illustrated by Ray CruzKids’ books don’t have to be sugarplums and sunshine. This story takes us through the experience of a typical, difficult day in the life of a kid. We can all relate to its details and humor. And although it’s…
Agribusiness is a term used to describe the enterprises involved in production, processing, and distribution of food for consumer use. In Africa, agribusiness is responsible for 70% of employment and about 25% of the continent’s GDP. Due to its enormous agricultural potential, the African agribusiness sector is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2030. Zebu Investment Partners is a pan-African private equity fund with offices in Ghana and South Africa. It was established up to build strong companies in the food value chain and improve food security in Africa. Brian Frimpong, Managing Partner at Zebu Investments In this interview with…
A new indigenous value carrier, Green Africa, has emerged top in On-Time Performance according to data gathered. On-Time Performance, otherwise called ‘OTP’ in aviation is measured as a percentage of scheduled flights that departed at the published time plus a 15-minute buffer. For most air travelers, on-time departure of flights ranks high on their list of concerns, however, this expectation is usually not met, especially in Nigeria, where most airlines delay flights frequently. A look at the OTP results for Green Africa from June to November 2022 shows that out of the 3,404 flights the airline operated during that period,…