TYOUGH FOUNDATION INITIATES TALKS WITH MAMA ABAYOL ORPHANAGE, MAKURDI ON SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVE

As part of our scholarship  Initiative for 2013, The Tyough Foundation recently initiated talks with the Mama Abayol Orphanage in Makurdi, Benue State.

Although we are just at the inquiry stage, I felt the need to put this up in order to provide awareness and possibly garner support from individuals who can help,  support accelerate this initiative.

Our Goal:

Our Primary Goal with this 2013 Scholarship Initiative is to provide a Full Scholarship to as many orphans as our financial capabilities provide for. This will  cover the cost of Tuition and any other Academic costs for their entire Secondary Education.

Our Criteria and Process:

At the conclusion of discussions with the orphanage, we will request the current portfolio of all the orphans who are within the age bracket of Junior Secondary Education (JSS 1 & JSS 2).

We will review their previous performances (Primary education) to determine their academic performance.

Based on that performance, we will award an initial 3 year scholarship to cover their Junior secondary education.

At the completion of the JSS Class, we will conduct a review of their performances  and if satisfactory, award a scholarship for the remaining 3 years of Senior Secondary Education and also cover the costs of their final W.A.S.S.C.E Exams

Areas where you can contribute:

• We are Open to donations from the public  – email : info@tyoughfoundation.com  for more information
• We will need to formally request permission from the state government through the office of the  Commissioner for Women and Social development. The Ministry above which the orphanage falls under.  We are also seeking some form of partnership with state governments, to cater for their educational needs. Any contributions in this area is welcome.
• We are Open to Partnerships and would also encourage you to get in touch via email.
• We are also open to suggestions and information regarding other orphanages we can contact and support.
• We require volunteers to help from time to time. While the website is still under construction, Please send your name and  details to info@tyoughfoundation.com

I personally visited the Orphanage in Makurdi last week and must insist that I am keen that a decision is finalized before the beginning of the next academic session which should start at the last quarter of 2013. Special thanks to all our volunteers who are working hard to make this initiative a success.

Please Note: We are also currently working on a new initiative for 2014  (Inform N Inspire) and will provide more information on how you can participate soon.

Ty Beetseh

WHAT WAS THAT YOUNG MAN READING?

As I push through the usual day-to-day London rush hour traffic, I get off an underground station at bond street so i can access the central line.

I am taken aback by the number of people leaving the train and heading towards the escalators – considering this is a thursday morning and not a Monday and the time is approximately 08:56 and not an hour earlier.

Usually there are two lanes on each of the escalators; (whether going up or going down) ; normally the right side is used for people who just want to stand and glide all the way to the top while the left is used for people who are in a hurry and want to keep moving. (Typical for most places in Europe)

Back to my story;

So i manage to shove my way through the crowd to the escalators, aiming for the left side (by the way, I always stay on the left whether I am in a hurry or not) but today I was actually in a hurry and needed to move fast so i could catch the next train on the central line to White City.

But after taking the first four steps on the escalator, i notice the person in front of me is not moving. I look and realize that there is someone at the top of the stairs who is standing on the left lane but not moving. ‘Oh, No! , not again!’ I exclaim.

I knew there was nothing I could do about it, so i decide to ponder about my overwhelming to-do list for the day.

My thoughts are interrupted by the sight of a young black man, gliding down from the opposite side of another escalator. From my first glance, i figured he will be about my age or maybe a bit younger, he had glasses glued tightly to his face it looked almost like a tattoo. He looked smart wearing a jacket over an office shirt , similar to what I was wearing and so I would guess he was going to work.

For the escalators going downward , the left lane was still making progress, unlike ours. But this young man was standing on the right lane (slow lane), at least he did not look like he was in a hurry.

But what actually caught my attention was that this young man’s eyes were buried in a big glossy covered book. His eyes were so fixated that he hardly noticed the pushing and shoving of passer by’s around him.

He looked so lost in the pages of this book, it appeared as though he was carefully analyzing every single word on it…

Now all these happened within a few seconds as he was gliding downwards on the escalator while I was gliding upwards, but considering the attention he was giving to this book, i imagined it must be something compelling. I was curious to find out what he was reading. Questions like ‘Is it a detective novel, history or motivational book?, who is the author?  etc. all these questions scampered through my mind.

So i kept my eyes on the book as he glided past me hoping to catch a glimpse of the writings on the front cover.

Although these thoughts were going through my mind, my composure remained unwavering. Tactfully rolling the side of my eyes with my head tilted slightly towards his direction. Guess I was trying too hard not be rude by aiming my face in his direction like a laser beam. A philosophy i must have adopted from the English. A ‘mind your business‘ mentality.

Well, eventually, I caught a glimpse. There was an ‘A’. I thought i saw America, NO! it was not America , there were some more letters after that.

Yes, It was AMERICANAH written in bold letters.

Almost immediately, i remembered that I had recently read about a  soon-to-be released book by Chimamandah Adichie titled Americanah.

By this time, the young man had gone past ,

I turned backwards to get another glimpse of the front cover, then I saw  the ‘Chi’……and the ‘Adi’…..my brain deciphered the rest.

It was Chimamanda Adichie’s new book. Americanah!

Phew! what an exercise, at least not in futility.

Now,

Am sure you are wondering , Is this what my long story is all about?

YES!!

Over the past week, I have seen several facebook posts and youtube shares of Chimamanda’s interviews and videos on her speeches at TED.

Although I hardly knew anything about her apart from the fact that she was an award winning writer and had published 3 books previously (non of which i have read unfortunately)

I watched the youtube speech about the ‘ dangers of a single story‘ and the one about feminism. Although I do not completely agree with all her opinions on marriage and the feminism topic. I actually thought she was an incredibly smart and intelligent woman and definitely a gifted story teller.

I have decided to order the book, but interestingly it was not the publicity on the internet nor her prolific speeches that fueled my curiosity to read her new book but the single event that occurred this morning.

What was that young man reading?

Ty Beetseh

AFRICAN MAN SUES ‘VIRGIN’ FOR DISCRIMINATION || ‘No Be Today’….

Ok so I have not ‘blogged’ for a while, partially because I have been quite busy but two things caught my attention this week and I felt the need to write about them. The first is about an African Man originally from Liberia who is suing Virgin Atlantic - The global company owned by Sir Richard Branson for racial discrimination.
So here is the story…

Virgin Atlantic was today accused of racism after allegedly rejecting a job application from an African refugee, but accepting him when he applied with a British name.   Max Kpakio was turned down for a call centre job – and when he suspected his foreign-sounding name was at fault, he re-submitted his application under the name Craig Owen. 

He claims the enthusiastic response the second application received proves that his initial rejection was based solely on racial discrimination, and is taking the airline to an employment tribunal.   The 36-year-old graduate was born in Liberia, but has lived in the UK for the past 10 years and is now a British citizen.

When his application to work at a Virgin call centre in Swansea was rejected, he was convinced it was due to his African name.
Not only was he invited for interview when he applied as Craig Owen, but the company repeatedly contacted him encouraging his application – even though it was nothing more than a simplified version of his genuine CV.  After he failed to respond to their initial email, they sent a string of messages saying how much they were looking forward to meeting him.

Ok Now;

According to the daily mail; Research done over the past few years have suggested that job applicants with foreign-sounding names face obstacles to being hired in many lines of work.

A number of studies in which researchers have submitted identical CVs under two sets of name, British and non-British, have shown that the former are significantly more likely to receive a positive response from employers.

Oh dear>> So now for those of you in diaspora!!! you know why you have been getting the responses with the words like ’unfortunately‘, ‘I am afraid’, ’ ‘We are sorry’….and many more

Anyways, I honestly don’t know why Max Kpakio was rejected the first time, however I think this should be a wake up call for those companies that are two faced or hypocrytical. We cannot deny the fact that Racism is still an issue worldwide and its manifestation till date in football clearly shows what a number of parochial minded individuals think about skin colour.

On a lighter note : If I was Mr Max Kpakio I might consider removing the ‘K’ so it sounds like Pakio……as I can imagine they almost bit their tongues trying to pronounce it with the ‘K’ in a british accent…LoL – Just kidding

Watch out for the second story later.

Ty Beetseh

SHOULD THE COMMANDANT (NSCDC) HAVE SAID ‘ I AM NOT SURE, I WILL CONFIRM THE WEBSITE ADDRESS AND GET BACK TO YOU?

I know many of you have watched the Channels interview with the Lagos State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC),  that is currently in circulation. (Watch Below)

The level of incompetence expressed by the Commandant should not come as a surprise to  a typical Nigerian as it exposes the calibre of some of the people, (we are already aware of) who are running high offices and are in leadership positions in our country.

Ofcourse not everyone in leadership is that incompetent – for sure. But not to – atleast know the website of the institution you work raises a serious question of competence and sends out a signal of  laziness and a care-free attitude.

The embarrased Commandant  should have simply read one or two things from a brochure or simply typed it in ‘google’ (maybe am asking for too much) and prepared himself for some specific questions . Knowing fully well he was attending an interview with the press even if it was something he would have looked at while on his way to the studio.

Is it  NOT strange how an individual in such a high position of leadership in lagos state will walk into a television studio , knowing fully well he will be appearing on national television and yet not take out time to read one or two things about the institution he works for? I wonder what questions he thought he was going to be asked - maybe he was prepared to defend any allegation of funds missappropriation as that seems to be the trend these days.

I can hear some say,  as a nation we are being too harsh on him considering the way the video went viral, perhaps, I can hear someone saying ‘ pity him, he is someone’s father’. Well, maybe someone’s father should learn to accept the responsibility of ignorance by simply admitting when he does not know . Instead of beating around the bush and ending up with a complete gaffe on his hands by giving us the name of a website that obviously does not exist, well even if it does, should have a ‘top level domain  in the domain name  (eg .com, .tv etc) – and by the way it is www.nscdc.gov.ng/

All he needed to say was ‘I dont know, OR,  I am not sure, please can I get back to you on that?.  But that said, Perhaps he alone should not be left to shoulder the blame . Afterall  an educational system which allows your fellow students to say ‘shame, with five fingers openly  pointing at you”  while you stand in front of the class for missing your times table is definitely a flawed one. These fundamental flaws in educational practices can also  push people into trying  such manouvers rather than simply admitting they honestly dont know. – If Mr Commandant is reading this (which i strongly doubt) perhaps he now has something else to blame and share his new found popularity with.

Enough of the remonstrance , bottomline is;

• If you dont know, YOU DONT KNOW!!. Whether it is as a result of laziness, incompetence , ignorance or lack of training.  You Just Dont Know!!

• If you admit you dont know, it  might highlight all the negative things i have just  mentioned above, however on the positive side, it also  shows humility , responsibility and transparency and most of all CONFIDENCE.

T.Y BEETSEH

THE ‘FOREIGN WORKER’ KILLINGS || G.E.J NEEDS TO REALIGN HIS PRIORITIES

The only way the ‘Ansaru’ terrorist group would have known that there were British military aircrafts in abuja (irrespective of whether they were planning to use them for a rescue mission or not) is because they had ‘insider’ information. It is sad and unfortunate that those foreign workers had to be killed in cold blood. Whether these terrorists are funded by the same so called ‘Western conspiracy’ or any other conspiracy theory is irrelevant at this point in time.

Our Country has clearly become unsafe and Security should become a priority for the current administration. At the moment, this is clearly not the case as it does not reflect in the actions of our leaders nor the budget.

To think that  ‘on the top page’ of the president’s ‘to do’ list  is re-election in 2015 is appalling. From the Early ages to the middle ages to this present time; from the days of kings to empires and dictators to democratically elected governments of today, the frist priority of any leader of a country is and should be national security.

G.E.J, needs to Secure our borders, monitor imports and exports closely, create  functional database systems with citizen/immigrant data, acquire and install the latest ‘security’ technologies available. With the advancement of modern day technology, numerous blue chip future technologies that can do almost anything the human mind can think or imagine currently exist.

I guess it is not rocket science that these automatic weapons, being used by the terrorists are not ‘Made in Nigeria’, they are sourced from somewhere and find their way into our borders. If you cannot trace the supplier then cut the entry route or atleast apply mitigation measures.

And for the sake of arguement, the Nigerian government can argue that they are already doing this or working towards this. While I want to , though its hard to believe; But If this is the case, then manage communication properly. Your people need to have confidence and assurance that their lives and those of their families are safe. They need to know that the lives of poor peasant/ farmers and petty traders in Northern Nigeria is as valuable as any other citizen of the country.

On the interim, there is a need to re-shuffle the cabinet regularly , re-assign senior top government officials intermittently but appropriately , keep everybody working in the administration on their toes, let no one be indespensable.

If a bird must whisk away the dirt and parasites acummulated on its body, it must always be willing to ruffle its feathers at regular intervals.

T.Y BEETSEH

RV FR ANGUS FRASER RECEIVES THIS DAY AWARD

Reverend Father Angus Fraser, Head Principal of Mount Saint Gabriels Secondary School, Makurdi, Benue State , Nigeria received a This Day Honours Award.

As reported by This day, Rev, Father Angus Fraser is a catholic priest and educationist who hails from a Carribean island called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Father!! as he is fondly called by many students (past and present) is a well respected principal,he was my Principal for the few years I spent at Mount Saint Gabriels Secondary School and I must say his dedication and contribution to education is truly unmatched. A Hero and Legend in his own rights.

He, indeed has stood the test of time, having kept the standards of the school consistently  high and bred several success stories and Icons including the likes of former Senate President (Dr Iyorchia Ayu) amongst many others Father Fraser truly deserves the honour and much more.

His  prestigious award was presented by the former President of the USA, President Bill Clinton. Congratulations Father Fraser. By the way, I must say, he looks almost the same way he looked when I was a student there almost 20 years ago. He does not seem to be aging. (Thumbs up)

TY BEETSEH UNVEILS THE NEW STANDNETWORK TV WEBSITE ON THE 14TH OF FEBRUARY 2013 @ 00:00Hrs (GMT)

TY BEETSEH UNVEILS THE NEW STANDNETWORK TV WEBSITE ON THE 14TH OF FEBRUARY 2013 @ 00:00Hrs

Just after the new year several of you voted to keep the current standnetwork logo. Which has gotten several positive reviews. Thanks to you : )

Now we have more good news for you.

Yep!!

We chose the day LOVE is celebrated because standnetwork is built on the values of ‘The Gospel of Jesus Christ’ which is based on Unconditional Love.

So perfect day right???

*nice teeth*

Ok, so the new website was unveiled on http://www.standnetwork.tv….so you can visit it now, but hang on!!!……not so fast

So what about the old site:

The current media site which is on;

http://www.standnetwork.com ; This will still remain live temporarily to aid in the migration of all our users to our new platform. ….yes i know, I will miss it too

Why?

Our media website is just one branch of standnetwork, Hence the need to move it to its permanent address (www.standnetwork.tv)

Ok, enough of all the boring gist,

Whats NEW!!! ?? Good question !!!

MORE MUSIC!!!!!!!! MORE MOVIES!!!!!

The new website intergrates all major video sharing sites such as youtube, vimeo. This means you can access more gospel content (music videos, documentaries, movies) as legally possible on our website.

LIVE TELEVISION!!!!!!

Yes you read RIGHT!!!

Standnetwork will be integrating (embedding) some Live Gospel Channels which you can stream from any part of the world. We are currently aiming to work on a partnership with some Churches in the UK, US, and Nigeria to integrate their sunday services (Live Streaming) into our website. This means (in the nearest future) you will be able to experience multiple church services from the comfort of your home through just one website.

Also, In collaboration with event organisers, we are set to offer live streaming of major events live from Nigeria, Ghana, UK, US and other parts of the world.

ADVERTISING!!!!!!!

Our Advertisers now have multiple options of several advert channels

- Adverts can still be placed before videos on the navigation bar .

- Adverts can also be placed on various pages and sections of the website (header, bottom, left side, right side etc) at highly affordable prices

BLOG!!!!!!

Our Blog which will be managed by our media forensics team (our CSI…errr… with the ‘C’ meaning Christian) & informants which will update you with the latest information about whats happening around the world – GOSPOTAINMENT

I am excited about the prospects of this new platform and what we hope to achieve within the first two years (as listed above)

Make sure you Like our Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/STANDNETWORK/181318911924192

so you can keep up with all the latest information.

Making dreams a reality – Tyough Foundation Scholarship 2013

Inspiring Video for the Main Mix of Gladesmore Community School’s Song for Tottenham
This year, the Tyough Foundation will aim to provide a fully paid scholarship to a less previledged person(s). We hope to make someones dream a reality.

More info about the Tyough Foundation Scholarship will be made available on our facebook page SOON.

BEMYODA ON NDANNI SESSIONS (POWERED BY GTB)

I mentioned in one of my last posts that BemYoda was a person to watch in 2013. Well, its just a few days into the new year and another milestone. An excellent vocal performance on Ndani Sessions, powered by GTB.

Bemyoda is as much a creative writer as he is a beautiful singer. He does not present you music that is the norm; every line is the summary of a deeper meaning, every phrase explains a concept larger than it.

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 7 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.