Nia Imara first got involved with supplementary education for children of Afrikan heritage

back in 1992 at the age of 24 after hearing an request for assistance for the Nubia Foundation

Saturday School which was based at the New initiatives Community Centre in Stockwell,

South London, on a community radio station.

Nia was coming into a new form of consciousness where he wanted answers to the many

questions that were posed in his life and to make a difference to the next generation. While

he had weekends free in his catering career the intention was to help young children achieve

higher standards in education and also to relearn mathematics, but the added bonus was 

learning substantial amounts of Afrikan history that was completely ignored in his education 

in mainstream schools and also at home. Nia witnessed children who had been excluded from 

mainstream schools and deemed “uneducatable”, excel in all areas with voluntary teaching 

staff who were not all qualified teachers. 

Nia vowed that when he eventually had children that they too would attend a Black 

supplementary school to make sure they had a better start to their education and have a 

better self confidence due to an early induction to their historical and current heritage.

His first child attended the same Black supplementary school, Nubia Foundation, that he

had previously volunteered in 8 years previously when his daughter turned 4 years old. Nia 

witnessed his daughter learn to write her name in hieroglyphics and learn algebra. When his 

daughter eventually started mainstream school at the age of 5 she was able to educate her 

own teacher and her classmates about hieroglyphics during a trip to the British Museum. Nia 

also witnessed the schools refusal to even attempt algebra as they deemed children of that age 

incapable of learning such mathematics. 

As Nia’s daughter and son progressed through their education in mainstream and weekend 

supplementary education, their learning ages were accessed as being 18 months ahead of their 

classmates. 

Nia became a single parent since his son was 7 months old and his first daughter was 3 years 

old but still insisted that they attend weekend supplementary education. 

NABSS first went online with a directory in 2007 and then the latest website was launched 

in June 2008 with further educational resources which include an events calendar, home 

education information, news, workshop directory and much more. 

The first NABSS National Conference was launched at the Hackney Museum in June 2009 

in conjunction with Black and Other UK Home Educators. The following year the event turned into the National Black Supplementary Schools Week and has continued every year since bringing in other individuals and organisations that are involved with the education of 

Black children and their families.
For 2014 the event  is themed on Health, Nutrition and Medicine during August.


Nia is in demand in the media to comment on cultural and educational issues on both radio 

and TV and is also invited to contribute to both public and private events. 

Nia is also involved with applying for a Free school license with the Ma’at School of 

Excellence, in North West London, The Black Identity Zone at Harlesden Library, the Nzinga 

Lecture series with Black History Walks, the committees for the National Black People’s Day 

of Action, the Interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament, the Afrikan Cooperative Union,  the Sister’s Health Forum and a few other organisations while also 

being a parent governor at his children’s school. 

NABSS can be contacted at www.nabss.org.uk or emailed at info@nabss.org.uk

Residents of Buckingham’s Hamilton House care home had a Valentine’s Day treat when students from the University of Buckingham visited them with Valentine’s cards, roses, cake and chocolates.

 The idea came from law student Adebayo Razak, who is founder and president of the university’s Africa Society.

Eighteen, mainly African, students spent the afternoon with residents. As well as taking roses and treats, they read a poem and a story, played music, including Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye and Ben E. King, and danced with the old ladies.

Activities manager Sarah Picketts said: “It was amazing. It just lived way above their expectations. I was just speechless for them. The old ladies were just so emotional and they never stop talking about it. They absolutely loved it.

“The residents were on such a high when they’d finished, it was hard to bring them back down. One lady wouldn’t put her rose down.

“I told them they’re welcome to come back any time.”

Mr Razak, aged 30, said it was an emotional experience for the students as well as the elderly people.

He said: “We had a very warm reception. We had a lot of hugs, we had a lot of kisses. they were very welcoming, very loving. We see them as our new friends. One of the ladies told me this was one of the best times she’d had in her life.

“It was not just the act of taking roses and cake and chocolates. I felt the elderly and the young people were able to connect in heart.

“As international students coming all the way from Africa, Buckingham has embraced us and I don’t think there’s anything better we can give back to society than the commitment of love and care.

“We’ll definitely go back there.”

Only last year, Students at the University of Buckingham raised an incredible £3,500 for charity during their Rag Week in August from a number of events including a human auction, a duck race down the river Great Ouse and a fine for all students not wearing hats or appropriate Rag clothes. This project was also put together by Mr Razaq

Mr Razaq is a passionate and selfless young man who gets involved in community initiatives aimed at adding value to everyday life. He is definately a Community ambassador you should watch out for in the near future

BREAKING NEWS –

ITS THE MOMENT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR, THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH PARTY OF Zim Link INSPIRED BY COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR Dark Zac WILL BE TAKING PLACE ON SATURDAY THE 21ST OF JUNE AT The White Lion, Streatham 234 STREATHAM HIGH ROAD, STREATHAM, SOUTH LONDON, SW16 1BB FROM 12 NOON TO 5PM

ZIMLINK IS A COMMUNITY BASED CHARITY MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE TO PEOPLES LIFE EVERYDAY WITH NO FUNDING WHATSOEVER- THEY ALSO OFFER FREE TRAINING TO PEOPLE OF ALL AGES IN PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO EDITING, INTERVIEWING AND OTHER AREAS OF MENTORING

THIS IS AN EVENT YOU CANNOT TO MISS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF GUEST SPEAKERS, POETS AND WORKSHOPS TO EMBRACE THE SPIRIT OF SOCIAL HARMONY AND COMMUNITY AWARENESS

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

Lindani Moyo Masuku – ZIMBABWE

Cecily Mugo -KENYA

Steve Mulindwa- UGANDA

Real O’Rael – NIGERIA

Jen Titi-Lola Da Sweetnezz – POET

Emma Ako – POET

ADMISSION IS FREE- DONATIONS ARE WELCOME ON THE DAY –
Africa4U WILL ALSO BE GIVING OUT FREE BOOKS ON THE DAY

FRIENDS OF ZIMBABWE
FRIENDS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
FRIENDS OF THE WORLD
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON THE DAY- IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK OR PERFORM ON THE DAY, RING ME ON 07882809005 ASAP

Akpojaro Ekariama AND Tony Tokunbo Eteka Fernandez- COMPERES FOR THE DAY

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK MR Oz Bayldonn- THE MANAGER OF The White Lion, Streatham FOR SUPPORTING US WITH A REGULAR VENUE AND FOR HIS SELFLESS COMMUNITY INITIATIVES-

Born out of a passion for Africa, sound, music, culture and tradition, Focus Organizationwas founded by Kouassi Atta (Cote d’Ivoire) in 2010. His aim was simple, to bring good music to the masses – music with soul, power, difference, honesty and heritage.

It wasn’t long before Atta’s focused energy took him to every corner of London, searching high and low for venues, partners and willing individuals to help host his ambitious music events.

Mingling among artists, afropolitans and music enthusiasts, Atta soon found himself atPassing Clouds, celebrating one of his very first events with the hypnotic rhythms of theSoukous kings, Kasai Masai. It was here that Atta met Victoria Blackshaw, a young gig-goer ready to take on all things focused. Together, they embarked on a journey of no return, working with incredible artists, learning about new genres and dance moves, and connecting with scores of other great promoters around town. Severa Adou, fellow Ivorian and budding musician, moved to London from Paris soon after and joined the Focus team, helping organise gigs all over the capital.

 Launching in East London (Cargo, Passing Clouds, Favela Chic, Open the Gate), Focusmoved across to West London (Mau Mau, Notting Hill Arts Club), popped down to South London for a while (CLF Art Café, Mango Landin’), ran a night in central (MoMo’s) and finally moved back East to host a couple of a residencies (Rich Mix, Charlie Wrights, Bedroom Bar).

 Focus grew, spreading its roots in the London music scene and earning the respect and partnership of organisations like Joyful Noise (London African Music Festival), Wormfood, AGMP, Target Live, Continental Drifts, 2 For The Road.

Focus Organization WINNER Best Events Promoter – BEFFTA AWARDS 2013

Focus Organization nominated for Best Events Promoter – BEFFTA AWARDS 2012.

Focus Organization nominated for Life Changers Awards 2013

 We have now worked with an amazing list of local artists including Muntu Valdo, Kasai Masai, Afla Sackey, Diabel Cissokho, Future Groove, Yaaba Funk, M3nsa, Bumi Thomas, Mashasha and Sam, Harare, Native Sun, Kadialy Kouyate, Djembe Thunder, Dj Edu, DJ Eric Soul, JP Kairo, AJ Holmes, Eddie Boi, Dj CD – Carlos de Carvalho etc..

 In conjunction with our partners, Focus has supported events including Africa Utopia, Africa Express (Amadou & Mariam-Baaba Maal-Bassekou Kouyate’-Rokia Traore Etc with special guest: SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY), Global Local, “The BEST From AFRICA Showcase FESTIVAL”with Continental Drifts, Toumani Dabate’, Jimmy Cliff, One love Festival, Black Uhuru, Catch a Fire, Public Enemy etc…

 Mr Atta of Focus continues to celebrate the diversity of London sounds, from cultures worldwide, and is always looking for new music to promote.

This Community Ambassador continues to make us proud and is a profound example of a Role Model, setting the pace for a better tomorrow

 For all new enquiries or if you just want to say hello, email Mr Atta below:

attak@focusorganization.com

ORISUN (THE SOURCE) Presents Yoruba Classes (For Children 5-10years, 11-16years) Our School specializes in teaching the Yoruba language to children aged between 5 and 16. Yoruba is a spoken language in the South Western states of Nigeria. We are a community group, based in North Acton, working towards a brighter future for our children who live in the United Kingdom. Our group serves children in the local community. The children will learn their mother tongue in a friendly, inspiring and warm environment. They learn their cultural heritage and traditions that they would otherwise have no opportunity to learn. They learn and perform cultural dances, raps, storytelling and songs. Aims and objectives 1. The children will become fluent speakers of their first language. 2. They will meet other children from their community and socialise. 3. They will receive help with their schoolwork. 4. They will understand the spoken and written form of the language. 5. They, in turn, will be able to pass the knowledge on to their offspring. The children will learn through songs and rhymes. They will carry out role-plays and read books in the target language. COMING SOON! These classes will be held every Saturdays, during term time, (starting summer 2014 with an open event for parents and children) Venue: UNIT 2 PORTALWEST BUSINESS CENTRE PORTAL WAY LONDON W3 6RU The group also holds workshops and talks for adults who wish to learn about the Yoruba culture. Please book your limited places now! Please send an e-mail to: orisunthesource@yahoo.co.uk Call 07404232846 from 9am-5pm

 Lookman Sanusi is an artiste, writer and journalist. He has been a consummate theatre practitioner for the past 25years. His forte is in theatre for young people which he has practised for two decades. He recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of his Bubbles Theatre Company in Lagos, Nigeria. A staunch member of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Lookman was a member of the National Executive of ANA between 1997 – 2001 and currently the Vice Chairman of the Lagos Chapter ANA. He is also the chair, Peace Committee of PEN NIGERIA. He has been widely anthologised, some of his works include the award winning play SKELETON. He has edited two collections of short stories for Maze Publications. Among his unpublished works are: Ovonramwen: How those Benin Treasures Got Away, Mary Slessor, Legend of Queen Amina, Frog Prince, The Moon Can Dance, Colour Rain and lately, In the Belly of an Elephant. He mentors young authors both in Nigeria and in the UK and has initiated laudable projects for the theatre and the literary world,  notably: The Red Cross Theatre Project for Young People in 1997 sponsored by the International Committee for the Red Cross, and the first National Children’s Theatre and Arts Festival (CHITAFEST) in 1998 sponsored by Goethe International. He has been the Festival Artistic Director for Teenage Festival of Life for six years, an event which celebrates the latent talents in youths organised by Action Health Incorporated. He was the initiator and chief consultant for British Council, Lagos on the project READING FRENZY which toured 5 western states in Nigeria in 2004. Lookman lives and works in the UK.

He also is The Director of Bubbles FM and an Arts promoter and very respected in  Theatre and The Arts – both in Nigeria and The Uk

To find out more about Bubbles FM Radio Station- log on to – http://www.bubblesfm.com 

  The strength from the forest feeds the nation.
I sit and watch the day go by,
I hear the soil crying, yearning and waiting.
My crops are hungry, the plants are thirsty,
for strength betrays the spirit of the land
And my people are suffering.Dark moments, still hours, each page in Life is in motion.
Each lines a curse to seek,
But Strength betrays the spirit of my growth,
Strength betrays my nation.The pangs of pain dig deep;
They cut through the hearts of a struggling crowd
And pierce the hopes of many.
My barn is the home for the squeaking mice.
Silently, father weeps,
But his tears are not enough food for the land.
Many have come;
Many have gone upon the forests of this earth.
Yet the Gods are blind to the curse in my spirit,
Where anguish has found a new home
And my hopes are imprisoned by the claws of povertyThunder Lightening
Then the raging downpour from the crying sky.
The bowl is bare and empty.
I hear the roars of the raging lion,
Pounding through forests, racing through hills.
What are my hopes for a new tomorrow?Men fall, Men rise,
Men rise to fall once more,
And the nation conforms to this unpleasant rhythm of trauma
Where the stings from my father lives within the souls of many,
For troubled minds wonder through the prisons of this earth,
Their aimless spirits…
Wondering… Seeking… Finding.
Motion through the dark is a curse to the shepherd.
Time is a granted option to move,
But how can we move when our bellies are empty.
How can we sing when our memories are a collection
Of tragic thoughts,
Despair, Grief, Survival, Hunger, Confusion, Poverty
My people, when will it end?
We have sat upon this rock for too long
And the burden is a heavy one,
My worry is the children who may not live to see tomorrow.
The forest waits.
The land is hungry.
Where is the strength of my people?
Time splits across the plains of a phase…
The doom spell of a history
I yearn for a new hour,
For the sky is dark,
Feel the grief in my heart,
The pain in my thoughts,
Bare bowls set before the naked sun.
Hear the crack in my voice,
The fear in my song,
But the Gods laugh,
Deaf to the tunes of a beggar child
And like a swaying tree through the mystic wind,
My son staggers through the torments of the seventh hill,
Imprisoned dreams bottled hopes.
The freedom of bondage is a blessing to the cursed,
Where many have risen and many shall rise to fall.

Copyright © 2003 Tony Tokunbo Fernandez

DARK SECRETS

The Beautiful thing about Life is that Secrets have no hiding place. What we do in the dark, is soon revealed by light and the bullets of Karma always catch up with those who embezzle bad thoughts and intentions into the empty arms of a false dream.

A Secret is put to shame when its presence is revealed by light and then there becomes no hiding place. A Secret has no home, it is always running, moving and hiding. – nothing is hidden under the sun.

Over thirty years ago, I became friends with a boy called Solomon in a faraway village in Northern Nigeria. Each day we would take long walks together through paths of hot sands for miles. There was nothing that my ears did not hear, the stories were endless. I heard of men in rich clothing who had brought nations to a standstill and stolen the secrets of other nations. I heard the stories of politician, pastors, masquerades and married women and all the time, I did not have to be told that these secrets were for my ears only. I promised him that I would not reveal “The Great Secrets”

I felt the pain, the grief, the fear and the guilt, but each time, I kept on saying “You better come out and reveal yourself, Life is short”, But he never listened,

We bathed together, we ate together, we laughed together and we fought together and there were times I even had to defend Solomon in public.

I knew that Solomon was living on borrowed time and so one day, I decided to tell him a story.

On this day we did not walk through the paths of hot sand but we went in the opposite direction and ended up in the outskirts of the buzzing town of Azare in a little kiosk that sold the best fried yam, plantain and fresh fish. It was towards the end of the school term and I had saved up money for this treat. I was worried for Solomon, he was a boy with potential.

As we sat by the table, I pulled my stool towards him and waited for Mama Benji to finish serving us. She stared at us repeatedly. The food smelt nice and fresh. I was Solomon’s only friend.

I leaned forward preparing to tell my friend what he needed to hear, but before I could open my mouth, the unexpected happened. It happened so quickly and felt like a dream. A Big Black Jeep pulled outside Mama Benjis Kiosk. The tyres screeched on the concrete and I nearly fell of my chair and landed on the ground. Two armed men with white masks came out of the car and dashed towards Solomon. Mama Benji began to scream. They grabbed both of his arms and smashed his head against the wall. They threw him into the boot of the Jeep and drove off. . I never saw Solomon again. That day when I got back to my room, I cried for hours beneath the loneliness of my warm blanket, I felt as if a part of me had been taken away and I dreaded the feeling of facing the music each day would bring. The mood of the evening was strange, it suddenly felt like a new season overwhelmed with a dry spell of sadness.. Each day I prayed that I would meet Solomon again. That night when I slept, I dreamt of him chasing me round the dormitory. It was pitch dark and all the Seniors were fast asleep. I screamed and screamed but no one woke up. His eyes were filled with fury. I will never forget that day

I never saw Solomon again, but I still think about those secrets because these are Secrets that help to govern nations.

BY TONY TOKUNBO FERNANDEZ