©COVD19 Lockdown

By Eulinda Antonette Clarke-Akalanne

Monday 27^th April 2020

On 16^th March (2020) I started isolating,

to protect myself from Coronavirus cross infection.

This unprecedented lock down opened doors for me all around.

Some of these I’ll relate but others I’ll unfold on another date.

I’m busier now than I’ve been before, doing things I’ve not done of yore.

Every day after ablution I meditate, then follow the daily routine I create

I exercise and deep breathe too,

Tai Chi practice, I regularly do.

Daily I walk 1000 steps or more,

circling around from my front door to my back door

or I’ll go up and downstairs 35 times, while singing musical rhymes

I’ve scanned my address book and diary, and using social media successfully,

networked with friends and family, while reaching out to those who’re lonely.

I’ve invented culinary delights, like orange peel tea & green-banana skin bites.

The weather has been fairly good, so I’m enjoying things in my ‘hood’,

I see the difference between a wasp and a bee

and listen to birds singing in the nearby tree.

My creative juices have been stimulated

and lots more poems I’ve created.

I’ve written a short autobiography, for the magazine, ‘People in Harmony’.

Three on-line courses I’ve completed and Mindfulness I have repeated.

I’ve learnt to compress a massive file, and change Microsoft word to a PDF file.

My piano key board I’ve rediscovered for years it laid undisturbed.

I’ve now started once more to play, a little tune each day

I’ve discovered who cares about me,

these are my son, William and his family,

and Mandy, Ruth, Vesna and Valerie,

who religiously do my shopping for me.

Others bring joy and show kindness to me, by demonstrating their loyalty.

There’s Nagina my ‘adopted’ daughter who has the most wonderful nature

she shines with a beautiful aura.

I adhere to six feet distancing and remain in social isolation.

I don’t touch my grandchildren physically,

but bed-time stories I tell them electronically.

I sing and dance with on line training, and Mr. Motivator exercising

My perceptions are more aware and I smell and breathe fresher air

With a sip of honeyed lemon tea, the melodious pigeon coos I hear.

The rays of the sun are warm on my skin, as the vitamin “D” in my pelt sinks in.

The sky is clearer now at night and I see myriads of   stars shining bright.

Numerous clouds are visible during the day

Some whose names I can barely say.

There’s cumulus billowing by

Or nimbostratus darkening the sky,

Life’s not too bad for me, in this shutdown society.

END

This work is protected by copyright.  No part of this work may be copied, stored, transmitted or distributed without my expressed prior written approval.

If you have a youth orientated organisation and you would like to run these online NVQ/QCF Level 2 courses for 16-24 (NEET’s – not in education, employment or training) your organisation can get paid commission £££ and young people with SEND needs and from low income families get £30/40 a week expenses. If interested email info@thesalamproject.org or call/text/WhatsApp 07538740319

Nationwide — A 60-year old father who calls himself The Undiscovered Artist has penned a powerful, but controversial tune about the Coronavirus after his 39-year old son was denied a test. It is called the “Coronavirus Song (The Rona Song)” and it creatively represents a voice that most in the Black community can easily resonate with as reports continue to reveal that many African Americans are being denied tests, and thus are dying from COVID-19 at higher rates.

The Undiscovered Artist, whose real name is Irvin Lee, is from the Washington DC area. He says a personal experience motivated him to write, produce and sing the song; His own son began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, was admitted to the hospital, but was told that he did not qualify for a test.

Lee comments, “It was very scary. My son was experiencing shortness of breath and other symptoms, and immediately began self-isolating himself to try and protect his family. But when he went to the Emergency Room to try and get a diagnosis, they told him that he didn’t qualify for a test even though he has health insurance.”

“This angered me,” Lee says. But thankfully his son turned out to be okay. The whole experience, however, inspired him to create a song that others with similar experiences would be able to relate to.

The song, which took him just two weeks to finish, is a voice that millions in the Black community can resonate with. It speaks to the confusion, frustration, and disappointment that many are feeling as local and national data slowly reveals that not only are African Americans more likely to die from Coronavirus, but many of them are being denied testing.

“I had to write a song to capture this,” Lee says. “My style of writing is heavily influenced by artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye who, during their time, created music about the struggles and injustices that many people had to deal with.”

Officially called the “Coronavirus Song (The Rona Song)” by The Undiscovered Artist, the song can be heard online at CoronavirusSong.com and can be streamed on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Google Music Play, and more.

Lee says that he will donate a portion of the proceeds to families affected by COVID-19. He is also using the song as the perfect opportunity to kick off his very own independent record label called Music U Can Feel, which promises to release more compelling songs about serious topics.

Watch the song’s music video on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/AsTKSkTPTtQ

Yes, African Americans really are being denied tests… and are dying as a result!

#1 – According to NBC News, 63-year old Deborah Gatewood from Detroit, Michigan was a healthcare worker who was denied a test three times from the very hospital where she worked. Sadly, she passed away from the virus just two weeks later.

#2 – 25-year old Bassey Offiong, according to Detroit News, was a college student at Western Michigan University. He was denied a test multiple times, and consequently died fighting the virus just a few weeks before he was set to graduate.

#3 – According to USA Today, 56-year old Gary Fowler “begged” for a test but was turned away multiple times. He later died at home.

#4 – The Guardian reports that Kayla Williams, a 36-year old single mother of 3 from London, also died from the virus just a day after she called emergency services and was told that she could not be admitted to a hospital because she was not a “priority”.

#5 – Most recently, CBS News has confirmed that 30-year old Rana Zoe Mungin, a 30-year old social studies teacher from Brooklyn, New York, was rushed to the hospital 3 times and denied a test each time. She later died after being on life support for about a month.

Meet Olivia Ansell – Biography
Olivia Ansell is an international entrepreneur whose millionaire mindset was born of necessity and bred of hunger. Growing up poor in the African country of Uganda, Ansell spent many nights lying awake, fantasizing the feeling of a full stomach and the pride of one day keeping her family out of poverty. Now a successful founder and owner of multiple seven-figure businesses, Ansell hopes to use her journey into entrepreneurship as a teaching assistant for the many women working to create and build profitable companies from their own ideas – a trait Ansell was forced to acquire as a child.

Follow me on instagram @oliviansell
Snapchat @oliviaansell
Join my private facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/women…
https://www.facebook.com/oliviaansell
http://www.oliviaansell.com

COVID-19

WHAT OUR HEARTS HAVE FELT
AND WHAT OUR EYES HAVE SEEN
OHH COVID-19
THROUGH THIS TROUBLED TIME
LET US HOLD OUR WORLD TOGETHER
WITH 2MM DISTANCE
LET US STILL
HOLD OUR LOVED ONES CLOSE
BY THOUGHT
AND LITTLE PRAYER.
OH COVID-19
WHAT OUR HEARTS HAVE FELT
AND WHAT OUR EYES HAVE SEEN
THROUGH THIS RAINING DAYS
LET US BE REMINDED
THAT THERE ARE BRIGHTER DAYS
AHEAD
COVID-19
WHAT OUR HEARTS HAVE FELT
AND WHAT OUR EYES HAVE SEEN
OH COVID-19
BELIEVING TOGTEHER WE CAN MAKE THINGS BETTER .
OH COVID-19

WRITTEN BY JACKLINE WAZIRI

ABOUT JACKLINE WAZIRI 

Jackline Waziri was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 1993, she was the daughter of Fauzia Waziri Juma.

Her mother Mwanjaa Shabaan Robert, Jackline is the great granddaughter of the legendary Swahili language writer and poet Late Shaaban Robert.

When Waziri moved to the United Kingdom, she developed a keen interest in Literature, Creative writing and Poetry.

Today, she is an upcoming Poet with profound thirst for life on a mission to make a difference to her generation and African communities worldwide.

Her poems are rich in imagery, a wide range of stylistic devices and content inspired by a deep world of experiences, transitions ,journeys and the unapologetic vision to embrace “All things African”

Waziri illustrates her truth and paints an art of her journey here in the UK, but her writing also embraces a world that still lives in Tanzania, this is also reflected through her writing.

Kath has been involved with music for over 30 years, having launched Nation Records in 1988 and managed Talvin Singh, who won the Mercury Music Prize in 2000, amongst other internationally critically acclaimed artists.

She has been Managing Director of Matik Productions, which produces the SolaMatik & LunaMatik Festivals for the past few years. Kath is also Community Engagement Officer at Street Life in BD3, and continues to make links with the community and arts & media

Dear Family and friends

We are pleased to inform you that UK BASED POET, SPOKEN WORD ARTIST AND COMMUNITY ADVOCATE FROM TANZANIA, J.WAZIRI , has been named AFRICA4U YOUTH AMBASSADOR FOR THE UK .

CONGRATULATIONS TO JACKLINE, to find out more about her, visit her website at www.jacklinewaziri.com

Hon. Kenneth Gbandi, the CEO of African Heritage Media and Chairman of NIDOE (Nigerians in Diaspora Europe) would be hosting a special program and Thanksgiving service on the 16th and 17th of May 2020 in commemoration of his 52nd birthday.