Congratulations are in order for Abdi Aynte, the editor of the Somali website Hiiraan.com and contributing writer at Mshale for his new fellowship at The Center for Independent Media’s New Journalist Program. As part of his beat, Abdi will be covering the African community, the Muslim community, race, immigration, local politics as it’s related to Africans and Muslims and terrorism.
Abdi is glad to accept story tips at [email protected]. His reports and stories can be found at www.minnesotamonitor.com. He will continue to contribute to undertake special assignments for Mshale and you can read his story on the effect of closing of the accounts for African money wiring companies by local banks in this edition.
Meanwhile, Edwin Okong’o, Mshale’s West Coast correspondent was named a 2006 Summer Human Rights Fellow at Human Rights Center University of California, Berkeley. As part of the fellowship, he worked with the nongovernmental organization Dick Tiger ’72 Olympian Hero International (named after a Kenyan Olympic boxing medalist) that advocates for the rights of people with disabilities in Kenya. Although Kenya enacted the Persons with Disability Act in 2003, the lives of people with disabilities reportedly have seen little improvement.
He also reported on a number of other issues while in Kenya this past summer and you can read his story about the near-extinction of an environment-friendly timber harvesting skill that was the sole source of income for many men in the Gusii region of Kenya. This will be one of several stories that Mshale will publish.
About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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