President Obama said the United States will redouble its cooperation with Uganda and other African Union members against the Somali terror group al-Shabaab to try to ensure that it and similar organizations “are not able to kill Africans with impunity.”

Speaking with the South African Broadcasting Corporation at the White House July 13, Obama said he had conveyed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni the condolences of the American people for the July 11 attacks that killed more than 70 who had gathered at locations in Kampala to watch the World Cup final. Obama also told Museveni that the United States will support a thorough investigation into the attacks, for which al-Shabaab has claimed credit.

Obama said it was “tragic and ironic” that the attacks took place during South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup, which had offered “a terrific showcase … for Africa as a whole” by refuting negative stereotypes of African capacity and demonstrating that “when given an opportunity, Africa is a continent full of leaders, entrepreneurs, [and] governments that can operate effectively.”

“On the one hand, you have a vision of an Africa on the move, an Africa that is unified, an Africa that is modernizing and creating opportunities; and on the other hand, you’ve got a vision of al-Qaida and al-Shabaab that is about destruction and death,” Obama said. “I think it presents a pretty clear contrast in terms of the future that most Africans want for themselves and their children.”

The international community needs to “support those who want to build, as opposed to want to destroy,” he said. And as Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government continues to try to establish itself, he said, African Union peacekeeping forces should work with Somali authorities to “try to stabilize the situation and start putting that country on a pathway that provides opportunity for people, as opposed to creating a breeding ground for terrorism” that could export more violence beyond Somalia’s borders if al-Shabaab gains more control within the country.

Obama said statements by terror organizations show that “they do not regard African life as valuable in and of itself. They see it as a potential place where you can carry out ideological battles that kill innocents without regard to long-term consequences for their short-term tactical gains.”

For that reason, he said, it is important that even as the international community deals militarily with al Shabaab and other violent extremists, it must also promote development, entrepreneurship, democracy and human freedoms and build upon the models of countries like South Africa that “are trying to move in the right direction” and empower their citizens to improve their lives. “Hopefully, the United States can be an effective partner in that,” the president said.

Obama referred to his July 2009 speech in Ghana, where he said the United States can partner with African nations, “but ultimately, on whether it’s issues of eliminating corruption, ensuring smooth transitions of democratic governments, making sure that businesses are able to thrive and prosper and that markets are working for the smallest farmer and not just the most well-connected person — those are issues that Africans can work on together.”

The United States wants to provide resources to Africa but wants to partner with Africans “who are interested in growing their own capacity over time and not having a long-term dependency on foreign aid,” the president said.

Obama said former South African President Nelson Mandela has provided a path to understand “the standards of leadership that are needed” on the continent and expressed confidence that those standards could be met. Mandela is “not just a national treasure” for South Africa, “but a world treasure,” he said.

“We are constantly reminded that his legacy of seeing every person as important, and not making distinctions based on race or class but the degree to which they are people of character — that’s a good guidepost for how all of us should operate as leaders,” Obama said.

The United Nations today hailed the 2010 World Cup as a great success for the Government and people of the host nation South Africa, as well as the entire African continent, adding that the event also served as a vital tool to promote development and peace.

“Irrespective of the result of the final, the real victor of the 2010 World Cup is Africa and the South African people,” according to a press release issued by the world body after the end of the month-long tournament in which Spain took home the top prize.

The organization of the world’s biggest sporting event “surpassed expectations, as the tournament took place in a positive spirit and safe environment for athletes, fans, observers, and local community members alike.

“While there may have been doubts prior to the World Cup about staging the event in South Africa, there is now widespread confidence in the ability of the region to stage such global events.”

The UN added that a number of initiatives surrounding the tournament – held for the first time in Africa – also helped to advance a host of development objectives from ensuring quality education and a clean environment to reducing hunger and disease.

The 2010 World Cup “marked an unprecedented opportunity for the United Nations to promote its development and peacebuilding efforts, in particular the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” the world body stated, referring to the anti-poverty targets world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015.

Although sport was already widely used by the UN prior to the World Cup as a cost-efficient and effective tool for development and peace, the 2010 World Cup has given the use of sport as a development tool “an incredible burst of momentum” that has been felt throughout the UN system.

“It is my hope that the momentum that has been gained through the World Cup will carry through in the coming years and hopefully be amplified even further through the engagement of governments,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Mr. Ban, who attended the opening ceremony in Johannesburg on 11 June, encouraged governments to work with the UN system and his Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke, to harness the power of sport as a development and peacebuilding tool.

Friends, families and community leaders gathered at Augsburg College recently for Waxbaro Project’s second annual graduation ceremony to celebrate the achievements of the Somali youth graduates. The speakers and the panelists spoke in both English and Somali.

Hussein Samatar, executive director of the African Development Center in Cedar-Riverside, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party endorsed candidate for the Minneapolis Public Schools Board – District 3, appeared as the keynote speaker. His speech not only motivated the students, but the Somali community at large.

“The more we have education, the better we are going to become,” Samatar said. Waxbaro Project known as “learn something” is a non-profit organization that was established 2009 in Minneapolis. The organization holds annual recognition ceremonies and is comprised of distinguished committee members, who are either in college or have advanced degrees.

Although the purpose of the project was to illuminate the young graduates, the organization got positive publicity and funds from the Somali community. Some see the Waxbaro Project as the only organization in Minnesota that uplifts and prepares the Somali youth to become better Somali Americans.

The organization served 400 Somali graduates this year.

In retrospect, Fardawsa Yusuf contended that Waxbaro Project exemplifies the educational history of Somalia in 1975, motivating and encouraging Somalis to acquire education and to teach them how to become the new faces of Somalia and the United States.

“This will show children that they are supported with their education,” Yusuf said in a news release.

Saturday June 12th celebration started around 6:30 p.m. when the panelists, performers and the celebrated graduates eagerly awaited to mount on stage.

Graduates like Abdihakim Adam and Rahma Warfa expressed their appreciation and excitement through exchanging handshakes with friends and community organizers who embraced and recognized their achievements.

“I was there to get my certificate and to entertain the community,” Adam said.

A majority of the panelists were college graduates. The motive of the panelists was to encourage high school graduates to seek higher education, providing resources while reflecting on the significant discrepancies between colleges and high schools.

“It is OK to be confused in college,” said Warfa, who studied medical technology at University of Minnesota. “My field of study was actually accidental.”

Warfa and other panelists alike urged the high school graduates to explore elective courses of interest and to use friends and mentors when picking a major.

Many took the time to define their chosen careers while some condemned the stigma connected with Somali women, reminding the Somali community that it’s OK to see many women pursuing nursing careers.

Moreover, Samatar emphasized that there should be no gender division in the Somali community.

“Boys will not have more privilege than girls,” he said.

Samatar promised that he would represent and open doors of opportunity to the Somali community.

President Obama’s speech may be too little, too late on immigration. But few have said it better.

Obama’s remarks at American University ahead of the July 4 holiday – his first major policy speech devoted solely to this issue – tried to reframe a debate that has grown more contentious than ever with the advent of Arizona’s new legislative crackdown on illegal immigration, which will go into effect later this month.

The president compared the immigration system to the health care and financial messes. He said the immigration laws are broken and in need of a major overhaul.

Clearly meant to galvanize national opinion, and reframe the debate, Obama’s speech cast immigration as an essential part of the American spirit, a force for good in business, and an ingredient in the country’s economic competitiveness.

The president quoted poet Emma Lazarus’s early-20th century words—words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty–about America receiving the globe’s “tempest-tossed” and “huddled masses yearning to be free.” But he also embraced immigration as a source of economy-powering talent and innovation.

“The scientific breakthroughs of Albert Einstein, the inventions of Nikola Tesla, the great ventures of Andrew Carnegie’s U.S. Steel and Sergey Brin’s Google -– all this was possible because of immigrants,” said Obama.

The speech definitely put immigration back in the spotlight and lent it the shine of a presidential priority.

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“This elevates the issue,” stated Janet Murguia, president of National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group, in a conference call with reporters after the speech.

But it is unclear whether the presidents’ words will be enough to realize real change in immigration any time soon, even though he challenged Republicans to set aside election year bickering to get something done on the issue.

Some doubted whether Obama had gone far enough.

Chung-Wha Hong, head of the New York Immigration Coalition, asked whether Obama is truly risking his political capital because his administration has refused to suspend several federal enforcement programs that advocates for immigrants see as misguided and damaging.

One of the programs most unpopular with advocates is “287g.” Named after a section of the 1996 federal legislation that created it, this statute delegates immigration powers to state and local police (making it a kind of precursor to the Arizona law).

“Yes, we need the president to speak forcefully and honestly about an issue of such importance, and we are grateful he did that,” Hong said. “But we also need to see action.”

Tamar Jacoby, a conservative proponent of immigration reform and president of ImmigrationWorks USA, argued that Obama’s scapegoating of the GOP would prove counterproductive.

“The president is still scolding and blaming Republicans rather than appealing to them in terms that might draw them into a serious effort to compromise on a bill,” she said.

Obama did not shy away from the most explosive part of the immigration debate–the question of illegal immigration. He reserved tough words, and an almost scolding tone, for those who believe border fences or deportations alone will solve the problem of the 11 million undocumented immigrants making up much of the laboring underclass in the United States.

He said those who already had entered the country illegally should be required to register, learn English, pay a fine, pay taxes and wait in line to gain legal status.

Ultimately, the president said, only a more flexible legal immigration system—one that makes room for family reunification and allows young immigrants to attend college and find jobs– can ensure that immigration will flow through proper channels. Add to that flexibility a strict accounting system for business owners, who create jobs magnets by flouting immigration law, he said.

The president stressed that approaches like Arizona’s only fan the flames of the debate without offering real solutions.

It is only after pushing through health care reform, the stimulus program and a Wall Street overhaul that Obama has turned his rhetorical gifts to immigration. It may be that at this stage, with Democrats facing difficult midterm elections in November, Obama’s golden tongue–coupled with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s legislative arm-twisting–are no longer enough to turn a debate.

In the nation’s capital, advocates for immigrants still see opportunities for immigration reform to move forward, and welcomed the president’s public nudge to Republicans on immigration.

“This legislative year is not over,” said Angela Kelley, immigration expert at the Center for American Progress, a think tank tied to the Democratic party. Given Republican recalcitrance on this issue, she added, “I think it is fair for (Obama) to say, I can lead, I can push, but I can’t do this alone.”

After a bruising 18 months in office, President Obama is no longer King Midas. It is no longer true that whatever he touches becomes a political sure bet. He does not command the popularity, political capital or legislative super-majority he once did to get major change through without Republican support on Capitol Hill.

So immigration reform could very well remain a giant sleeper of an issue, despite Obama’s talent for rousing words.