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The Displaced African
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
Introduction
1)The West Has Many Distractions: Focus on That Which Is Important Not That Which Is Urgent
2) Acolyte’s fascinating post on the Dutch missionaries (It’s a three parter and it’s amazing)
The Post Begins Like This……..
Mwangi got in touch with me and asked me to do a guest post. It’s been a minute and a half since I’ve done one, so I dusted off my blogging skills and asked him what he wanted me to blog about and here it is…………
If you could offer anyone migrating over to the West one piece of advice that would make their experience worthwhile what would it be?
Well my answer would be,
“Ask yourself 3 very important questions; Why are you here? What do you want here? How do you intend to get it?”
Why are you here?
Getting to the First World country of choice isn’t an end in itself but a means to an end (Quick note from Mwangi: Hallelujah!Spot on!).
You don’t land at Gatwick, La Guardia, Schipol or Darwin International Airport and find 70 virgins and paradise waiting for you. Au contraire all you have done is gotten past the qualification laps and now the marathon awaits you!
So once again, ask yourself why you are where you are. If all you can say is that you are getting away from the conditions at home be it unemployment, poverty etc then it’s about time you went back to the drawing board and started thinking.
What do you want from your experience abroad?
I’m sure we all remember the old saying, to fail to plan is to plan to fail.
I have met Kenyans who have been out here for over 10 years and we are on the same level. I do know that bad luck happens but if you look at some people it’s obvious that they became complacent with their jobs that could pay the rent and their bills.
Once you fall into that complacence out here you simply become a cog in the machine: just moving but not going anywhere.
If you don’t know what you want you simply aren’t going to look for it. “Life out here isn’t a bed of roses,”, I agree so you have to be aggressive and look out for opportunities no matter what jaded people out here may tell you.
How do you intend to get what brought you out here?
You want the American dream?
That’s great but contrary to public opinion, money isn’t picked on the ground out here. Jobs are hard to come by for Americans let alone foreigners.
Or maybe you came out here to get your degree.
If your fees aren’t being paid; how will you afford school?
Many countries let students work for limited hours per month. Many Kenyans have found out the hard way that these jobs don’t pay enough for fees and upkeep and so hard choices have been made. It took me 3 years to get out here but in taking my time to plan, I got my Master’s degree funded and a cozy monthly allowance that helped me complete my degree in less than 2 years. Had I come out here earlier, rest assured I would still be plugging away.
More on a Personal Note
Yes I’ve gone waaaaaaaay past one piece of advice but since it’s free I might as well share. I also think that you need to have a very strong resolve if you are to make it abroad.
Society out here tends to be very individualistic and not communal like Africa; so your problems are your own; no-one else’s. Even if you have Kenyan friends out here, life gets very lonely because everyone has jobs.In fact some people have more than one so you may not see them for most of the week. Add to the fact that you don’t just drop into someone’s place to say hello unlike back home.
Last but Not Least
The most important thing you can have when you get out here is focus. There are one million and one distractions and obstacles out here.
That is why many people who get here never even get in school when they are dazzled by the things out here. That’s why you need focus and if possible get a good support group of friends who you can rely on and trust.
Anyway, I’m not trying to put anyone off but telling it like it is. With hard work and resolve, there are many opportunities available out here for those who want them. So if you are coming out here, I wish you all the best in your adventure!
Acolyte,
From My part of the world
If this post got your thinking, make sure you keep receiving regular thought-provoking posts through either email or RSS.
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11:05
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
Introduction
1) Open Office
2) Kenyan Zone
To learn more about Open Source click here
Why Open Source Projects will save Kenyan Education?
We are currently living in a technology era. Over the last 30 years, human beings have heavily depended on computers to execute almost everything in their daily lives. The more we keep depending on the technology to execute almost everything in our daily activities, the more likely it is that going back to the past traditional ways of doing things will not happen. As the technology improves, humans have to keep up with it. You may not notice but computers are part of our basic needs. Take a look at what you do everyday and you will see everything relate back to computers.
As Kenya strive to keep up with modern world, a major improvement has already been implented on the education system:free education(Quick note from Mwangi, the free education statement is referring to Kenya)
As the government keeps struggling to offer free education to anyone willing, leaders should focus more on ways to improve the education system. Our education system should never be stagnant, instead, ways to establish modern technologies into the system should be the priority. The way I see it, there should be a 50 computers-per-school campaign.
How is this possible?
As for now, a brand new commercial computer ( including Window ..etc) with all basic needs for an average user goes for $500 (SH 30000 ) or more. Kenyans abroad might see it as decent price but it is always not the same case in Kenya. If you buy 50 commercial based computers (Windows, Mac), you will end up paying more than KSH 2 million without including other necessary software i.e Microsoft office, PhotoShop.
Well the open source community has the answer. A $200 (KSH 14, 000) computer sounds much more affordable to any school in Kenya willing to have a computer library. All you need is KSH 700, 000 to build a lab with 50 PCs.
Last year, there was mass sale at Walmart for a complete Ubuntu based computer. Amazingly, all their stock sold out mainly because of low price. As time goes on, Open Source will conquer the world of Operation Systems. In the next 2-3 years, Ubuntu based computers will rule third world countries. If Kenya invests more in Open Source Products, a lot of money will be saved and Necessary technology will be available to many.
What is worth noting is why a lot of people are leaning toward the Open Source Systems;
-All products are developed by a community of volunteers
-You can modify anything to your needs
-Upgrades are free
-Security issues get fixed quickly
-You get support from thousands of volunteers users
-Softwares are free
As for now, I’m using the following Open Source Products;
-PHPBB (www.kenyanzone.com) > Similar commercial item would cost $150 (VBulletion)
-GIMP > Similar software would retail at $ 800 (Photo Shop)
-Mozilla
-Openoffice.org > Similar commercial software = $ 100 ( Microsoft Office)
Thanks,
-Jim-
www.kenyanzone.com
To receive the newest guest posts as soon as the released make sure you sign up for free up-to the minute updates sent by either email or Real Simple Syndication (RSS)
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
Posts like this are why the Displaced African was born and what I pretty much live for.
On the 5th of March 2008, an absolute angel amongst men by the name of Fidelis Wainaina died. Aside from being a simply amazing human being (as you will hear in the podcast) what was absolutely amazing about her body of work is that starting with absolutely nothing she helped the constituents of Maseno turn their community from a poor, AIDS ravaged community into a self-sufficient banana exporting constituency that is now on its way to self-created wealth.
Now, sad to say, in this day and age, an event such as her death passed without much mention from the media. However, since I am blessed to have a blog and a means to communicate with Africa and the world, I thought I would do my part to ensure that souls such as hers are never ever forgotten and are in fact celebrated. I also hope that this podcast will help spur on all the people doing good work in Africa and inspire those not in the game of service to dive in.
Before I get to the meat of this post let me give you some very quick tips on how you can help ensure posts such as this reach the most people and have the most impact.
11 Things To Do After You Read This Article
Please do AT LEAST one of the following things after reading this post and/or listening to the podcast:
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Email it to all your friends who might be interested in it.
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Write your opinions on Fidelis in your own blog (like Sukuma Kenya did )
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Link to this article from your blog and share your thoughts on it.
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Send this article to your local paper and ask them to do a write-up on Fidelis Wainaina.
- Email world wide online publications such as Pambazuka, Black looks, Global Voices Online, Jamati and allafrica and ask them to do a feature to commemorate Fidelis.
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Start up your own initiatives like Fidelis’ Maseno Interchristian Child Self Help Group (MICH) and let me know about them so I can interview you too.
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Share this article with your friends on Facebook (there is a link that allows you to do so at the end of this post).
- Stumble this article and expose it to millions of people all over this world (if enough people Stumble this article around the same time, it can be read by up to 1000s of people within the next 24 hours). There is a link that allows you to Stumble this article at the bottom of the post. If you are not a member of StumbleUpon, make sure you sign up-it’s free. It is one of the greatest websites EVER!
- If you are a journalist or film maker or involved in any form of mass media, do a special on her and feel free to reference this post or any of its contents.
- Do what you can to get the word out about Fidelis, her work and similar projects.
If you know anyone else who I should interview because of the good work they do, do not hesitate to contact me .And for helping me with this, I thank you a lot.
Without Further Ado
The first podcast in the history of the Displaced African (yay). Hope it inspires you.
The file is 45 minutes long so feel free to Download it and carry it on your ipod (Download it by right clicking on the ‘Download’ link below the player, selecting “Save File As”/ “Save Target As” and letting the goodness flow from the web to your computer  )
Some Quick Notes About the Podcast
1) I understand that some people do not quite agree with the view presented in this interview of why the violence in Kenya broke out - i.e. that a lot of it was a direct attack against Kikuyus as either perceived revenge or to displace them. That’s fine. It’s not the main point of the interview anyway, and we were not physically in Kenya during the violence so we could definitely be wrong.
2) Any notes on how to improve my interview technique or any questions that weren’t fully answered, leave a comment or contact me and let me know.
3) Fidelis’ organization is known as Maseno Interchristian Child Self Help Group (MICH)
4) The exchange rate we were discussing was the US Dollar vs the Kenya shilling. To check out exchange rates, visit the Yahoo currency converter.
5) The Luo name for her was Nyar Okuyu.
Further Information
East African Standard article from August 28 2006
East African Standard interviews Fidelis Wainaina
Yarra Prize Laureates 2006 article
Listen to Fidelis Wainaina give a speech: “On the Front Lines of Poverty” during the Micah Conference 2007: [www.kingsu.ca]
Article regarding her death from Australian organization, TEAR (She was supposed to visit us during this Australian tour…sigh!): [www.tear.org.au]
A short story regarding Fidelis from the ONE Organization: [www.one.org]
Another brief article about her death:
From a European website.
World Evagelical Alliance also mention her death: [www.worldevangelicals.org]
For more information, also check out the Google search results for the term: Fidelis Wainaina
Please don’t forget to do one of the 11 things listed above as soon as you finish reading this article. And of course, if you enjoyed this podcast and want to make sure you receive updates when I begin doing regular inspirational podcasts, please subscribe to the site for free via either:
a) Email
b) RSS
Be blessed and bless others,
Mwangi
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
Hello! Hello! Hello!
I am now declaring this week:
The Week that Audio Built
Brilliant Title for a Week, Mwangi. But Why?
I am glad you asked. This week every single post that I will release will have some audio component to it. This all begins of course with:
The Welcome Message
You will notice on the banner at the very top of the site, there is now a small media player with the words:
Press play to hear a welcome message from Mwangi
I created this little player just so that I had a novel way of promoting and reinforcing what the blog is about and guiding y’all and helping y’all get the most out of the website.
However, the Weirdest Thing
Though I have had the good fortune of being on radio for a very brief period on my life, I still felt very self conscious and nervous about recording the welcome message. In fact after recording five takes I just gave up on trying to record, ” a perfect message wherein I am comfortable,” and decided it was better to put something up ASAP and tweak it as I went along.
NB: As I release this I am working on a new version of the welcome message so I should be changing the welcome message very soon, God willing!
So I have decided to get over my self-consciousness over my vocal abilities in the best way I know how:
A Week Where I Do Voice Posts….Well, Not Exactly
Every single post I will do this week will involve my voice in some way shape or form and the posts for this week are divided into two categories:
1) Podcasts
2) Guest posts
Podcast
Tomorrow, I release my first ever podcast (yay!). I recorded it a few weeks back and its about a true-angel-among-men (or rather women) who died a little over a month ago. This is me talking to my mother about this great lady. Please listen, learn and distribute the podcast as much as you can, because she truly is Africa’s own Mother Teresa.
Guest Posts
After asking for help last week, I am glad to say some of you gladly obliged. I will be releasing the guest posts that have been sent to me over the course of the week with brief audio introductions for each from yours truly. Feel free to consider me like the blogging MC.
The Hit List
The guests who have blessed me with prose are:
a) Jim, from the forum that feels like your favorite Aunty’s home, Kenyanzone.
b) Acolyte from “My part of the world” (well, it’s his part of the world, not my part, for you see….aaaaahhhhh whatever!)
c) Seinlife from well “Seinlife” where I can actually discuss healthy eating and not look like a loony.
d) Gal Africana representing ‘the Hagen’, Copenhagen that is, in her “search for sanity“.
I truly hope you enjoy and are nourished by the week of festivities I have lined up. See you in the comments section.
If the idea of a week of audio excites you then please subscribe to the site for free via either email or RSS to get the latest audio posts as soon as they are released.
Hope your ears enjoy,
Mwangi
PS: If you claim to have been born in Africa but don’t know who Zangalewa are…..sigh, you missed out man. Enjoy the silliness and the poetry that is Tibeeeeeee….Zangalewa!
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
The following is based on a true story
Judging by his tense posture and the way he paced up and down that bus depot, you would think he was waiting for a fight he had trained for all his life. In a sense he had. He had fought off many large-but-not-really-obese women for a place on the cues of bus stations all over East Africa. He had endured the threats of being smeared with feces if he did not produce the five dollars necessary for protection from the street boy mafia that worked bus stops throughout East Africa. And now, 1000s of miles away, he was ready.
The bus depot struck him as rather odd. Unlike the bus depot he was used to that had only three bus stops, this one had close to a dozen bus stops within it, each with their own benches. That didn’t strike him as too odd. This bus depot also had things like timetables in every bus stop and had things like sign boards that declared bus arrival times. The contrast between this and “the African time” he was used to shook him a little bit. What run the risk of almost terrifying him was how calm all the vanilla-complexion fellows were around him. So far they had been nothing but lovely to him, but this he did not understand.
Did they not know the battle they were about to enter into?
Didn’t they know he had been training all his life?
Didn’t they know, that he was going to win?
And so he paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, demarcating his route close to perfection like a pendulum waiting for the crack of midnight. Every so often in the middle of his repetitive charge he would peer at a piece of paper written:
888 - Nunawading
That was the bus that would get him one step closer to his destiny. No one was standing in his……
888! 888! 888!
Though the bus chugged along at the pace of a tortoise at the Biggest Loser competition, his mind raced faster than a teenager’s libido. His posture changed, his psychology changed, HE changed into……attack mode! He began by adjusting himself to the rhythm of the bus. It’s slow pace irritated him as he was used to the breakneck speed of never-serviced-how-on-Earth-can-they-still-roll buses that roamed the towns of Kenya. But that was OK, the lion merely had to adjust to his prey.
And yet the white people were not moving, what on Earth is…..The bus zipped (well, trotted really but the mind flies when in fight or flight mode) past him and he took off after it. His locomotion only ceased when the bus entered into what his good friend and soon to be professor, Bonniface Mutua Omondi (he was from two tribes and he wanted to be associated with the spirit of grandiloquent intelligence of the lakeside, yawa!) calls ,
“An absolute Kelvin of a stopper” (what temperature had to do with motion, only Newton knows really….)
Now at this juncture you must understand how the weird fellows who lived in the land down under designed their buses. There were two doors, yes, a front door and a back door. But for some weird reason everyone who was meant to leave was leaving through the back door and a couple of people were cuing at the front door (”with more to come,” he thought hurriedly). They were actually cuing as though the front door was the only way to enter the bus.
“Fools!”, he thought as he began to make his way up the steps of the back door. Whenever he encountered an obstacle, or as evolutionary biologists call them, people, he quickly shoulder checked them out of the way in a manner that would make African women blush with pride. He ploughed through the crowd, through obstacle after obstacle until he was eventually nestled firmly in the embrace of 888! 888! 888!Nunawading. The obstacles…eh, people, many of them with internal bleeding at this point, backed away defeated.
Lo and behold, he had been taught well. He was the first passenger in the bus. He turned to face his pale faced accomplices who had brought him to the bus stop. Their jaws were in danger of burrowing through the ground and all the blood had escaped their face and chased their jaw. Obviously they had not seen battle like he had.
“I have much to teach them,” he mused smugly.
“Nimebook viti!”, he declared to them before he realized that they didn’t know Kiswahili from French.
“I have booked your seats!” He quickly translated, shaking his head at how on point he was today.
He sprawled himself across a chair that could accommodate two and stretched his leg out across the aisle to rest it on the third seat. Kwa kweli alikuwa amebook (For real! The seats were booked!)
The bus driver slowly made his way towards him. He could smell the driver’s anxiety. I guess he hadn’t seen battle either…..
“That’s odd!” He thought, for someone whose life work was driving these rolling war zones.
“Excuse me sir, what are you doing?”
“I am resting and waiting for my friends to come in.”
“But sir, you enter through the front.”
“Then why do you have two doors?”
“The back seat is for exiting only. The front seat is where you enter and pay for your ticket. Do you have a tic…..”
“Isn’t that what a conductor is for?”
“Buses in this country don’t have conductors. Which country are you….”
“Doesn’t matter! I have booked my seats and none of those people will steal them,” he leered as he stretched his finger across all the little bus stops until he had marked the whole bus depot with his finger.
It was then that our protagonist began to experience an out of body experience. OK, that’s not accurate. It was then that our protagonist wished that he could have leased out his body for the next hour or two and had an out of body experience. For you see, only four other people entered that bus that day. The two “idiots” who had bothered to cue and the fellows from the land of Caucasia who-formerly-called-themselves-his-friends-but-now-had-never-heard-of-him.
The bus driver didn’t know what a straight face was as he explained to him how people enter through the front and pay while the people who want to leave stream out through the back (and yes, some through the front) without any battle taking place between the two.
“What about them?” he mapped out the whole bus depot again.
“They are cuing for other buses!”
“So this bus will just go when it’s close to empty” (his foot was so deep in his mouth, it had come back to be re-chewed as cud)
“Yes!”
“Oh…he he….yaani…oohhh…ok…he he he”….blush..blush…sheepish grin…sheepish grin…bahh bahhhh….hmmm….asalala!
If the walls of the bus could talk they would say,
“Today grasshopper, we outwitted you!”
If he could speak he would ask,
“Je huu ni ungwana” (Is this really civilized?”)
If you enjoyed this little tale and want more invitations to the narratives of my mind, subscribe to the blog via RSS or email to get the latest tidbits and anecdotes first.
Have a blessed Sunday and a great week
Mwangi
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
For those who don’t know, one of the great thinkers who helped define what it means to be black died recently: Aimé Césaire. I thought in honour of his death, I would embed five (I wanted to put seven but Wordpress can’t let me do that) distinct videos that remind us of the beauty of African people, the wonderful people who sacrificed for us to get to this point and of the battles that we still have to fight so that all Africans can be free. Some of these videos are long so please feel free to pick and choose what to watch, and get some food and supplies. I hope they inspire you.
Btw where are the music videos and the songs dedicated to African men and African fathers? Could only find one.
I leave you now with a definition of Négritude, that contributed to wonderful ideas such as Pan-Africanism, Black consciousness movement and Afrocentrism:
The Négritude writers found solidarity in a common black identity as a rejection of French colonial racism. They believed that the shared black heritage of members of the African diaspora was the best tool in fighting against French political and intellectual hegemony and domination.
Should these videos provoke any thought, then feel free to subscribe to the website via RSS or get regular email updates when the website is updated with fresh, thought-provoking content.
Have a great weekend,
Mwangi
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11:23
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
First up, the site is going through some changes in design and I am also adding and subtracting some stuff, so please bear with me.
This process will only last a few days and then it’ll be business as usual.In the meantime please give me feedback on whether its easier to read, what looks good, hideous etc etc
And yes, I have a funny accent and no I can’t explain what it is and where it came from, it’s just me and I rather like it!
Three events: Distant in chronology, but far from it in psychology. To another man, random events that have no bearing on each other. To me, they conspired together to bring about the writing of this article. The events are:
1. The Rugby Sevens that were held in Adelaide a few weeks ago.
2. A few weeks before the Rugby Sevens there was a fund raiser to raise money for people affected by the post election violence in Kenya. Finally;
3. I watched the movie 27 Dresses
A Brief Digression
Here’s what I don’t get about 27 dresses and hell, what I don’t get about romantic comedies all the way from the Cary Grant days.
Why is it that the a****le always gets the girl in the end?
James Marsden’s character, as likable as he was, was a far cry from Edward Burns character on sooo many levels and yet the spoils went to John’s character.
In addition to that, what is with the whole, ” the kiss didn’t feel the way it should,” thing?!
Yes, once upon a time, I used it as a line (not very well, but I did alright), but I simply do not understand. Maybe you were self conscious about your breath that moment or the guy had a cold and was breathing through his mouth or whatever could go wrong?
Really?! You will change your whole destiny because your game of tonsil-hockey wasn’t good on one particular day…hmmmm. Digression over!
So I Got to Thinking, Why?
Why is it that thousands upon thousands of people got in their cars, their planes (not their planes, commercial planes but…oh you get what I’m trying to say) and on each others backs from all over Australia? Some even came from the land up over as far as I can tell. And they all congregated on the little city of Adelaide to watch men in really tiny apparel go to war with each other. Why?
Why was Katherine Heigl’s character so obsessed with the wedding event? Why are millions of women, and the token male, so obsessed with their weddings and willing to invest so much of themselves and their resources into it? (Some even more than into the marriage)
Why were there only 50 people who showed up to raise money though the fundraiser was held in the midst of the violence and in a prime central locatin?
My Pedestrian Opinion on What Went Wrong with the Fund-raiser and Some Ways to Fix It
This problem doesn’t apply to just the fundraiser. Here in Melbourne, it has applied to a few projects and events that have been organized for a greater good. I don’t know about other people’s experiences in other countries but I am sure you have had your fare share of bum starters.
So why do women put so much into their special day (heck they even call it their special day) and why do so many people invest so much time, money and energy to making the Rugby pilgrimage (they even call it that)?
But Mwangi, It’s Rugby/ It’s My Wedding!
I think the first key component behind these two events is that they are both tied into traditions.
Tradition: A time-honored practice or set of such practices
The sport of rugby predated the Rugby Sevens. It was enjoyed before they set up the bleachers in Adelaide. People fought each other over their favourite teams long before the Seven’s tickets were printed.
In addition to that, Kenya was a country with a national identity and one people with a shared struggle (Don’t let the violence fool you. A lot of the people who were killing each other share a lot more in common with each other than with the politicians) before the Sevens. Kenya had a national team that Kenyans were behind long before a few weeks ago. Samoa had their team before the Sevens and the All Blacks owned ALL teams as soon as the first Maori child was born in New Zealand 
Same thing about weddings. Ever since Little Kimani (that’s a boy) woke up one morning a long time ago and realized that for some weird reason Chebet (that’s a girl) made him very happy, and they both realized that as much as they drive each other nuts they can’t live without each other, there have been ceremonies where a man and a woman get together for life. So weddings have traditions across cultures that have gone on for thousands of years.
The fundraiser might have fared better if it played to that. Perhaps the fundraiser could have been moved to the Rugby Sevens and become a part of that. Perhaps we could have made it a part of some of the annual parties and celebrations that Africans often hold. This to me seems like a great way to leverage what’s already there.
Self Interest
I think that Richard Dawkins and a lot of my marketing teachers weren’t wrong. Speak to people’s selfish interests and cater to them and you have them hooked. My favourite people have always given me something that I wanted or needed even if it was to make me feel like I was a good person or a responsible person and as you reflect you’ll probably find the same is true for you too.
So with that in mind, they should have treated the fundraiser like a marketing project with the desired outcome being to raise funds ala World Vision and aid agencies.
Do It Because It’s the Right Thing to Do
A lot of the time, many of us (myself included) fall into this trap of assuming that people should do things and will do them because they are the right thing to do. I think binge drinking, the rate of smoking, childhood obesity, war and the general tendency a lot of us have for self-destruction should be a pretty clear indication that this isn’t the case.
I think a good place to begin from is that:
Controversy Get’s Courted
1) We are all idiots
2) We are all selfish
3) No one likes you and no one will want to attend your stupid event
And overcompensate for this by guiding people along to the event in a manner that caters to their wants and desires.
Some Ways to Go About This
We should have appealed to people’s desire to feel like good people. We should have catered to their desire to party by making this the most fun they would have had this side of the moon. We should have had open barbecues and free meat. We should have invited guest artists over from Africa who we know people would have loved to see. We could have invited a famous pastor from overseas among other ways to satisfy what people want and need.
Get Professional Help
I think we should have gotten professional help. There are people who base their entire lives and entire careers around making people attend events -event organizers, party planners, club promoters etc. We should have either hired them to get more butts in the seats and/or gotten them to consult on how to make the event a roaring, smashing success.
If you are thinking to yourself:
But that’s too expensive or too time consuming?
Then that is definitely a clear indication that you should get professional assistance because you are clearly not passionate about the project. Hand it over to people who have a passion for it or for the process of getting people to attend events.
Another Digression
We were supposed to have heard a great band but you know what happened? They canceled last minute because they got a paying gig elsewhere. This just broke my heart man……
Leverage not Just Traditions but What People Already Do
That night, very little money was raised. We had a great location. We had people who were obviously dedicated and cared. However the day before a meeting in smaller meeting place, my mother’s church, was convened and they managed to raise a lot more money.
Can you imagine if every night club that Africans go to, every house party that people attend, every bible study, every church people were reminded of the suffering of their brethren and asked to give as much as they could?
I know a lot more would have been raised if we had taken advantage of events and places where we already gather to raise money.
To Conclude
I have no doubt that people’s hearts and people’s intentions were in the right place when they organized the fundraiser. That having been said, the event fell far short of what it could have been. This rather than being a failure in my eyes is simply a time for us to stop, reflect, figure out what we didn’t do or did wrong, change that and correct course. Then we can march on to much better events and a much stronger and more supportive community in the African diaspora.
My 2 cents conclude here so please give me my change, leave me a lovely comment telling me about your ideas on African events in the diaspora and subscribe to the RSS feed or sign up for email updates if this article got you thinking.
Be blessed and bless others,
Mwangi
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
I recently read about the heart breaking, raw reaction that Kelly had to having to leave Kenya. That mixed in with some discussions I had with some friends got me thinking about what it was like when I had to say goodbye to Africa.
Do You Know What My Reaction Was?
Nothing! This post will be short because I felt nothing about leaving home. I wouldn’t miss anyone or anything.The only thing I felt was excited because I was going to a new place that was supposedly better than where I was coming from. I was also feeling pretty good because Australia also promised this wanna-be Mandingo his girls.
Ironically…..
My apathy eventually bit me in the butt and within six months I was missing all my family and friends. I was writing them all emotional deep letters expressing how much I loved and missed them. I was on the phone with my cousin so much the authorities must have thought we were plotting a jewel heist.
I wrote this post because I am curious. What was it like for you, when you had to say goodbye? Leave a comment below and let me know.
Before I leave though……
If Denzel Got Rejected What Hope Is There?
I have just watched an interview with Denzel Washington where he said that when he first proposed to his wife over the phone…..she said NO! If Mr. Mo’ Better got rejected, that evokes two feelings in me:
a) For real, no a lot of the time is just, not yet.
b) If John Q couldn’t seal the deal with his first proposal, what hope is there for the rest of us?
Rewind Selector
Until then, please enjoy Malaika one more time.
Why? Because they are that good!
Be blessed and bless others,
Mwangi
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
NB: Unless otherwise specified, the $ sign refers to Australian dollars and not American dollars. To check out exchange rates please check out this website.
If I were to write this article without any rules it would basically be one long drool-fest over Skype.
Therefore
I decided I would create some rules. This article will consist of:
a) 5 great things about Skype
b) 5 not-so-great things about Skype
c) My overall verdict of Skype
d) A score out of 100% on the Displaced African scale
e) How to immediately get started using Skype
First of all: What is Skype?
Skype, in a nutshell is a service that allows you to make phone calls, from your computer or certain mobile phones, over the Internet. In addition to that, Skype also has services that allow one to:
a) Send instant messages and chat.
b) Send smses to phones.
c) Make video calls over the Internet.
One of the key distinguishing features of Skype is that users of Skype can have phone conversations with each other over the Skype network for free. Skype also offers competitive rates to call any country in the world.
I hope this is enough information to get a good grasp of what Skype is. If not then either:
a) Download Skype (it’s free) and play around with it. Maybe call me up for free on Skype; my username is masmilele.
b) Contact me or leave a comment and let me know what you don’t understand
c) Go to Google and learn a bit more about Skpe.
5 Great things About Skype
1) A lot of people use it: Even before you begin using Skype there are already 270 million people using it. If 100s of million of people all over the world, including myself and my family, are using Skype there must be a reason: It works!
2) Convenience: Skype is the only internet telephone service that also has a mobile phone component through a partnership with mobile phone provider 3. This means you can make free Skype-Skype calls from anywhere: the house, the bus, the porcelain throne room…..etc etc.
3) Cheap: It is $0.03 A MINUTE to call UK and US. Half of all the phone calls I ever need to make for less than the cost of….the cost of….nothing is as cheap as $0.03 in Australia. Calling Kenya (where the other half of Skype calls go) is about the same as calling using a phone card ($0.27), BUT I get all the added benefits that Skype brings to my life. To check out Skype rates check out the Skype website.
4) Topping up credit is easy: I use a debit card and this debit card is already linked to a paypal account (the same paypal account through which you can donate to the Displaced African by clicking on the ‘Make a Donation’ button on the right, wink ). This Paypal account is automatically linked to my Skype service. This means that all I need to do to top up my Skype credit (can either buy $16 or $40) is click one button and within seconds I have credit.
Contrast that with (brace for it) having to get out of the house, get in the car, go to the milk bar that’s closed, decide to go to the one further down the road, get there to find the only phone card is gone and eventually get a phone card three days later when you have even forgotten why you wanted a phone card in the first place.
Not good, me thinks!
5) Free calling: My cousin lives in Ireland and back in the day when I would call his cellphone and spend hours spewing weird diatribes about the world, the phone bill used to rack up quite some frequent flier miles. Fortunately now he uses Skype on his mobile phone and so all I need to do is get on my computer grab my headset and we can have a free conversation for hours complete with file sharing and discussions-that-were-formerly-known-as-diatribes.
Bonus: Has extra features that allow you to:
a) Record calls and save them as mp3s ( e.g. if you want to have your own podcast or radio show)
b) Have conference calls and group chats
c) Send free smses and instant messages to other Skype users.
d) Send smses to regular phones (which means you type faster because you are using a keyboard-though some people on the phone, you would think they are Bruce Lee)
5 Not So Great Things About Skype
1) You can’t use Skypeout on mobile phones: When you connect to Skype using a 3 Skypephone, ALL phone calls made -including international-outside of the Skype network are through the 3 network. This basically means that you can’t use Skype’s cheap rates when you are using 3 Skype phones. Instead you have to rely on 3 having great rates. This reduces the flexibility of international calls from your mobile phone.
2) The person using Skype must have access to the Internet: This pretty much restricts my grandmother and a lot of my extended family from getting in contact with me at Skype prices.
3) You can’t buy credit in cash: If there was a machine that could allow you to buy things on Amazon, ebay and Skype using cash I would use it. Sometimes you don’t have money in your account but you have cash at hand. This makes buying Skype credit less accessible.
4) Not all my friends and family know about it and use it: Only a few members of my family know about Skype. I would love to be able to make free Skype-Skype calls to all my friends and families (and readers). Hence the reason I am writing this article…So what are you waiting for? Get with it, and add me to your Skype phone book.
5) Using Headphones and Earphones May Cause Deafness: Use of Skype (especially over the computer) means that I use my headphones quite a bit. Apparently there are experts who say using headphones so much may cause hearing loss. Though this phenomena is predominantly associated with Ipods and loud music, I believe the same principles may apply for prolonged headphone use over Skype.
My overall verdict: The best way to make international calls and stay in contact with your friends who regularly use the Internet. A long way away from being perfect especially in terms of making the convenience of Skype universally accessible. On a selfish note, they could definitely reduce their prices on calls to Kenya.
The Displaced African score: 75/100
How to Get Started Using Skype
You can begin using Skype now by clicking on this link which will take you to the Skype website where you can download Skype for free and begin chatting with the other 270 million Skype users for free (don’t forget to add me to your Skype contact book, my Skype name is: masmilele)
I really enjoyed writing this review and I hope it was of some use to you. If you would like to see more reviews of this nature, or you have products you would like me to review, then leave a comment below or contact me.
Be blessed and bless others,
Mwangi
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11:48
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
Below is a list of words, expressions and institutions that you will regularly hear about once you land in the land down under. I expect this list to expand as you guys send me words that you often use within your Australian experience. For more information on Australian slang words check out Koala Net
Oz/ Aussie: Australia
DIMIA: Until and unless you become an Australian citizen, and to a lesser extent when you become a permanent resident, DIMIA (meaning The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs) is like a traditional African father: remains pretty much in the background when you’re in line. Step out of line and they come down on you with fury and viscous anger.
Have you heard stories of people who were picked up from their homes and deported on the spot, from out of the blue? These are the guys that did it.
Detention centres: These are places where people who the government thinks shouldn’t be in the country are kept. Otherwise, mess with DIMIA and their rules, this is where you get locked up. Avoid this place!
EFTPOS (pronounced Efft-Poss or Eff-Poss): This is when you use your debit card to make a purchase as opposed to using cash. When a business says EFTPOS is allowed, that means you can use your savings/debit card.
Goon bag: Goon refers to really really really cheap wine. A Goon bag is an even cheaper box of this far-from-dear wine. Usually 4-5 litres of goon is sold for less than $20. This stuff messes you up, I know many vomit stains can be attributed to the goon bag.
A root: (Usage: I am going to get a root) Sex or sexual intercourse.
Footy: Depends on which state you are in: refers to either rugby or the Australian sport, AFL Football. The use of the term depends on which of the two sports is more popular in the State
Btw: And to think they call football, or soccer or whatever Americans call it, a sissy sport??!!)
Sheila: A woman
Cockatoo: If you head out to the country, you may here the expression cockatoo: that’s a chicken.
Ocker: According to Koala Net, it refers to an unsophisticated person. Typically this is used to refer to blue collar workers who are crude in the manner they carry themselves. Great guys IMO though. Also referred to as Yobbo. Once you’ve seen an ocker or yobbo once you have a pretty clear picture of who they are that’s hard to forget.
Stubby: A 375ml. beer bottle (They really love alcohol, or as Aussies call it, piss across all age groups in this country)
Spunk: Good looking person. Usually a male, could go either way.
Sickie: A day that you take off from work because of illness.
Chuck a sickie: Take a day off work claiming illness when you are actually quite healthy.
Snag: An Australian sausage that’s usually grilled or barbecued….speaking of which….
Barbie: A barbecue or an event centered around barbecuing food.
Dole: This is the Australian equivalent of welfare. Money given to support people who are unemployed for one reason or another.
Dole Bludger: These are people who are on the dole when it’s unjustified or are seen to be lazy and exploiting the dole.
Pom: A British person
Yank: An American
Kiwi: A New Zealander
Supa/ Super (pronounced like Super): Short for superannuation. Money automatically taken out of every wage or salary and placed in a fund where it’ll be cashed out when you retire. If you return to Africa after working here feel free to withdraw your super then and go home with it.
Work hours limit: This goes by many names but is basically the idea that as an international student, you are limited to 20 hours of work per week during the school term -during holiday time you can work as much as you want. A lot of students due to various circumstances choose to defy this rule by working more than 20 hours. In general this comes to bite students in the butt when:
a) Their working too much interferes with their studies in any way shape or form: The University reports you, an investigation begins and it snowballs on and on and on…..
b) You have friends who either don’t like you, are envious of you or want to make money by reporting you to DIMIA.
c) You have employers who are dissatisfied with you and chose to report you.
In short, before you come here, please make sure you have thought through how you will be supported while you do your studies. Otherwise you may hear the dreaded word……
Deportation: You are deported when you break DIMIA or the Government’s rules and they don’t want you anymore. Doesn’t look good on your record.
States, Cities and Suburbs/Territories: Australia is a federal country that has 6 states:
1) New South Wales 2) Queensland 3) South Australia 4) Tasmania (an island separate from the Australian mainland) 5) Victoria 6) Western Australia
Australia also has a number of territories, refer to this article for more information.
Each of these states and territories then divides into cities, complete with their own city councils and mayors. For example, in Victoria there is:
1) City of Melbourne (which has the ever popular mayor John So) 2) City of Knox 3) City of Whitehorse 4) City of Monash, just to name a few.
Each of these cities consists of suburbs. Which leads me to:
Address: Back in Kenya, we used to use the Post Office Box system. That means that when someone used to ask me for my mailing address I would refer them to a mail box in the middle of the city whereas when asked for my residential address I could only describe it according to the landmarks that were on our road. Though a lot of houses have numbers on them, I don’t remember using them often to get to someone’s house.
In Australia though, unless you take advice I gave you on previous posts, your mailing address will be your residential address and it’ll look a little something like this:
24 Carvey Street,
Glen Iris,
VIC 3134
NB: The above is not a real address but merely an example
You need:
a) A street name and the number of the home or mail box on the street (24 Carvey Street)
b) The suburb-not the city or State (Glen Iris)
c) State or territory, usually abbreviated into two or three letters (VIC meaning Victoria, NSW meaning New South Wales, NT meaning Northern Territory)
d) Post code (4 digit number that usually only has relevance to the mailing company. Good to know if you are sending a letter e.g. 3150, 3000 etc etc)
Have any words to the add to the ‘Australian dictionary’? Leave a comment below and spread the word!
Be blessed,
Bless others,
Mwangi
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
To refer to the check-list that you will guide you in immigrating to Australia within a week please refer to the Introduction post in the series.
Relationships
We are in the home stretch! I thought I would make this final article short, sweet and to the point.
People You Should Know
1) Family: If you have family here. Cling on to them and make sure you don’t lose contact with them. Take care of each other, many times, no one else will.
2) Immigrant Families: If you know any immigrant families-where the parents and their children have immigrated over- it’s great to hang around them because:
a) Families are more stable and so less problems, especially self-inflicted problems.
b) This stability tends to make them more trustworthy and dependable.
c) You get to see how the immigrant experience affects people of different ages: It tends to hit some older African men quite hard, leaving a place where they were royalty and all of a sudden coming to a place where things are more leveled across sex and race. You get to see how they react to that.
A lot of women are hugely affected by the high level of freedoms and rights they all of a sudden have-across all age groups-and you get to see how they react to that.
I am not saying this as an empty provocative statement: A lot of people who come here in their teens or childhood end up being so empty, ignorant and superficial. Others on the other hand….hmmm…….on the other hand..I really need new acquaintances don’t I? I don’t see much of the other ones, only the empty ones.Btw if you are an Australian who came here in the mid-teens or younger and came out more intelligent and as a deeper human being, contact….oh yes, I have remembered. Some DO end up as deeper, more conscious human beings…….You have now gotten a glimpse into how my mind works
This contrast in experience amongst age groups is interesting to watch and gives you a menu of perspectives and vantage points on this immigrant experience.
3) The Older Immigrants: Not necessarily restricted to the family unit. People who have been here for ages can show you the ropes and give you a glimpse into what you will be a decade down the road. Maybe you want to be like them, so do what they do.
4) The Outsiders: A lot of people who come here, completely disconnect from communities associated with the country of their birth and carve out their own journeys. You may find these people on the tram or in the city or in general settings. In general a lot of these people don’t want to be found. Find them, talk to them. They can open you up to worlds and possibilities that you never even imagined existed. The amount of variety in the human experience that can exist here is startling at times.
5) The Australians: This is especially for those who want to move up the socioeconomic ladder and/or make this place feel more like a home. Extend your hand out and get to know the people who built this country. A lot of people have a lot of fulfilling business ties, friendships and romantic relationships with people here so you never know. Check out this free report I got from a Sri Lankan living in Australia that expounds on this idea some more. (It’s a pdf file so please download Adobe Reader)
6) Other Immigrants: You realize that this whole ‘being African’ thing is separate and apart from so many things such as ‘being Arab’, ‘being Greek’, ‘being Lebanese’, ‘being Italian’, ‘being South Korean’ etc etc. You will get along with people from a lot of immigrant communities naturally- Indians and Sri Lankans for example-because you are all in the same boat: you are outsiders. Make friends with immigrants, if for no other reason, to enjoy the beautiful irony of having so much in common with people who are so different.
7) The Students: If you want to see how someone below forty-some are actually over- can manage to stay alive on two hours of sleep while going to school five days a week, going to work eight days a week and still manage to have a vibrant social life, watch the wonder and the marvel that is the student.
Some just love to party. Some just love to pray and meditate on divinity. Some just love to work. Some love and find time for all three.
If you have anything further to add to the above list, give me a yell.
Health Insurance
Sadly I am not an expert in this area as I lack any experience with it and have rarely discussed it with my peers. I shall share with you the little I know, but if anyone has any more information or resources to contribute in this area then please let me know.
I am told that for a lot of students coming over, health insurance is part of the school fees. As soon as you get here, make sure you get your health insurance card and make sure that health insurance card gives you ambulance cover.
My teeth are slowly deteriorating, so with that in mind, also make sure your health insurance covers dental expenses.
Why This Emphasis on Dental and Ambulance Cover?
One five kilometre ride in the ambulance can cost you $700+ dollars.
Getting your teeth cleaned and bleached can cost …..$700+ dollars
Ambulance cover = $50 annually
Health insurance with Medibank Private (comes highly recommended to me from other students) = Approximately $400 (can be more or can be less)
A Place to Compare Health Insurance
I guess television advertising does work. I have seen this online service advertised repeatedly on television by some chuckle-inducing ads. It is a service that helps you compare and chose private health insurance health packages and companies. Check it out: I-select
Take care of yourself, get some health insurance.
BTW: An Additional Option to Accommodation
This was recently brought to my attention and I thought I had to just share it because it can be a perfect solution for some of y’all:
a) Instant employment
b) Free rent
Need any more reasons? Check it out and be sure to give me feedback on your experiences with it:
Wesley Homeshare
With that ladies and gentlemen. My guide to assist you to immigrate to Australia within a week is done. This guide is not a static guide but rather a fluid one that I expect to change and evolve over time as I get more feedback.
Ladies and gentlemen at the end of this week, you should have a solid foundation for a great life laid. And now…..LIFE BEGINS!
Godspeed,
Mwangi
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
So how do you know that you have been away from your native country for way too long. Never fear, I am here to give you the warning signs that you have lost touch with the motherland.
1) Communication is Lacking: You go to your native countrymen to have a conversation and the only word you understand of a language that you used to think was yours, is the greeting. This particularly applies to creole or ever-evolving languages such as sheng.
2) Everyone Talks to You in English (or French): Even though you grew up speaking the local languages, as soon as people see you, they change from natives to Rhode Scholars.
3) You wear a Kenya/Ghana/South Africa T-shirt IN Kenya/Ghana/South Africa: Short of special events, most people don’t wear shirts proudly declaring their citizenship while they live there. Clearly you have missed the place.
4) You Pay Higher Prices for Everything: As far as shopkeepers are concerned, you are a tourist and so should be treated as such.
5) Your Family Members Don’t Recognize You: Maybe it’s the weird curly kit hairdo (both men and women), maybe it’s the excess of baggy clothes, maybe it’s the weird walk and the even weirder accent. Either way, when your aunties look at you, they are actually looking through you searching for the young person they sent abroad.
6) You Expect Everything to be on time and efficient: You complain to anyone around you that passports shouldn’t take this long to process/ buses shouldn’t be four hours late/ the police should actually live to serve people.
These complaints are almost always taken as a spoiled cry-baby trying to tell everyone what to do.
7) You are on time FOR EVERYTHING: If you find yourself being punctual for everything, occupational functions AND social functions, then clearly your concept of “African time” is gone and you have been abroad too long.
Off the top of my head I can think of a few more but I will leave for the floor open for y’all to share with me some of the signs you have noticed of this deadly disease.
From one member of the diaspora to another,
Mwangi
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12:04
From: The Displaced African
Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African
To refer to the check-list that you will guide you in immigrating to Australia within a week please refer to the Introduction post in the series.
Employment
I will take two hypothetical scenarios and offer employment solutions for both.
You Have Been Beaten and Dumped in the Middle of an Australian City with No Documentation and No Money in Your Pocket
Backpacker’s Hostels
In this case then my first recommendation is to pay a visit to backpacker’s hostels. In Sydney you find them at King’s Cross and Bondi Beach amongst other places. In Melbourne you find them in St. Kilda. They tend to be located in either city centers or near the ocean. Wherever they are seek them out.
Go to the notice board and look for people looking for workers in the following industries:
a) Construction
b) Landscaping and Gardening
c) Sales
d) Cleaning
e) ANYTHING!!
A lot of the people advertising in backpacker’s know that they are offering work to people who are young, broke, may have no bank accounts and no legal documentation.
Through these means I got a job at a demolition company where I was earning $150 cash at hand every single day. It could have actually become my permanent job because the firm, in truth it was a man and his brother, was always moving from job to job.
Another French man (have you ever met someone who is ridiculously good looking and yet nice at the same time…..I couldn’t believe my friend was real. And his girlfriend…..WOW!) actually got a van through these means and a permanent job as a carpet cleaner that paid him $1000 a week from about 8 hours of work a day.
Other people have gotten jobs as carpenters and laborers of various types with nice pay packets that are in excess of $1000 weekly.
Sales job
Door to door sales is the easiest job in the world to get. You show up in the office one day and you will begin working the next. It’s that simple. You don’t need English skills, qualifications, nothing. You show up and you’ll get it.
These jobs are also posted in notice boards of backpacker’s hostels and you can also find them through Seek and other job search sites.
People in Australia are the nicest people I have ever met. At the very least, when you interact with them one on one majority of them will treat with courtesy and respect (even when they don’t mean it, which makes their courtesy even better, depending on how you look at it). I say this so that you can understand that the job is not scary. People will not spit at you or beat you for knocking on their doors and trying to sell them car servicing vouchers or water coolers.
If you are good looking or charismatic, give it a go and you can actually build a six figure income if you are good at sales (imagine that, literally from the bottom to the top……..).
This job doesn’t gel with my sense of ethics a lot of the time: a lot of manipulation and mind games. Some salesmen lie through their teeth, but all in all if you are desperate and you need a job, door to door sales is a way to go. Great opportunities!
Cleaning
I have no experience getting cleaning jobs, however from what I have observed and heard from others, look them up in the local paper classifieds or on Seek and you should be able to arrange an immediate job, sometimes even with cash at hand. This job, needless to say, needs no experience or qualifications.
It’s definitely a physically exhausting job, but you are an African, you probably saw worse in high school or at least from the manual workers around you.
Online Opportunities
If you have a background and/or are very strong in IT, regardless of your location, then this can be a great way to get some income. This applies even if you are still in Africa; people are making some good money in Romania, Philippines and India in this industry.
So, consider working as a virtual assistant or freelance programmer. Become one of those IT professionals who work is outsourced to.
It is a multi billion dollar industry and you can work from the comfort of your own home and make a mean chunk of change.
You can sign up for free to websites such as:
a) Rentacoder:[www.rentacoder.com]
b) Guru:[www.guru.com]
c) Elance:[www.elance.com]
Or simply find a way to start up your own virtual assistant or freelance programmer service. The demand is definitely out there and it’s great way to make some money when you desperately need it and you have IT skills. Some articles and resources that give you more information about the industry:
a) The Blog about the Virtual Assistant Industry: [vadirectory.net]
b) Timothy Ferriss articles on the Virtual assistant industry: [www.fourhourworkweek.com]
c) A Practical Case Study on How One Small Business Outsourced:
Entrepreneur’s Journey case study
d) Podcast show on how two Internet business owners outsourced their work:
Internet Business Mastery - What You Need to Know to Start Outsourcing
I wrote a bit more on this in an email correspondence I had with a couple of the members of the Mashada online community and a person who wrote to me through the website Linkedin. A lot of it is covered above but there are still some great nuggets in there. Find that by opening the pdf document below:
Online opportunities (the pdf file that needs Adobe Reader to be opened)
You Have Everything In Order, You are Going to School and You Need to Take Care of Yourself
Nursing, aged care and disabled care
This job is pretty much a dichotomy. On the one hand, no other minimum-wage job offers you:
a) As much work: This place-and many Western countries-are the mirror opposite of Africa with senior citizens being the majority who outnumber the youth. The number of elderly and retired is increasing each and every year and extensive use of contraception(amongst other things) basically means there are a lot of elderly people and not enough people to take care of them.
There will always be sick people in hospital and disabled people will always require assistance. Demand is there.
b) Flexibility of hours: In this industry you can work 24 hours a day 365 days a year if your body can hack it. There are no holidays for the old, sick and disabled so there is constant work.
c) You help people: Personally, I find the job a bit too fast-paced to really appreciate the impact we have on people but the truth remains this job helps make other’s lives better, or at least more comfortable.
d) Variety of work: I have worked in all three fields of aged, disabled care and hospitals, though I was only trained as an aged care nurse. You can also work as a cleaner of people’s homes…there is a wide variety of work in case you get bored quickly like I do.
e) You can keep getting fired and getting work: I was fired, and or have quit from a lot of jobs but have been able to bounce back and find a new job in a matter of weeks even in different states.
I do very many things well, but nursing isn’t one of them. Yet I kept getting hired. The scarcity of work is that bad.
However this job also requires a few sacrifices:
a) You must train to become an entry aged care or disability nurse: Training varies from a few weeks to a few months depending on where you train and costs around $1000 in total (this will be pai | |
