Ebola: Texas College Rejects 2 Nigerian Students
A college in Texas has blatantly refused to admit about two Nigerian students who sought admission in their school for fear of Ebola Virus Disease which recently struck Nigeria.
Navarro College, a two-year community college whose campus is about 58 miles from Dallas has sent two letters to one of the students who is a Texas man originally from Nigeria named Kamorudeen Abidogun.
In an exclusive chat with CNBC, Abidogun disclosed that the college who cited Ebola cases in Nigeria as grounds for their actions had also rejected the applications of about five of his relatives from Ibadan, about 80 miles from Lagos, Nigeria who sought admission in the school using his home in Richmond, Texas, as a U.S. mailing address.
“I received, last weekend, two rejection letters…saying the reason why they were not giving admission was…Ebola,” said Abidogun, who is a mechanical engineer. He said he was “disappointed” in the school’s stated policy.
The signature of the Navarro College’s international programs director, Elizabeth Pillans was boldly appended on a sample of the letter made available by Abidogun.
The letter begins: “With sincere regret, I must report that Navarro College is not able to offer you acceptance for the Spring 2015 term. Unfortunately, Navarro College is not accepting international students from countries with confirmed Ebola cases.”
Furthermore, a Nigerian who lives in East Texas identified as Idris Bello tweeted a photo of the letter in order to inform people about the “embarrassing” policy of the Texas college.
In his tweet, Bello was disappointed in the school for putting up such policy against foreign students, whereas a 26-year-old nurse Nina Pham, in nearby Dallas, contracted the Ebola disease after treating a Liberian man, Thomas Eric Duncan.
The College’s Vice for President for Access and Accountability, Dewayne Gragg, of the finally commented on the matter after much efforts by the CNBC press men.
“Our college values its diverse population of international students. This fall we have almost 100 students from Africa. Unfortunately, some students received incorrect information regarding their applications to the institution,” Gragg wrote.
“As part of our new honor’s program, the college restructured the international department to include focused recruitment from certain countries each year. Our focus for 2014-15 is on China and Indonesia. Other countries will be identified and recruitment efforts put in place once we launch our new honors program fall 2015. We apologize for any misinformation that may have been shared with students. Additional information regarding our progress with this new initiative will be posted on our website,” he continued.
Since September 8, 2014, there has been no record of any fresh case of Ebola in Nigeria. Eight people were reportedly killed as a result of the virus which was introduced by Patrick Sawyer.
Meanwhile, Navarro College wrote about the Ebola virus on the college’s website which contained information for foreign students , but the “embarrassing” policy of blacklisting such students was nowhere to be found there.
Source: Nairalandnews.com
Navarro College, a two-year community college whose campus is about 58 miles from Dallas has sent two letters to one of the students who is a Texas man originally from Nigeria named Kamorudeen Abidogun.
In an exclusive chat with CNBC, Abidogun disclosed that the college who cited Ebola cases in Nigeria as grounds for their actions had also rejected the applications of about five of his relatives from Ibadan, about 80 miles from Lagos, Nigeria who sought admission in the school using his home in Richmond, Texas, as a U.S. mailing address.
“I received, last weekend, two rejection letters…saying the reason why they were not giving admission was…Ebola,” said Abidogun, who is a mechanical engineer. He said he was “disappointed” in the school’s stated policy.
The signature of the Navarro College’s international programs director, Elizabeth Pillans was boldly appended on a sample of the letter made available by Abidogun.
The letter begins: “With sincere regret, I must report that Navarro College is not able to offer you acceptance for the Spring 2015 term. Unfortunately, Navarro College is not accepting international students from countries with confirmed Ebola cases.”
Furthermore, a Nigerian who lives in East Texas identified as Idris Bello tweeted a photo of the letter in order to inform people about the “embarrassing” policy of the Texas college.
In his tweet, Bello was disappointed in the school for putting up such policy against foreign students, whereas a 26-year-old nurse Nina Pham, in nearby Dallas, contracted the Ebola disease after treating a Liberian man, Thomas Eric Duncan.
The College’s Vice for President for Access and Accountability, Dewayne Gragg, of the finally commented on the matter after much efforts by the CNBC press men.
“Our college values its diverse population of international students. This fall we have almost 100 students from Africa. Unfortunately, some students received incorrect information regarding their applications to the institution,” Gragg wrote.
“As part of our new honor’s program, the college restructured the international department to include focused recruitment from certain countries each year. Our focus for 2014-15 is on China and Indonesia. Other countries will be identified and recruitment efforts put in place once we launch our new honors program fall 2015. We apologize for any misinformation that may have been shared with students. Additional information regarding our progress with this new initiative will be posted on our website,” he continued.
Since September 8, 2014, there has been no record of any fresh case of Ebola in Nigeria. Eight people were reportedly killed as a result of the virus which was introduced by Patrick Sawyer.
Meanwhile, Navarro College wrote about the Ebola virus on the college’s website which contained information for foreign students , but the “embarrassing” policy of blacklisting such students was nowhere to be found there.
Source: Nairalandnews.com
Ebola victims ‘rise from the dead’ causing panic & fear among locals
Panic is spreading across an African community after reports that two Ebola victims have risen from the dead.
The victims, both females in their 40s and 60s, died of the deadly virus in separate communities in Nimba County, Liberia.
But according to reports in a local newspaper, the pair have reportedly been resurrected and are now walking among the living, causing panic and fear among locals.
The New Dawn Nimba County said the late Dorris Quoi of Hope Village Community and the second victim identified as Ma Kebeh, in her late 60s, were about to be taken for burial when they rose from the dead.
Ma Kebeh had been indoors for two nights without food and medication before her alleged death.
Nimba County has recently reported unusual news of Ebola cases, including one about a native doctor from the county, who claimed that he could cure infected victims, dying of the virus himself last week.
Since the Ebola outbreak in Nimba County, this is the first incident of dead victims resurrecting, the paper said.
The Ebola outbreak has already killed around 2,800 people in five West African countries this year while an estimated 5,800 people have been infected with the virus, which has no known cure.
America’s respected Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has predicted there could be up to 1.4million cases of deadly Ebola by the end of January.
The CDC, which successfully treated two US doctors infected with the disease, released the worrying report based on assumptions that cases have been dramatically under reported.
The Centre’s scientists believe there may be as many as 21,000 reported and unreported cases in just Liberia and Sierra Leone alone by the end of this month.
The World Health Organisation has already warned the number of people infected with the Ebola could reach 20,000 by the beginning of November if steps to contain the outbreak are not accelerated.
Source: Citi FM, Accra Gh
The victims, both females in their 40s and 60s, died of the deadly virus in separate communities in Nimba County, Liberia.
But according to reports in a local newspaper, the pair have reportedly been resurrected and are now walking among the living, causing panic and fear among locals.
The New Dawn Nimba County said the late Dorris Quoi of Hope Village Community and the second victim identified as Ma Kebeh, in her late 60s, were about to be taken for burial when they rose from the dead.
Ma Kebeh had been indoors for two nights without food and medication before her alleged death.
Nimba County has recently reported unusual news of Ebola cases, including one about a native doctor from the county, who claimed that he could cure infected victims, dying of the virus himself last week.
Since the Ebola outbreak in Nimba County, this is the first incident of dead victims resurrecting, the paper said.
The Ebola outbreak has already killed around 2,800 people in five West African countries this year while an estimated 5,800 people have been infected with the virus, which has no known cure.
America’s respected Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has predicted there could be up to 1.4million cases of deadly Ebola by the end of January.
The CDC, which successfully treated two US doctors infected with the disease, released the worrying report based on assumptions that cases have been dramatically under reported.
The Centre’s scientists believe there may be as many as 21,000 reported and unreported cases in just Liberia and Sierra Leone alone by the end of this month.
The World Health Organisation has already warned the number of people infected with the Ebola could reach 20,000 by the beginning of November if steps to contain the outbreak are not accelerated.
Source: Citi FM, Accra Gh
DCE Turns Science Teacher
THE REFUSAL by a number of teachers to accept postings to the Mamprugu-Moagduri district of the Northern Region has compelled the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area, Maxwell Awuntor Mahama, to enter into teaching.
Mr. Mahama spends two hours of his tight daily schedule as the political head of the district in teaching Integrated Science at the Yagaba Senior High Technical School to make up for the shortfall in the teacher population of the district.
Prior to his appointment as DCE barely two years ago, he was a tutor at one of the teacher training colleges and disclosed to DAILY GUIDE that he had to take up the job which he is not paid for, in order to save the future of the infant institution.
During a recent visit to the area by this paper, the DCE was seen teaching a class of first year students and when asked why he took up such a task, he said he was motivated by the plight of the poor students.
'I cannot sit and watch students idle about without teachers,' he remarked.
The DCE said his schedules in the morning at the district assembly were not busy as expected and so he was able to make time to attend to the needs of the students who are over 500, to ensure that they were given the best of tuition.
According to him, there were a number of schools in the area without teachers because those who were supposed to go there refused to report while others outrightly refused to accept postings to the district – with the excuse that the place is a rural community without electricity.
He disclosed that his outfit was liaising with the regional directorate of education to ensure that teachers were posted to the area, hinting that several bungalows would be built to accommodate teachers posted to the district.
Mr. Mahama appealed to indigenes of the area who are teachers elsewhere to come to the aid of their brothers and sisters since they know the terrain very well and can help improve education in the district.
He commended the former Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Alhaji Abdul-Rauf Tanko, for initiating the senior high school project.
In this regard, he appealed to various stakeholders in education to help encourage teachers to accept postings to the district, promising that they would be retained.
Source: Daily Guide
Mr. Mahama spends two hours of his tight daily schedule as the political head of the district in teaching Integrated Science at the Yagaba Senior High Technical School to make up for the shortfall in the teacher population of the district.
Prior to his appointment as DCE barely two years ago, he was a tutor at one of the teacher training colleges and disclosed to DAILY GUIDE that he had to take up the job which he is not paid for, in order to save the future of the infant institution.
During a recent visit to the area by this paper, the DCE was seen teaching a class of first year students and when asked why he took up such a task, he said he was motivated by the plight of the poor students.
'I cannot sit and watch students idle about without teachers,' he remarked.
The DCE said his schedules in the morning at the district assembly were not busy as expected and so he was able to make time to attend to the needs of the students who are over 500, to ensure that they were given the best of tuition.
According to him, there were a number of schools in the area without teachers because those who were supposed to go there refused to report while others outrightly refused to accept postings to the district – with the excuse that the place is a rural community without electricity.
He disclosed that his outfit was liaising with the regional directorate of education to ensure that teachers were posted to the area, hinting that several bungalows would be built to accommodate teachers posted to the district.
Mr. Mahama appealed to indigenes of the area who are teachers elsewhere to come to the aid of their brothers and sisters since they know the terrain very well and can help improve education in the district.
He commended the former Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Alhaji Abdul-Rauf Tanko, for initiating the senior high school project.
In this regard, he appealed to various stakeholders in education to help encourage teachers to accept postings to the district, promising that they would be retained.
Source: Daily Guide
Minister Promotes Made-in-Ghana take-away
Deputy Minister of Tourism Abla Dzifa Gomashie says: "Tin kon kon kon tin kon!
Having lunch in the traditional and culturally aware way. The leaves add flavour and aroma plus it is biodegradable unlike "take away" and polythene bags. One love!" - Source Facebook
Having lunch in the traditional and culturally aware way. The leaves add flavour and aroma plus it is biodegradable unlike "take away" and polythene bags. One love!" - Source Facebook
What's Rihanna and Puff Daddy doing on a public urinal?
In these photo taken at Alajo, a community in Accra, an American entertainer and global celebrity,Robyn Rihanna Fenty known by her stage name Rihanna and grammy-award winner Sean John Combs also known as Puff Daddy have their pictures displayed on the urinal ostensibly to increase patronage. Source myjoyonline.com
Adisadel headmaster takes home four vehicles as retirement package; PTA fumes
Rev. Herbert Graham took these four vehicles home as his retirement package.
The Parent Teacher Association of Adisadel college has rejected a letter of appreciation from the outgoing headmaster of the school, indicating that the PTA bought some vehicles for him as his retirement package.
The headmaster, Rev. Herbert Graham took home four luxurious vehicles as his retirement package at a send- off service held for him but the PTA says, they have nothing to do with cars and thus cannot be appreciated for a gesture they have not done.
Joy News' correspondent Richard Kojo Nyarko reports Rev. Herbert Graham who is still at post after his send-off service, wrote a letter thanking the PTA for having bought him some vehicles as his retirement package and thanking them profusely for the honour done him.
But in a sharp rebuttal, the PTA has written to him rejecting his appreciation. According to a letter written and signed by the vice chairman of the PTA, Rev. Emmanuel Abole, the Parents and teachers recognize the retirement plans of the headmaster but have never bought vehicles for him to take home.
During the retirement service, four nicely decorated vehicles - Nissan Xterra, Ford Explorer, BMW four wheel drive and Opel car - were given to him to take home. Students are being pressured to pay the 30 Ghana cedis levy upon arrival from vacation, to settle their debtors for the vehicles purchased. The school has a population of about 1,700 students.
With the PTA denying having bought the vehicles, it is not clear who ordered for the purchase of the four luxurious vehicles.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) however, says the levy on the students is illegal.
Parents have also been levied 50 Ghana cedis towards the celebration of the 104th anniversary and speech and prize given-day. The expenditure for the celebration amounts to over a billion old Ghana cedis, an amount the parents and teachers have described as irrational.
In a related development, the PTA is calling on the GES to ensure that the headmaster who has retired does not continue to sign letters and cheques and does not also control the affairs of the school. They want the headmaster to leave the scene because, the continued stay in office by Rev. Herbert Graham will further increase the tension and division in the school.
Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Richard Kojo Nyarko
Date: 23-01-2014 Time: 11:01:24:am
The headmaster, Rev. Herbert Graham took home four luxurious vehicles as his retirement package at a send- off service held for him but the PTA says, they have nothing to do with cars and thus cannot be appreciated for a gesture they have not done.
Joy News' correspondent Richard Kojo Nyarko reports Rev. Herbert Graham who is still at post after his send-off service, wrote a letter thanking the PTA for having bought him some vehicles as his retirement package and thanking them profusely for the honour done him.
But in a sharp rebuttal, the PTA has written to him rejecting his appreciation. According to a letter written and signed by the vice chairman of the PTA, Rev. Emmanuel Abole, the Parents and teachers recognize the retirement plans of the headmaster but have never bought vehicles for him to take home.
During the retirement service, four nicely decorated vehicles - Nissan Xterra, Ford Explorer, BMW four wheel drive and Opel car - were given to him to take home. Students are being pressured to pay the 30 Ghana cedis levy upon arrival from vacation, to settle their debtors for the vehicles purchased. The school has a population of about 1,700 students.
With the PTA denying having bought the vehicles, it is not clear who ordered for the purchase of the four luxurious vehicles.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) however, says the levy on the students is illegal.
Parents have also been levied 50 Ghana cedis towards the celebration of the 104th anniversary and speech and prize given-day. The expenditure for the celebration amounts to over a billion old Ghana cedis, an amount the parents and teachers have described as irrational.
In a related development, the PTA is calling on the GES to ensure that the headmaster who has retired does not continue to sign letters and cheques and does not also control the affairs of the school. They want the headmaster to leave the scene because, the continued stay in office by Rev. Herbert Graham will further increase the tension and division in the school.
Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Richard Kojo Nyarko
Date: 23-01-2014 Time: 11:01:24:am
Surprise! Boston Teacher’s Face Winds Up On a Huge Billboard in Ghana - Lillie Marshall has no idea how it got there.
By Steve Annear | Boston Daily | January 15, 2014 11:54am
Here at home, Lillie Marshall is a mother, a teacher in the Boston Public School system, and an avid blogger.
But in Ghana, she’s kind of a local celebrity.
On January 9, while she was home with her child, a casual acquaintance sent Marshall an email letting her know that her face is plastered on a giant billboard in West Africa, advertising restaurant food and services for residents of Ghana.
The “shocking” message read:
Lillie! Flying down the street in the car on my way to Bojo Beach in Ghana, we passed this sign. I screamed out loud, ‘I KNOW THAT GIRL!’ Are you aware that you are the face of the Synagogue Restaurant in Accra, Ghana?!
Marshall has come to terms with the fact that she’s prominently displayed on the large sign, however, she doesn’t have the slightest inclination as to how her photo wound up there.
“I have a new baby, so I’m up all night nursing, and I got the message from my friend at 3 a.m. When I woke up, I was like, ‘was that a bad dream?’ I verified it was true when I looked at the picture in the morning,” she said. “There I was. But I don’t know how long it has been up.”
Marshall, a travel writer, spent time in the region back in 2010 when she was teaching at schools in the area. She spent three months in West Africa after taking a year-leave from the BPS system, where she has taught for the last decade.
She thinks whoever owns the ad could have done a quick Google search, possibly using the terms “Jewish,” “Food,” and “Ghana,”—things she regularly blogged about during her time there—and plucked her picture from the Internet.
“That could have been it. Or maybe I worked with some people when I was there who maybe knew about my site,” she said. She can’t be sure, though.
While she has grown slightly fond of her obscure newfound fame in another part of the world, she hasn’t stopped investigating the circumstances surrounding the surprise appearance. Marshall said she has enlisted the help of friends she made while teaching in Ghana, who have been calling the Synagogue Restaurant repeatedly to try and get some answers.
“Normally I am really angry when people take my photos or use my face, but there is something sort of charming about this,” she said. “They are not making big bucks off it I’m sure, and I like a little bit of fame, so whatever ways it comes I’ll take it. The country is wonderful, the food is great, and the people there are great. My experience was incredibly welcoming, so maybe that’s another reason I feel OK about this.”
Marshall said it also helped her personal blog, “Around the World ‘L,’” where she wrote about the experience, which led to more hits than ever before.
On her site she concluded:
Bottom line: This is one of the most bizarre instances to happen as a result of my blog, ever, and it raises some intense questions… but it’s also kind of funny.
If the circumstances were different, she said she would have asked the advertisers to remove the image, or cough up some cash for compensation. But you can’t fight every battle, she said.
Coincidentally, around the time she posted her blog, a New York Times reporter came forwardand detailed his own similar experience discovering his face was used in an ad without his knowledge in the Brazilian Amazon. The quirkiness of such a similar situation made the incident “neat,” she said.
With the initial shock subsided, Marshall will continue to blog but keep a watchful eye on any developments with her likeness. “I may end up writing a follow up. It seems like it’s possible that I’ll find out what happened. I am writing through Facebook to former coworkers to find out details, but it’s a muddy line of communication. But I think [we will figure it out], eventually,” she said.
Source: Boston Daily
Here at home, Lillie Marshall is a mother, a teacher in the Boston Public School system, and an avid blogger.
But in Ghana, she’s kind of a local celebrity.
On January 9, while she was home with her child, a casual acquaintance sent Marshall an email letting her know that her face is plastered on a giant billboard in West Africa, advertising restaurant food and services for residents of Ghana.
The “shocking” message read:
Lillie! Flying down the street in the car on my way to Bojo Beach in Ghana, we passed this sign. I screamed out loud, ‘I KNOW THAT GIRL!’ Are you aware that you are the face of the Synagogue Restaurant in Accra, Ghana?!
Marshall has come to terms with the fact that she’s prominently displayed on the large sign, however, she doesn’t have the slightest inclination as to how her photo wound up there.
“I have a new baby, so I’m up all night nursing, and I got the message from my friend at 3 a.m. When I woke up, I was like, ‘was that a bad dream?’ I verified it was true when I looked at the picture in the morning,” she said. “There I was. But I don’t know how long it has been up.”
Marshall, a travel writer, spent time in the region back in 2010 when she was teaching at schools in the area. She spent three months in West Africa after taking a year-leave from the BPS system, where she has taught for the last decade.
She thinks whoever owns the ad could have done a quick Google search, possibly using the terms “Jewish,” “Food,” and “Ghana,”—things she regularly blogged about during her time there—and plucked her picture from the Internet.
“That could have been it. Or maybe I worked with some people when I was there who maybe knew about my site,” she said. She can’t be sure, though.
While she has grown slightly fond of her obscure newfound fame in another part of the world, she hasn’t stopped investigating the circumstances surrounding the surprise appearance. Marshall said she has enlisted the help of friends she made while teaching in Ghana, who have been calling the Synagogue Restaurant repeatedly to try and get some answers.
“Normally I am really angry when people take my photos or use my face, but there is something sort of charming about this,” she said. “They are not making big bucks off it I’m sure, and I like a little bit of fame, so whatever ways it comes I’ll take it. The country is wonderful, the food is great, and the people there are great. My experience was incredibly welcoming, so maybe that’s another reason I feel OK about this.”
Marshall said it also helped her personal blog, “Around the World ‘L,’” where she wrote about the experience, which led to more hits than ever before.
On her site she concluded:
Bottom line: This is one of the most bizarre instances to happen as a result of my blog, ever, and it raises some intense questions… but it’s also kind of funny.
If the circumstances were different, she said she would have asked the advertisers to remove the image, or cough up some cash for compensation. But you can’t fight every battle, she said.
Coincidentally, around the time she posted her blog, a New York Times reporter came forwardand detailed his own similar experience discovering his face was used in an ad without his knowledge in the Brazilian Amazon. The quirkiness of such a similar situation made the incident “neat,” she said.
With the initial shock subsided, Marshall will continue to blog but keep a watchful eye on any developments with her likeness. “I may end up writing a follow up. It seems like it’s possible that I’ll find out what happened. I am writing through Facebook to former coworkers to find out details, but it’s a muddy line of communication. But I think [we will figure it out], eventually,” she said.
Source: Boston Daily
