I am proud to be a member of TIG. I have been involved with TIG for some time now and even called for meetings in respective countries and towns for member of TIg so that they can impliment their ideas instead of just sharing ideas without practical enforcement of these ideas. I for one has had several meeting with other members of TIG in my country, e.g. Tanyaradzwa Furusa and Felix Mwaipunga. I have made several contacts with people with the same cause as mine. This shows that TIG is for real and not just a computer game used to pass time when bored or when you find yourself in front of a computer with nothing to do. Viva TIG, and Thank you very much to all those who have made it possible. A special thank you to all the members of TIG.

Thank you, Thank you. In my native languages we say tinotenda, siyabonga.

I have been following the Zimbabwe/England issue with keen interest especially the Cricket world Cup issue. All that is required of us is to bury the hatchet and work together. It seems there is an element of both parties playing the boss game, whereby they all want to appear as if they are in control of the sitution. from the looks of things no one is really in control. For instance, the economy of Zimbabwe has gone to the doldrums and no solution is in site yet someone claims to be in control. Lets not let pride ruin our good neighbourly love, lets not allow greed to tear us apart. Politicians may mess up the country like they are doing in this case yet the people of these countries are as good as one people. We interact day in and day out, we exchange views and information on a daily basis. We mustn't let politics divide us.

For the good of our good relationship/assosiation with everyone so as to come up with a united global community, lets leave politics out of all the things that we do.

What is the role of the youth in the search for a way to curb the impct of HIV/AIDS?

How can we help AIDS orphans in developing countries, and make them feel loved? Is it our duty as individuals in a community or is it the government's responsibility to look after these children?

Is it possible for anyone to pause for a moment and stop thinking about one's self and think about someone different from you, not necessarily someone you know? Is it our nature or our responsibility to look after thsoe who are less priviledged than me and you?

I had an opportunity to travel to a rural area in my home country. I had to go there as part of my project, which is aimed at helping children orphaned by AIDS. What I saw is something no one would ever wish to be in.

There is hunger in Zimbabwe. People are starving and yet they have to work in the fields in preparation for the planting season which started a few weeks ago. Long queues are witnessed at the GMB depots in these areas, where people wait patiently for the promised maize. According to some villagers, sometimes the maize is distributed, but most times they return home with nothing to show for their patience.

I had the opportunity to talk to this elderly woman, who for some reason really caught my attention. Her husband died about ten years ago. She didn't have to work hard for her children as most of them had grown up by that time so they looked after each other. She now stays with her grandchildren, whose parents stay in towns where they are working to assist this granny. She says that her children cannot afford to stay with their kids in town because life is very expensive. The problem is that she seems to be getting no more support from her children in towns.

She says the her children no longer visit her as regular as they used to do. The money she get from her children when they visit her during the holidays like Christmas, Easter and so on, runs out quickly such that most of the time she has no money to buy basic necessities for her grandchildren. She had to wait in line for the maize. Unfortunately, the maize was not distributed that day. She was told to return the following week, but no particular day was given, so it meant she had to come daily, just to check, yet there was no guarantee that she will get the maize.

Imagine if this grandmother had all her children fallen victim to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. With no where to look for help, and no one to turn to when her grandchildren fall sick. Many families are like that in Zimbabwe. Because of poverty and hunger many people in towns have taken their children to rural areas, where they feel life is inexpensive. Those in towns are engaged in all sorts of activities to raise money for their families. With unemployment being the order of the day, many opt for the easy way out the blues. Some are into stealing, burglary, and some are into prostitution just to earn money to survive. The end result is tradgic, leaving their parents in the rural areas to cater for the orphans. These grandparents have not heard about the AIDS Levy from which they can get assistance. The Levy only benefits the well-established children's homes who are being assisted by other well-wishers and a hoard of NGOs.

The hunger is sparing no one. The outcome is death, especially among those with AIDS because without a proper and balanced diet their immunity is adversily affected hence they succumb to the pandemic. They leave behind their children in a cold world without that family love that we so much seek in times of troubles. The country is deprived of its work force and our economy is negatively impacted. For those of us who are here right now, what is our duty in such a society?

I look forward to a day when HIV/AIDS will become a chronic illness not a life-threatning illnes in the developing countries, but first things first we have to take care of the orphans in our communities. I call upon each and every one of us to spare a moment and think about these children. Let us not subject them to this stigma and discrimination simple because their parent died of AIDS. It must be our responsibility to look after these children.

Everyday is met unwelcomely. Not knowing what’s next to expect; no job, no hope of finding employment, nowhere to look for food, no motivation and no foresight. Without his sole comforter, his mother, who died of AIDS when he was twelve, before his father took up a second ‘mum’ for him, dreams are dreamt everyday; big dreams for that matter, which never materialize. Dreaming of the day when he will manage to sustain an average livelihood.

He goes to church to find comfort among his fellow ‘sinners’; a legacy left behind by his dear departed mother. He hopes to find peace of mind. It turns out to be something much more than he has bargained for. (Is life really fair?) He is told to bring more money to church for free offering (is it free any more?) so that the church can sustain itself, (but who is the church?) He sees his hard-earned cash being embezzled by the church leaders, yet no one is arrested for all these crimes. Does crime really pay, he quizzes himself.

Day in day out, he looks up to the skies, not necessarily for the rains, but in a sorrowful prayer. Wishing the Good Lord to extend his helping hand and push him where he can find a ‘beach of gold’ (Is my mother really in Heaven and that is she sitting next to Him up in Heaven?) He prays for a man-to-man chat with the Almighty. Soon the prayer turns into a song. What’s next?

Politicians come up with ‘brilliant’ plans. He gets a few dollars out of it to buy himself a mug of beer to down his worries only for a moment yet he is not happy after that. They exploit him so that they gain political mileage. Promises and more promises are what he gets at the end of it all. Policies to help him realize his dreams are displayed in their ‘manifestos’ yet what he gets his nothing but the strength to keep on dreaming, and he keeps holding on to the memories of his dear mother who gave him all that she could get her hands on.

Politicians have abused him, church leaders have used him, his own father is accusing him of being too lazy and the answer from I Am Who I Am seems to be taking ages, he ponders his next move. He tries to combine the survival tactics he has learnt from what he has seen in his short experience on this earth. He lies, taking it up from the politicians, and he cheats, from the church leaders. He turns to crime. He has connections in the underground world. All of them are thugs and prostitutes. In no time he hooks up with prostitutes, deep into illicit drugs and engaged in all kinds of socially unacceptable deeds. Will he live long enough to see his one-month-old baby boy, who was almost aborted by its mother, as she felt that she could not nurture it properly?

Life is no longer fun. He soon finds himself on the streets after his father dismisses him as a disgrace to the family, but who is to blame. His home, the street allies and his bed, a heap of cardboard boxes. He has learnt the ways to survive on the streets. Its survival of the fittest 'out' there, (will I survive?) He sleeps with one eye closed and the other on the look out for ‘invaders.’ He no longer values his life. Where is he going to take refuge from this harsh world, with his old man calling him stupid and his stepmother breathing heavily down his neck everyday?

Soon he is on his deathbed after contracting the dreaded HIV infection. This, he realised after the death of his son, who died at a tender age of 4 months. The mother of his child is frequently seen visiting the ‘red light’ areas of Harare chasing after whoever wants to engage their services. He no longer thinks of the future. The only future he has in his mind is the day he is going to part ways with this world. His health is deteriorating rapidly. The one day at the age of 26years after a long illness he takes his last breathe of air and…

I would like to thank all the people who are helping me in the project i would like to embark on. You have been very supportive in all the planning. I would like to say everything is on time for the Launch set for some time early next year. We are yet to set the date, which, I hope, will be agreed on when the team meets in the near future. In our upcoming meeting we will delegate duties to team members, which I hope will flow smoothly. Thank you guys.

I will be posting the meeting's minutes as progress reports for the projects, so for those who are not in a position to attend you will not be left out. In the mean time, those team members who want to suggest activities and agendas for the meeting please go ahead, and your contributions are welcome.

Thank you all.

Here is a call for TIG member who can attend a meeting for those staying in Harare and those who can make it to the venue. The meeting is taking place this Friday 8th of November 2002 at KFC along Jason Moyo Avenue at 5:00PM downstairs. Bring along as many TIG members with you. For more information contact Tanyardzwa Furusa at 091 314 071 or 04 700030/791333

I have to admit that the social aspect of Africa in unison is taking shape, despite the political differences faced by its people. Lately there was the successful hosting of the KORA ALL AFRICA MUSIC AWARDS, which brought the diversity of Africa together. The same can be said for the MISS MALAIKA beauty pageant, thats if politicians let the organiser do their part and the hosting government live to their pledges. I hope the upcoming final of this event take place successfully as was the case last year in Sun City, South Africa.

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) came with its successes and failures. Everyone is waiting eagerly to see whats new with the AU. Is it the change of name or there is something to it?

Miss Malaika Beauty Peagent and the formation of African Union. Are tthese the best things to happen to Africa and African Diaspora in the bid to unite the people of Africa and those of Afican descend?

The solar eclipse is around the corner. Who is up for the beauty of the sun and the moon overlapping in the exquisitive make of nature at its best? I will be there. i saw it last year, and I would like to see it one more time.

Like a small little rose, a kid is treated with delicacy by the caring parents and sometimes with the involvement of the extended family. “It takes a whole community to raise a child,” so I was told. What is right and what is wrong to the growing child is the responsibility of the whole community. The teachings of the norms of the tribe or clan to the children by the society, goes a long way in determining the type of an individual a child will be in the future.

I have come to learn the importance of listening to my parents and elders. They have come of age and they have seen it all. They have been there and done that. Yes, most of the aspects of life are learnt through experimenting, but there are other aspects, which are irreversible, hence experiments are not worth the risk. For example, impregnating a girl and getting infected with HIV, and killing, one cannot really say one can experiment with these. When we enter this world our parents have expectations of us, so they try to mould us in the folds of their expectations. We have the right to choose what we want to be in life, but sometimes it is worth it to discuss our future with our parents. When we aim to achieve our goals with the blessings of our parents and the community elders we can work towards them with a peace of mind and success is quaranteed.

Learning the real definition of who one really is comprises the most important thing in the foundation of the mature individual. This is done through evaluating what our community regards as right and wrong. We must learn to question the sense behind regarding these aspects as right or wrong. We get to see the reasoning behind the norms of our people. Even with the advent of HIV/AIDS, the question of protecting oneself through behavioral change will not be a problem since the community will be setting example to be followed by it youth. If it sets that “sleeping around” is wrong then it becomes wrong in the eyes of it people.

If we neglect the advice from our parents and elders is as good as denying ourselves the opportunity to grow up with the right morals, principles and wisdom for a responsible person. If the community neglects it youths, it is as good as killing itself and setting ground for immature and irresponsible persons. The end result in the long run is disastrous.

What is the extent of drug and drug abuse in Africa amongst the youth? Can we say we are safe from the illicit drugs or we are almost drowning in them. Can our parents sleep soundly at night when we go clubbing?

Lets face the reality of the matter, and come out openly on this issue. that is the only way we can help each other. I would like to thank Mr Hugh Msekela, South African musician, for coming out in the open about the problems he had with drugs, and also his messages about the ill effects of drugs. does this mean that in Africa, the only people exposed to drugs are the popular guys or everyone is at risk?

Lets share ideas and get over the illicit drug abuse

Thank you Reggie. I am going to check that site. I wish to geo more involved than just sit in front of a computer and type. i wish to do something which will make me feel better by helping other people and learning at the same time. i will definitely get in touch with the guys from "blues"/ Sky's. By the way i am from H-town.

I hope to be more involved. thank you,to all you caring people.

I have checked out the sites that were suggested by some you guys, and i am greatful for your responses. I think, my point is on the idea that people (TIG members, that is) will get to meet in their respective towns and physically plan projects and do them or employs services of interested people to help. I know of a couple of ophanages in my country where we, as club members under the auspicies of TIG, go for a day and help them in their activities at the home.

May be i am dreaming, but that just a thought.

I am for the idea that for us to share our idea we have to start from "home". I wish we can have TIG clubs in respctive countries and towns so that we can descuss issues and put some of us ideas into practise. Later on we will report our success or failures to our colleagues so that we have feedback from them on how we can improve on these ventures.

I am for the idea that for us to share our idea we have to start from "home". I wish we can have TIG clubs in respctive countries and towns so that we can descuss issues and put some of us ideas into practise. Later on we will report our success or failures to our colleagues so that we have feedback from them on how we can improve on these ventures.

Developers of genetically modified crops forge on


8/15/02 7:14:18 PM (GMT +2)

ISTANBUL - Researchers and seed companies are hard at work developing new genetically modified (GM) crops despite the storm of opposition they face from consumers, especially in Europe, scientists told a conference this week.
The new varieties range from a new soybean that yields healthier vegetable oil to a strain of coffee bean that grows without caffeine.

"The next generation will improve the nutritional quality of the foods," Richard Wilson, a researcher with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) told an edible oils conference in Istanbul.

Field tests have already been conducted on a wide range of new GM varieties, including rice, strawberries and melons, said Richard Phipps, a research fellow at the Britain's University of Reading.

In the United States, GM crops are widespread with 54 million acres of soybeans, 25 million acres of corn and 11 million acres of cotton planted this year, Wilson said.

The launch of GM crops sparked protests by environmental groups such as Greenpeace and many consumers remain suspicious of them, worried about their health or damage to the earth's ecology. Many food companies in Europe have pledged to use non-GM ingredients in their products.

Wilson said the new varieties should appeal more to consumers since most will improve health instead of just help farmers to increase yields or save money as current GM crops do.

Healthier veg oil

Many of the new GM crops under development employ more sophisticated techniques than the transgenic method used in the first varieties that spliced in genes resistant to herbicides or insects, Wilson said.

Now, the technique of "proteomics" uses markers found through the mapping of the genome to speed up conventional plant breeding, said Wilson, who heads the Oilseeds and Biosciences unit at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.

A new commercial variety of soybean should be on the market in the next few years that yields healthier oil when crushed, he said.

Scientists are increasing the amount of healthy oleic acid, similar to that found in olive oil, and reducing saturates, high consumption of which can contribute to circulatory and heart problems.

The new soyoil will need very little hydrogenation to harden it for use in margarine and thus cut down on trans-isomers, recently identified as unhealthy, Wilson added.

Trans-isomers are unsaturated but due to their cell structure the human body treats them as saturated.

Genetic researchers have also figured out how to maximise the amount of high-protein meal from crushed soybeans, while keeping high levels of oil at the same time, Wilson said.

Previously, if the amount of protein in the meal was boosted from 44 percent to 45 percent then the proportion of oil would fall to 14 percent-16 percent from the normal 18 percent-19 percent, Wilson said. Soymeal is mainly used for animal feed.

Better for environment

Phipps strongly disputed arguments against GM crops by groups such as Greenpeace, saying current GM crops are actually better for the environment than conventional ones since they reduce use of chemicals and fuel on farms.

Phipps, at Reading University's Centre for Dairy Research, also said there is no evidence that foods derived from animals fed GM products are not at least as safe as those produced from conventional feed ingredients.

Since most GM crops currently being grown include modified genes for herbicide tolerance or insect resistance, the use of GM crops is estimated to have cut pesticide use by 22 million to 23 million kg in 2000, he said.

GM crops have also reduced the need for field operations with tractors, cutting use of fuel and carbon dioxide emissions.

- Reuter

Researchers hopeful new vaccine will curb HIV infection

8/21/02 9:12:10 AM (GMT +2)



WASHINGTON – Aids researchers have reported they had designed a vaccine that they believe may do what no other vaccine has done before – protect people from infection with the virus.



So far the team at the Institute of Virology at the University of Maryland has only tested monkeys. And they note that people trying to design a vaccine against the Aids virus have repeatedly failed. But they think their design, based on the mechanism the virus uses to attach to the immune cells it targets, is the best yet. “In several animals, including monkey, we were able to generate neutralising antibodies that are not type-specific but broadly cover various types of HIV,” Dr Robert Gallo, who helped discover the Aids virus and who heads the institute where the work was done, said in a telephone interview.

Making a vaccine against HIV is difficult because the virus integrates itself into cells, and because it attacks the very immune cells that are normally stimulated by a vaccine. Although dozens of vaccines are in various stages of development, no one thinks a truly protective vaccine has been designed. At best, doctors now hope that one or more of the vaccines may simply help people to live a little longer with the virus, or perhaps to reduce the ease with which it is transmitted from person to person. But with 40 million people infected, and no cure in sight, the need is dire. Aids has already killed 25 million people. The earliest vaccine approaches used the so-called envelope protein gp120 found on the surface of HIV. The hope was that if the body’s immune system could be trained to recognise gp120, antibodies would attack the virus whenever it appeared and neutralise it.

But it did not work well. VaxGen has a vaccine based on this approach in phase III trials, the last stage of development before a vaccine is licensed, but Aids experts doubt it will protect large populations against infection. Gallo said one problem is that such vaccines work very specifically against the type of virus used in the lab. HIV mutates quickly and studies suggest the gp120 is very different across strains – different enough to resist immunisation. His institute’s team, writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said they tweaked this approach. Their vaccine uses gp120, but with a twist. “When HIV infects a cell, gp120 latches on to CD4,” Gallo said. CD4 is a cell receptor, a kind of cellular doorway, found on the immune system T-cells that HIV infects.

“It changes shape when it does that.” The team, led by Timothy Fouts, have broken the gp120 off the rest of the virus as it attaches to CD4. They combined the two joined pieces, CD4 and gp120, to make the vaccine. “The belly of the beast may be exposed at this point in time,” Gallo said. Tests in macaque monkeys showed they produced antibodies when inoculated with the vaccine. In laboratory dishes, these monkey antibodies neutralised most of the main strains, or clades, of HIV, including HIV-A, B, C, D and E. The subtypes differ from one another in about 30 percent of their genetic sequence. Subtype B is found mostly in Europe, the Americas and Japan while A, C, D and E are spreading in Africa and Asia, so a vaccine designed in the United States may not work to protect Africans, who are the hardest hit by Aids.

The next step is to vaccinate monkeys and then see if they are protected from infection by the monkey version of HIV, called SIV, or from an engineered version of the two viruses called SHIV. “The strategy designed here has worked in laboratory test systems and I have no reason to believe that man should be an exception but one doesn’t make claims without data,” Gallo said.
– Reuter