It has been almost two years since we first interviewed Mangar Amerdid, the founder of the Leadership Institute of New Sudan (LIONS). And almost a year since we met the inaugural LIONS class. A lot has happened since then.

In February Amerdid left Denver to return to Sudan to serve in a temporary position as the IT Director in the Presidential Campaign Team during the Sudanese general elections which took place this past April. Amerdid was then appointed as the Secretary of International Treaties and Agreements (a subcommittee on Post-referendum Arrangement Negotiations). Mr. Amerdid has been busy traveling between Khartoum and Juba, but found time to answer a few questions for us.

It has been almost a year since the LIONS 2009 Leadership Institute. What has LIONS been up to during this time?

Again, I would like to say thank you to metroAfrican for its wonderful work to the African communities in Denver as well as its attention to issues to do with the Sudanese community in Denver and Southern Sudanese in particular.

Since LIONS 2009 development course, we as a group of LIONS leadership have been working very hard to receive funding for our 2010 LIONS course. It’s not easy to receive funding especially if the organization is still “young”, however, I would like to say thank you to Humanity United which have provided second funding for LIONS for its 2010 leadership course.

Is there going to be a 2010 Lions Leadership Institute?

Yes, this year LIONS will provide a leadership course in Juba – South Sudan; however, the course will only focus on one module which is leadership. This is due to the amount of funding we have received and also, how expensive Juba is.

There is a new LIONS office in Juba, southern Sudan. What activities are you engaging in to further your mission of developing leaders in southern Sudan?

LIONS have a new coordinator in Juba south Sudan; our previous coordinator has been appointed as a minister in western Equatoria state. This new coordinator has just started the work, however, I am certain there’s going to be a lot of activities for LIONS in south Sudan after the referendum.

What can you tell us about leadership needs currently in southern Sudan?

South Sudan needs, not just need, but it demands strong leadership at this age of technology. Yes, we have good leaders, but development of leadership is very essential right now. We are an emerging nation and our generation needs able leaders to lead us.

What are your thoughts on the 2011 referendum vote?

If you come to South Sudan today, you will find over 95% who demand separation. Some will say we are fed up with the system in Khartoum, and some say let the southern Sudanese rule themselves if for once to see if it can work. The people of South Sudan are ready to make their choice; it’s just matter of time (January 11th, 2011).

----

In August LIONS announced that Amerdid was stepping down as Executive Director, naming Dr. Ballard Pritchett as his replacement. Pritchett will serve as Acting Executive Director for the remainder of 2010 focusing on evaluating LIONS administrative structure and planning the upcoming November course in Juba.

You can learn more about the Leadership Institute of New Sudan from their website.

This group of Bold Leader students had the opportunity to interview former Speaker of the House and US Senate Candidate, Andrew Romanoff in the Denver Open Media studios. After only a few hours of training the students wrote, produced, filmed and directed the following piece.

A new group of BoldLeaders has recently arrived in Denver and begun training. You can join CMLE and the BoldLeaders for their First Annual Celebration and Fundraiser on April 14th at St. Cajetans Event Center at the Auraria Campus.

metroAfrican:  What will the success of this campaign mean for the students at Candlelight School?

Brian Rants: This will be the first computer lab in the low-income Matopeni neighborhood of Nairobi, in fact it will be the first time these students will ever have used a computer. Candlelight School will be able to provide these children with essential computer skills that will empower their educational and vocational future.

MA: What does this mean for the 1010 Project?

BR: Meeting this challenge means we are continuing to accomplish our mission of partnering with innovative and creative people throughout the world, learning and working together to break the cycle of poverty for life.

______

You can learn more about the 1010 Project's work in Kenya this Wednesday at their movie night, as they screen One+One: A Human Network.

Refugee Rights Activist MacGoddins Lushimba tells his story from MetroAfrican on Vimeo.

Earlier this month we were invited to attend a reception at Gallery 910 Arts which is currently exhibiting the work of local photographer Tim Ryan. Tim Ryan and his company (Tim Ryan Pictures) partnered with non-profit organization Water for People (WFP) to produce images of the people in countries where WFP works. The exhibit now on display at Gallery 910 showcases the work Mr. Ryan did in Malawi in 2008.

We were immediately struck not only by the quality of the photos, but by the fact that these photos depicted Malawians differently than many of the images depicting Africans that we see in the U.S. There were no helpless, hopeless people here. These were images of strong and dignified people. Ryan explains, "The people we’re working with are proud; they just happen to be living in poverty. They are not pitiful or helpless. They have goals and aspirations, and that’s what we’re trying to show in the imagery. These are images that instill pride. Photographs can convey that sensibility in a different way than any other form of communication.”

We asked Tim a few questions about his work in Malawi:

MA: How did the partnership with Water for People come about?

TR: I was working with Karambu Ringera's non profit International Peace Initiatives. One of the previous board members went to work for Water for People-we stayed in touch and she contacted me regarding photography they needed shot of their projects in Guatemala.

Did Water for People give you direction about what kind of images they wanted to capture in Malawi?

They did give me a shot list for the first trip to Guatemala but for Malawi they said to shoot they way I did for them in Guatemala.

You have spoken about wanting to capture the dignity of the people with whom you work. How you do you convey such an intangible quality in a photograph?

I think everyone wants to live their lives with dignity. As an outsider I try not to put my interpretation on things. Some of the people and places I've photographed have been in pretty tough situations by the standards that I live in but I try not to impose that and rather see it for what it is. I try to respect the people I'm photographing no matter what their situation

It seems many NGOs choose to use images of helpless, suffering Africans in order to appeal to the sympathy (and perhaps guilt) of donors. How do you think your images of strength and dignity will impact potential supporters of Water for People?

I hope that they will see that the work that WFP does is more than just about water. It's about empowering people and when you do that you create change.

How were you received by the Malawians you photographed?

They were very friendly and eager to be photographed.

Were you able to show your pictures to those you photographed, and how were their reactions?

I would always show them the images on the back of my digital camera and they would always laugh.

If I come to the exhibition at Gallery 910 Arts knowing nothing about Malawi or Water for People, what do you hope I would take away?

I would hope that you would come away with a better understanding of Malawi, the water needs of the people there and the desire to help them help themselves.

To see more images and videos from Tim Ryan's work from around the world, visit www.timryanpictures.com. Or get up close and personal with Tim's photos at Gallery 910 Arts at 910 Santa Fe Drive in Denver. The exhibit will be showing until March 31st.

Purchases of any of the Malawi photographs will benefit Water for People, an organization that helps people in developing countries improve their quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities and health and hygiene education programs.

Sensai Tate co-founded the Hiphocalypse Radio Show in 2000, broadcast on Rhodes Music Radio out of Grahamstown, South Africa. A native of Zimbabwe, Tate grew the success of the radio show into the Hiphocalypse MOVEment, a movement for the advancement of sustainable youth development in Southern Africa through the use of hip hop culture.

In 2006 Tate moved to Denver and currently splits his time between Denver and Austin, TX. He produces a fortnightly (that's every two weeks) podcast called Hiphocalypse Fort-Knights. The podcast showcases some of the most talented African hip hop artists.

Click play to listen to the latest Hiphocalypse podcast while you read our interview with Sensai tate below.
[audio:http://cache.mypodcast.com/cached/hiphocalypse_20090729_0741-470807-226577-3.mp3]

MetroAfrican: I read in your bio that you got involved with hip hop at around 16 yrs old. Who were some of those artists you first got into?

Sensai Tate: I had 2 older brothers who were into Hip Hop before I was ever consciously aware of the artform. They used to play Public Enemy, KRS One, N.W.A. and 2 Live Crew so that was my introduction to Hip Hop. By the time I decided to get involved myself the most influencial artists were Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Tribe Called Quest as well as Zimbabwe's pioneering acts Blackfoot Trybe, Kataklyzm and Peace of Ebony.

MA: What was the hip-hop scene like in Harare at the time you launched the Hip Hop Henchmen?

ST: To be honest we were just trying to emulate & channel our favourite artists back then. We were all trying to sound as much like the Nas's, 2Pacs, Biggies as young Zimbabweans who had never been out of the country could. Its kind of sad to say but we wholeheartedly embraced all elements of American Hip Hop culture from the accents to the clothes and attitudes. As a result not much attention was paid to it beyond our limited fraternity.

The Zimbabwean hip hop scene did not really start to establish its own unique identity until after 97 when the political situation instilled a sense of nationalism in the collective conciousness of the nation. Now artists like mUnetsi (myspace.com/munetsi) & Maskiri are carving out their own uniquely Zimbabwean niches.

MA: How do you stay connected to hip-hop on the continent?

ST: I was blessed enough to have established a hip hop movement in South Africa (the HIPHOCALYPSE MOVEment). The radio show has been running on college radio (rhodesmusicradio.co.za) there for close to 10years. The guys involved with that keep me posted on what's new on the scene there. I am also a member of a number of African Hip Hop networking sites most notably africasgateway.com which a number of artists use for promotion.

Other than that I am sure to hoard as much music as I can whenever I go home.

MA: On Hiphocalypse Fort-Knights you play a lot of music from southern Africa, though you definitely dip into music from all over the continent. Do you hear something distinctly regional about the hip hop coming out of the South?

ST: I wouldn't say there is a uniquely Southern African hip hop sound. There are numerous 'sub-genres' like urban grooves in Zimbabwe, Motswako in Botswana & South Africa, Spaza in South Africa all trying to establish themselves. Remember hip hop is a relatively young art in the region, it was banned during apartheid.
So there isn't one specific identifiable sound.

MA: There is a certain dilemma embedded in the language of African hip-hop. If an artist chooses to rhyme in English they are often accused of imitating US hip-hop or not representing their culture. If they choose to rhyme in a native language they limit the appeal of their music to a mass audience. Do you think African musicians have found ways to address this?

ST: Good question, I think the language of music is universal. When it's really good it doesnt matter what the spoken language is. Artists like Oliver Mutukudzi/ Thomas Mapfumo/ Stella Chiweshe make music mostly in my native Shona language but have managed to reach fans across the world who cannot speak a word of Shona. I love the Miriam Makeba's and Salif Keitas of this world but speak none of the languages that they sing in. We have featured many vernacular rappers (Prokid; mUnetsi; Saba Saba) on the HIPHOCALYPSE Fort-Knights podcast & those were some of the more popular songs.

Hip Hop is a uniquely complex type of music since it is lyric-heavy. As a result it may appear a lot more important what the language is. I have found that even in a colonial language African themes can be sincerely represented. For example the english sung "My Mother's Pearls" by K'Naan dedicated to his mother in Somalia. That was one of the more popular songs featured on our HIPHOCALYPSE Mixtape Vol.1.

So I believe if the message is sincere it transcends the language barrier.
Some (but not enough in my opinion) artists have managed to fuse African sounds & instruments like the Mbira, Uhadi bow and Moropa Drums in their music so even when the lyrics are not in an african language the songs still maintain that African identity.

MA: You put out two albums - HIPHOCALYPSE Mixtape in 2004 & HIPHOCALYPSE Re-mixtape in 2005. Any plans for another album?

ST: Both those projects were released while I was in South Africa on a very grassroots level. With the first mixtape we were trying to raise awareness to the violence against women in the region. The second was just a remix project of the first so we don't really count it as a full release.

The HIPHOCALYPSE Mixtape Volume 2 has been in the works for over 4years now. Its difficult to do remotely from across the ocean but we do intend to release something again soon. Next year is our 10th anniversary so we intend to celebrate properly with a marathon radio broadcast in South Africa and album/mixtape release worldwide.

MA:What's next for Sensai Tate and Hiphocalypse Fort-Knights?

ST: The HIPHOCALYPSE radio show continues broadcasting on Rhodes University Music Radio, Sensai Tate continues to publish HIPHOCALYPSE Fort-Knights podcasts (hiphocalypse.mypodcast.com).

We are excited to have been approached to syndicate our show on an audio satellite channel TransAfrica Radio on DSTV Audio Bouquet channel 172 (http://www.transafricamedia.com/show_reel). We look forward to using the platform to expose African Hip Hop throughout the continent.

________

To hear more Hiphocalypse music or to get in touch, check the links below:

http://hiphocalypse.mypodcast.com
http://myspace.com/hiphocalypse
Email: thehiphocalypse@yahoo.com

Many thanks to Sensai Tate, and we wish you continued success.

We had the opportunity to speak with Mangar Amerdid, the founder and Executive Director of the Leadership Institute of New Sudan (LIONS) to learn more about the program. Visit www.sudanlions.org for more information.

This interview is the first in a series we will be conducting with influential Africans in the metro Denver and Boulder areas. If you know someone doing remarkable things in our community, please let us know. We are always looking for stories about the positive contributions Africans are making in our community.