Last year's Miss Malawi Perth  Msiska abandoned her crown to pursue politics. She cited Sarah Palin as her influence. Palin who was herself  a beauty pageant in Alaska went on to be the state's governor who was later selected to be John McCain's running mate in  the 2008 US Presidential Elections. Though the Republican ticket failed, Palin's  political aspirations encouraged many women  around the world to reach out for political office. It is believed that the current Malawian President, Bingu wa Mutharika was also inspired by John McCain when he picked Joyce Banda as his running mate. Banda who is the first female Vice-President in the history of Malawi is hoping to represent her political party in the 2013 Malawi Presidential Elections.

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poster 10 x (AT) yahoo.ca

The movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian came out last Friday in North American movie theaters. It was directed by Shawn Levy and the all-star cast was greatly praised by many critics. The cast includes returning Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson (Zoolander), Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting), Mindy Kaling (The Office) and many others. The character played by Hank Azaria (The Simpsons)  Kamunrah is actually Egyptian. For many, Egypt is not part of Africa. Some also believe that Egypt is so advanced to be part of the African continent. For these ones, Africa is dark and morose. For years, Alan Gershom, a 22 year old American  who has never travelled outside North America always thought that Egypt is somewhere in Asia. Pyramids and the other inventions by Egyptians have changed the World. Egypt was once the World power with no equal. Still many do not see Egypt as part of Africa. Some go as far as saying that Egyptians should not be considered as Africans.

Lack of interest and sometimes lack of education is behind the misconceptions. In highschool, Africans kids learn about the USA its capital city and almost all the countries of Europe.

John Kamwendo

Jason Masiyiwa is on Facebook, Msn Messenger and Hi5. He lives in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe and he became friends with people from all over the world through the internet. With all new friends he makes, Jason tells them about the financial problems that he has and then asks for some financial assistance. He is only 21 and a father. After finishing high school last year, he married his girlfriend. He has a 1 year old son who will be a big brother in a few weeks when his pregnant mother will give birth again. Jason has access to the internet thanks to the temporary job he has; working in an internet cafe in Harare. The so-called cafe has only 2 desktop computers, so when 2 customers come in at the same time, Masiyiwa is forced to cede his place even if he was in the middle of an online conversation. He can only eat once a day, when he comes home from work around 4 PM because there is never-enough food for the three of them. So far, he has received a 50$ help from an English woman living in London. The money was sent via the transfer agency; Western Union. The amount helped buy necessities for the unborn child. Though the Zimbabwe Dollar was suspended because of its grave inflation, Jason is neither positively or negatively affected by it. He even does not care if Robert Mugabe or Morgan Tsvangirai is President or Prime Minister. He only wants to live in a world where his family do not have to worry about ttheir next meal. He remains poor,on his post, waiting online all day long on Facebook, Msn,Hi5 and very soon Twitter.

Caleb Phiri for Africa Matata

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