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After amassing incredible $80m net worth, music icon, Akon, now devotes time to African causes

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African-American music icon, Aliaune Thiam, known in the entertainment world as Akon, has always been one star who has refused to forget his African roots throughout his illustrious career, and had been dedicated to making life better on the continent.

And after amassing a whopping $80 million net worth, the Senegalese-born Akon has decided to devote his resources and time for African causes and not just in his home country.

Back in 2015, Akon had said in an interview that the reason for his dedication to African causes was because the charities that are currently on the continent did not always help the people they claimed to help.

“One thing I’ve realized about Africa is that only the organizations that involve Africans themselves are successful,” he had said.

“A lot of corporations that come with their own policies and try and implement them in Africa fail horribly.

“The advantage we had is that all three founders (of his charity) are Africans, so we were able to navigate through each country a lot faster.”

Over the years, Akon has used his success as a musician to lobby for positive change throughout Africa and his vision has helped provide new opportunities for Africans from all walks of life.

Since 2015, Akon, a Platinum-certified star and five-time Grammy award nominee has done so much more for Africa than most charities have for decades, providing electricity for mo 1000 households across the continent and in the process, being able to light up the land through affordable renewable energy with the power of the sun.

One of Akon’s charity, Akon Lighting Africa, are now installed in 14 African countries and, for the first time ever, a number of households, villages, communities, schools, and health centers that are located in rural areas are all now connected to electricity – all thanks to Akon’s desire to make a difference.

Akon also has various charities he runs and supports across Africa which includes the Konfidence Foundation, his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa.

Other charities and foundations he supports are the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Clothes Off Our Back, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, NoVo Foundation, ONE Campaign and Peace One Day.

Culture

Trevor Noah set for ‘Off the Record’ world tour

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South African comedian and talk show host, Trevor Noah, has announced a date for his “Off The Record” global tour where he hopes to spread humour and bring his social commentary to audiences across the globe.

The former host of “The Daily Show”, who made the disclosure on his social media pages, said he would kick off his tour on July 29 in Europe.

The multi-award winning comedian known for his insightful commentary, took to his social media platforms on Thursday to share the news of his upcoming international tour.

“Love that we were able to add some US & Canada shows for 2024! See… there’s still a chance for us CA, NJ, CT & Ontario!” he wrote.

According to the itinerary he put up, the tour is set to kick off in countries like Monaco in France, Germany, the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia, bringing his captivating comedic style to audiences across the country.

Noah’s announcement of the “Off the Record” tour was met with enthusiastic responses from his devoted followers, who took to social media to express their joy and anticipation.

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Culture

UNESCO removes Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park from list of World Heritage sites in danger

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The United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has removed
Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park from the list of World Heritage sites in Danger after citing positive results achieved by the West African country and its formal commitment to reappraise plans to the development of the property.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which took the decision during its meeting in New Delhi, India, made the announcement on Wednesday July 24, saying it was satisfied with measures taken by the country to allocate considerable resources to the surveillance of the park in order to combat poaching and illegal gold panning.

The park, which is located in a lush area along the banks of the Gambia River, was included in the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2007 as poaching, basalt mining and other human activities were becoming growing threats.

The gallery forests and savannahs of Niokolo-Koba are home to a rich wildlife, including the world’s largest antelopes.

According to UNESCO, since then, monitoring of emblematic species has been stepped up and considerable resources have been allocated to the surveillance of the park in order to combat poaching and illegal gold panning, as well as to better organize the transhumance of livestock.

The body also commended the setting up of a mine pollution control system, and hailed Senegal for work that has been carried out to improve the fight against the invasive species Mimosa pigra.

The World Heritage Committee called on Senegal to continue its efforts in the coming years in so as to improve the National Park which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.

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