Present

1. Joseph Healey – Moderator of www.Afriprov.org website, directing the meeting.jghealey@aol.com +254 723 362 993
2. Cephas Agbemenu — chairing meeting cyagbemenu@yahoo.com +254 723 307 992
3. Angelica Katabarwa – angelcheylo@yahoo.com +254 707 367 671
4. Francis Njuguna – osnjuguna@yahoo.com +254 720 434 819
5. Hondi Mumimanyi Placide – hondimuhimanyi@gmail.com +254 715 307 874
6. Laur Mwepu Luiza – lawijudithmwepu@yahoo.fr +254 725 806 611
7. Cikuru Devotha – devothac200@gmail.com +254 718 297 541
8. Kevin Namatsi Okubo – kevinnamatsi@gmail.com +254 715 307 874
9. Roger Akouete Adjomayi – akouete4@gmail.com +254 725 932 201
10. Elias Bushiri Elie — e.bushiri@yahoo.com +254 701 391 149
11. Sikitoka Mboni — sikitoka@yahoo.com
12. Gabriel Odhiambo — gabrielodhiambo1@gmail.com +254 726 369 593

Absent

1. Margaret W. Ireri margwireri@yahoo.com +254 722 537 774
2. Roger Tessier
3. Stan Nussbaum
4. Pascal Durand
5. Gerald Wanjohi
6. George Piwoth Atido George.atido@gmail.com +254 737 811 269
7. Benon Chelo ricardobenon1@gmail.com +254 701 606 346

Opening

The Moderator who was the host welcomed the members to the meeting and led a word of prayer in which all the members participated by petitioning their and APWG requests.

Introduction

The members introduced themselves to the group.

Matters arising from the previous minutes

The Moderator gave an overview of what is required to be a member of the APWG, and the following was discussed.

• Active membership should be voluntarily, but a person’s project will be discussed only if he or she attends the APWG meetings regularly.
• Active membership will also be considered by payment of membership fee of Ksh.1,000 (one thousand Kenya shillings)

The following members pledged to pay their membership fees:

1. Sikitoka Mboni
2. Francis Njuguna
3. Angelica Katabarwa
4. Cikuru Devotha

 

Report on participants’ recent research, writing and publishing of proverbs

George Atido’s letter was read to the members on his research on the need of bringing people back to indigenous churches.

The members and the executive committee appreciated the good work done be George Atido on his research. The results would be shared with the members so that all could learn from the findings.

Proverb of the Month

The August 2015 proverb of the month would be from the Luba Ethnic Group of D R Congo Tall stories destroy the family relationships prepared by Elias Bushiri.

Other Proverbs of the Month would be as follows:

• September 2015 – Burji (Ethiopia/Kenya) – Angela Katabarwa
• October 2015 – Banyanga (DR Congo) – Sikitoka Mboni
• November 2015 – Digo (Mijikenda) – Margaret Ireri
• December 2015 – Giriama (Mijikenda) – Gabriel Odhiambo
• January 2016 – Kalenjin (Kipsigis) (Kenya) – Laur Mwepu

New Booklets of 100 African Proverbs

New grants were received for completed and continuing work which was almost complete.

1. Laur Mwepu received the first instalment of the grant, $250, for the collection of Kalenjin proverbs.
2. Hondi Placide received the first instalment of the grant, $250, for the collection of Havu proverbs.
3. Gabriel Odhiambo received the first instalment of the grant, $250, for the collection of Giriama proverbs.
4. Elias Bushiri received the first instalment of the grant, $250, for the collection of Luba proverbs.
5. Margaret Ireri would receive the first instalment of the grant, $250, for the collection of Digo proverbs. Since she was absent from the meeting, she would have to communicate with Fr. Healey in order to receive the grant.

 

Fr Healey requested Elias to complete the work on time according to the group guidelines and to print 10 booklets on the Luba proverbs before embarking on the Holoholo proverbs collection.

New Proposals

• Tetela proverbs – Kevin Okubo and Laur Mwepu presented a proposal for collection of 100 Tetela proverbs. It was considered as viable and accepted. They would therefore proceed with the collection.
• Nyaturu – Cikuru Devotha presented a proposal to collect 100 Nyaturu proverbs. This was put on hold because of the procedures laid down about membership. These AFWG guidelines would need to be followed and therefore, she would present the proposal during the next meeting.

Promoting the African Proverbs, Sayings and Stories Website, Poll and Facebook page: http//www.afriprov.org – use of the smartphone

The use of the smartphone to reach out to the other members globally is key in updating other members of any developing stories and help in keeping the network active.

Allan Babunga was the former APWG Facebook Page Moderator. After being inactive as a member for over one year, he had to be removed from the Facebook link and from active membership of the group.
Nicholas Adongo has been silent for over two years so his name has been removed from the website.
James Siyumbu based in Zimbabwe was nominated as the new moderator of the Facebook Page of http://www.afriprov.org
Roger Akouete Adjomayi volunteered to be a WhatsApp group moderator to help with this communication platform.

Mother Tongue Website

Eti Dayan, the lady founder of Nanetya Foundation which works with local mother tongue stories and posts them on a website, had requested to work in collaboration with the APWG. Her interest is especially in the Sukuma proverbs, but the details of her interests were still sketchy. Fr. Healey was following on the matter and feedback would be given to the members at the next meeting.

Any Other Business

Executive Committee nomination: The committee members felt that one person needed to be added on the board following the resignation of Joseph Kariuki. Elias Bushiri was nominated.
African Dress Code: The members were reminded to wear African attire to reflect the theme of the APWG whose spirit was to express African cultural themes.
Proposal submission by Sikitoka Mboni: He had submitted 4 proposals to the executive committee for approval, but only one had been approved because of the procedures and guidelines laid down by the APWG. The other 3 would be discussed at the board meeting and feedback given during the next meeting.
Annual contributions: This being one of the pillars of active membership of APWG, it was emphasized that the annual contributions needed to be paid on time. (Ksh.1,000). Grants would only be given to those physically present at the meetings and not to a proxy.
The following members made their contributions:

• Roger Akouete
• Hondi Placide

The Chairman gave out an Mpesa number for easy payment of registration for members who would like to use the service; 0722 891 866

Closure

The agenda of the meeting was fully covered after lunch break and the members left at their own pleasure. The members appreciated Fr Healey as a good host and for a mouth watering lunch which he had provided. The meeting ended with a prayer. The date of the next meeting would be discussed at the executive committee meeting and would be communicated to the members.

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