2019 was a great year for TheAfricanDream.net and Africa's storytelling
2019 has been an amazing year for TheAfricanDream.net which is also the same as OralOfori.com and TheAfricanDream LLC. I started storytelling online almost a decade and a half ago as OralOfori.com and less than half a decade ago I started TheAfricanDream LLC in Washington DC as a communication and research consultancy to tell Africa’s stories under the hashtag #TheAfricanDreamLLC
I have had the opportunity to tell stories of amazing individuals from the first week of January 2019 to this very last piece for the year. This will be my feeble attempt to recap just a few of my favorites among those stories that saw me chat up random people of African descent to folks I’ve known for years, all of whom had amazing stories to share.
I hope that as I take you on a walk back to some of my stories you will find some motivating enough to share. Let me also take this opportunity to thank you all, especially those of you who referred me to people with great stories. And to those of you who boldly reached out to me with your own stories — I applaud your vim and vigor, you remind me of my offspring who are pictured below.
Thank you as well to all those who said NO to me, it is thanks to you that I discovered other routes to finding my way. I will not be shy to come back again in 2020 and if you have to say NO to me again, please don’t hesitate because I am not afraid to learn from rejection.
To all you bloggers and fellow storytellers, thanks for staying dedicated to the cause and being not only authentic but truthful and genuine, especially in these times of fake-news and get-the-news-out-there-no-matter-what peeps that discredit the game…
By the way, did you know there’s actual evidence that Africans were present in the Americas way before Europeans arrived in the so-called New World that is claimed to have been discovered by Christopher Columbus…
The Garifuna people of Central America were already living peacefully with the Mayan Indian and Caribbean people before the Spaniards and other Europeans arrived and banished them from their land. Remember Africans were first to circumnavigate the globe. Anyway, Garifunas trace their ancestry to West Africa and they live in villages, eat food, and have customs and traditions very similar to those of the West African people of Togo and Benin.
Learn more about the Garifunas here in this link and remember our work as writers and storytellers and merely being Africans is still heavy because some of our friends want to go with the flow by shirking their customs and traditions as Africans just to fit in. It is therefore refreshing to know that there are still authentic ones in the trade out there through whose work some African conscience is pricked and nonAfricans get to learn the true stories of Africa, be it good or bad. And when we can, let us as often as we can, shine more light of positivity.
OK let me not bore you, now drum roll, and here we go to some of the amazing pieces created with your help from January 9 — December 28, 2019. My next story is probably in your mind, so connect lets chat, for now, enjoy the below:
January 9, 2019 -- Lauretta Krah excites taste buds with her visually enticing DLaurel Cakes
January 12, 2019 -- Afrobeats Rapper 6ixty Drops ‘Close To You’ Single Off Debut Album
January 28, 2019 -- Akwasi Frimpong 31 spots up world men’s skeleton ranking after TEDx talk
February 12, 2019 -- Sesi Technologies of Ghana Advances to 2019 GIST Tech-I Semifinals
March 6, 2019 -- AJ Nelson joins Africa and international acts at Afrocentric ‘Asa Baako’ fest
March 15, 2019 -- Ghana-born US Material Innovation leader Impacts Global Plastics Industry
March 30, 2019 -- Chef Francis Otoo serving special Jollof at Embassy Chef Challenge 2019
April 4, 2019 -- Africa wins at Embassy Chef Challenge with Ghana, Morocco, and Ethiopia
April 19, 2019 -- VIDEO: Rohulamin Quander of the historic African-American Quander Family
April 21, 2019 -- VIDEO: My Visit to the home of Abolitionist Frederick Douglass in 2019
April 24, 2019 -- Adalba on the creation of self, music, and ‘Live African’ EP evolution
May 30, 2019 -- MOBA USA Holds Ground Breaking Annual Conference
May 2019 -- VIDEO: Dr. Joel D. Akwetey speaks to TheAfricanDream.net on healthcare in Ghana
May 2019 -- VIDEO: Dr. Thomas Mensah shares his vision for Ghana's high-speed rail
May 2019 -- VIDEO: Jemila Abdulai of Circumspecte.com chats with #TheAfricanDream
June 2, 2019 -- Dr. Alexander Anim-Mensah Among Ghanaians in the US Making Great Strides
June 5, 2019 -- Swaziland record producer G.R takes to the skies with new Fallen Star track for 2019
June 9, 2019 -- 8yr-old Author Nicholas Buamah charms Ghana’s Ambassador to the US
June 2019 -- VIDEO: Thelma Munhequete from Mozambique shares her African Dream
July 3, 2019 -- Caak-A Consultancy CEO Cynthia Awumee becomes the change she seeks
July 7, 2019 -- Isabella Nkrumah enters Ghana’s music scene with gospel single M’aseda
July 15, 2019 -- Jollof Wars: West African Countries score wins at 2019 Jollof Festival in the US
July 17, 2019 -- Afrobeat Artist Chase Forever and his ‘Broken Crayons Still Color’ EP hits NYC
August 22, 2019 -- Precious Hannah Ewoo-Asiem launches ‘Nea ‘Sepe Me Kra’ Gospel album in the US
September 3, 2019 -- 2019 US Tour of Legendary Ghanaian vocalist Abrantie Amakye Dede, aka “Iron Boy”
September 10, 2018 -- Maame Jane To Release Another Album in New York City
October 21, 2019 -- ZenCotton Couture is where you go to style up in a custom made way
October 5, 2019 -- VIDEO: TwinsDntBeg on Voice of America radio in Washington, DC
November 5, 2019 -- Gospel artist Lily Valerie Odoi sings “You Are Holy” in new 2019 single
November 17, 2019 -- Fiber optics innovator Dr. Mensah of Ghana meets Chinese billionaire Jack Ma
November 22, 2019 -- Fashion is fulfilled when replete with life-touching actions — Sally Torpey
November 29, 2019 -- How inspiration of Brandon Mkhululi Muchenje creates jaw-dropping pieces
December 5, 2019 -- African-American Tahira Muhammad relishes getting Ghanaian citizenship
December 9, 2019 -- VIDEO: Cookie Tee picks TheAfricanDream.net for 2019 VOA tour in Washington DC
December 12, 2019 -- Nutri Kitchen and Spices — prepare to be deliciously blown away
Thanks for taking time to read/share/comment, let’s do this again in 2020 and please find me on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as oralofori. Oh and I’m too young for Snapchat so I am not on there…
About the book? Well it is almost ready, I decided it will be a memoire, there will be an announcement on 02-20-2020 about it, keep following till then as I am so excited already.
Let the Storytelling continue!
Written by Oral Ofori
Oral Ofori is Founder and Publisher at www.TheAfricanDream.net, a digital storyteller and producer, and also an information and research consultant.
