Bessie A. Winn-Afeku

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" by Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most popular quotes to date. This quote encourages people to not just wish for change but to live out the reason one wants to see positive change in the world.

Enter...

Who would have ever thought that hair extensions could be used to fight human trafficking, empower women and help change the world? Janice Wilson, owner of Arjuni, believes it can be done. Based in Cambodia, Arjuni is a socially conscious human hair supplier and manufacturer that empowers its employees, clients...

Every now and then, we meet people whose mere presence changes the way we look at life. That is what happened to me when I met Janae Veal. Janae reminded me a lot of my self. We are the same age (31), we...

Imagine spending some time with award winning song writers, artists, and personalities in the cultural pulse of Atlanta, and walking away from the "encounter" with your hopes restored. That is what happened to me when I met up with the duo Rock...

Violence against women has no political, social or cultural barriers, and whether it takes form of rape, domestic violence, or sexual violence, it drains women's energies and undermines all women's efforts to further their own and their communities' development. Many of the issues mentioned above are forms of violence perpetuated...

If you run, work for, or even volunteer for a nonprofit organization, then you know how challenging it can be at times to educate the community about your cause. As a director of a nonprofit organization, it is not very often that I encounter successful businesses to work with that...

The Heart of Haiti is beating. Can you hear it? Or have you forgotten about Haiti already? Well, how can you forget such tragedy when we watched it unfold right before our very eyes? How can you forget Haiti when we watched and witnessed people being rescued from tons of...

Have you ever had that tugging sensation in your heart to help someone? That feeling when you encounter someone who you know desperately and genuinely needs your assistance and there is no way you could leave without helping...but you end up walking away. You go about your day but that...

How were your high school years? Were they great? Well, mine weren't and I am quite sure I'm not the only adult that can say they had a very "interesting" time during their teenage years. It is a good thing, however, that I can now look back and use my...

When it comes to saving our youth, one of the best ways our society can do this is by providing extracurricular activities for our children outside of the school environment. Extracurricular activities can be anything that takes place outside of the normal school hours and they could be structured toward...

February is Black History Month and in honor of this month we have the opportunity to recall and celebrate the impact and positive contributions that African-Americans have made, not only on a national level but on an international level as well. Growing up in and living in the city of...

I'm an African-American woman and my age falls within the range of 25 to 34. The number one killer of women with in my demographic is HIV/AIDS and it can easily be avoided.

This killer does not look for its victims based on race, age, or sex; however it...

Trapped for 18 hours under the remains of his collapsed music school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, partially blind violinist Romel Joseph relived in his mind every music piece he had ever performed over the course of his thriving musical career. Romel Joseph was educated abroad at the University of Cincinnati and...

I can honestly say that I have seen more devastation in one week than I have seen in my entire life. On Tuesday January 12, 2010 the worst earthquake in nearly 200 years struck the tiny island of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. With an unofficial death toll estimated at...

Picture this; you've just had a very filling dinner with some friends at your favorite restaurant. You left your coat in the car because you figured your walk to the restaurant was short enough as to where you would not get too cold. But as you are walking back to...