Cathy Majtenyi & Gregory Upshaw
A thriving curio business – in the middle of a garbage dump. A university campus – in the heart of a refugee camp. A low-income community’s power source – coming from the bottom of a public outhouse. African Inspirations: Turning Trial into Triumph contains more than two-dozen vignettes of individuals and groups in East African communities who have met economic and social challenges head-on, using their creativity, innovation and courage to transform the world around them. The stories reflect the perspectives and experiences of a wide range of people, from a community youth worker in a Nairobi informal settlement to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. These stories are grouped under four thematic areas that explore poverty reduction, environmental stewardship, food security, and moving forward from the traumas of war. The descriptions and interviews come from the author’s 12 years of print, radio and television reporting in the region. The book is a must-read for those interested in seeing another side of East Africa that is rarely portrayed in media and especially for people seeking inspiration in their own lives.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cathy Majtenyi’s journalism career spans over three decades, beginning at the then-named Southam Business Information and Communications Group in Toronto, Canada, then onto The Catholic Register newspaper before moving to Nairobi, Kenya in 2000. There, she was co-editor of a church-run pan-African news agency before joining the U.S. news agency Voice of America as a radio and television contractor, filing news and feature stories from Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Currently, she is Research Communications/Media Relations Specialist at Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Gregory Upshaw’s career has been involved in the visual arts for most of his life. His professional career ranges from classical animation, cartooning, graphic design and illustration. He worked on the children’s TV show “The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin” as a key animator. He then transitioned into graphic design creating visual content for publishing and marketing companies across Canada. He is currently working in the creative field based out of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.
