One Out of Many in Omdurman

I believe the best way to keep young is to keep learning. Henry Ford had said “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young”. It was just the other day that I learnt E Pluribus Unum was inscribed in every American coin when Monir a jewelry maker in Omdurman showed me the 1 oz SilverTowne  Buffalo Round of 2014. Monir Ali Alamin who makes gold, copper and silver jewelry was a graduate from Khartoum University 30 years ago. This one can tell from the proper English he speaks. He started his career as a banker but his interests brought him to the business of making jewelry. While discussing the purity of silver he showed be the 1 oz SilverTowne Buffalo. It was on this silver coin I read ‘E Pluribus Unum’ which in Latin means ‘Out of many, One’ or ‘One out of many’. E Pluribus Unum was considered a de facto motto of the United States until 1956 when the United States Congress passed an act (H. J. Resolution 396), adopting " In God we trust" as the official motto. However E Pluribus Unum appears on all coins currently being manufactured, including the Presidential dollars that started being produced in 2007, where it is inscribed on the edge along with "In God we trust”. SilverTowne is a renowned mint for collectible coins and precious metal bullion. Its headquarters are in Winchester, Indiana, USA and the mint has been a crucial part of the Winchester community since 1949.  The 2014 1 oz SilverTowne Buffalo Round is minted with 99.9% pure silver and weighs one troy ounce. Each round is minted with the well-known Indian Head stamp and features the inscriptions ‘Liberty’ and ‘2014.’ The reverse side of each round is stamped with the famous buffalo and the inscription ‘United States of America E Pluribus Unum.’ When asked, Monir told me that one of his customers got the coin from UAE for him to make her a bracelet. Monir admitted that copper plated with gold is more popular because it is affordable. We are waiting for USA to lift the sanctions. This will make imported goods more affordable in Sudan.

A Decade's Journey in Sudan

'I Know Two Sudans' is an anthology of beautifully written short stories, poems and articles about Sudan and South Sudan by authors from around the world.A few of the writers read out excerpts from their pieces at the TEDx Soba. Had the pleasure of reading out mine at the event.

Creative Writing from the Sudans | Creative Writing from the Sudans | TE...

Sole Indian at Al Obeid

Ten years back when I met Moneib Haider in Khartoum he was a graphic designer at a printing press. He was a young man who had travelled from Kerala to Khartoum. At the Onam festival in Khartoum he had performed the ‘Fire Dance’. That was when I knew he had fire in his belly. He wanted to be successful in life and start his own business and be his own boss. Four years back he called me to say that he has moved to a city called Al Obeid, 600 kms from Khartoum and opened his own shop for stationery items and gifts. Last week I happened to visit this city which is also known as ‘Bride of the Sands’. I was very happy and impressed to meet Moneib. He is the pride of the city because his reasonably big size shop in the heart of the city has become popular for the quality and uniqueness of stationery and gift items that he sells. Moneib Haider is the only Indian resident in Al Obeid living all by himself and running his own business. Moneib is an entrepreneur and I wish him all the very best.

Friendship Beyond Borders

We were at a press conference with the Ambassador of India H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma. In the middle of the meeting the Ambassador received a call on his mobile and we all asked him to take the call. But he didn’t saying that the call was from the Pakistani Ambassador who was his great friend and would understand that he is busy. We raised our eyebrows especially the Sudanese journalists. He then shared an anecdote which happened on a flight to Port Sudan. Ambassador Verma was sitting next to the Pakistani Ambassador H.E. Mohammad Sarfraz A.Khanzada. They kept talking to each other in Urdu language, which is spoken in both the countries. This was noticed by an Ambassador of another Asian country in the same flight. He couldn’t control himself and asked both of them what the hell is happening. Later Ambassador Verma remarked that if you remove politics, people of India and Pakistan are the same lot. “We participate in marriages, Bollywood, food, language and everywhere. Unfortunately the divide is based only on religion. India has 170 million Muslims which is a large number and India is a secular country.” Ambassador Verma also added that the new Government of India looks like will improve the relations between the two countries.

Sales Promotion Often Confuses Consumers

As Philip Kotler says ‘Sales Promotion’ comprises a wide variety of tactical promotional tools of short-term incentive nature designed to stimulate earlier and / or stronger market response. These tools may be consumer promotion, trade promotion, and sales-force promotion. Sales promotion are of two distinctive qualities: a) Insistent presence – which are attention getting, sometimes urgent, quality that can break through habits of buyer inertia towards a particular product. b) Product demeaning – some tools suggest that the seller is anxious for the sale. If they are used to frequently or carelessly they may lead buyers to wonder whether the brand is desirable or reasonably priced.

Well, here is case study of edible oil. I switched over from corn oil to sunflower oil to take care of my heart and cholesterol. Thus started buying the larger pack (1 litres or 1.8 litres) of sunflower oil for the family. One fine morning I found the 2 lts pack of corn oil being sold with a free small pack of sunflower oil. This has kept me wondering  whether this Sales Promotion is intended to initiate the habit of sunflower oil or to get rid of its smaller pack or to attract consumers to switch over to corn oil after consuming the small pack of sunflower oil. Surprisingly the big pack of sunflower oil is also available stand alone. There certainly is no proper plan and communication on this Sales Promotion which leaves consumers confused.

President opens new facilities in Ahmed Gasim Hospital

On the Independence Day of the Republic of Sudan, President Omer Hassan al-Bashir ceremoniously opened the New Building for the Cath Lab in Ahmed Gasim Hospital in Khartoum North. Along with the President were Governor of Khartoum State Dr. Abdelrahman Al-Khidir, Khartoum State Health Minister Prof. Mamoun Homeida, other dignitaries and consultant cardiologists. General Manager of Ahmed Gasim Hospital Dr.Huda Hamid Mohamed ElHassan said in her speech that the long waiting for two cath labs in the new building has been answered today. The hospital has many consultant cardiologists but they were unable to treat patients properly for last 2 years because the old cath lab was not working properly. The new building which was inaugurated by President Omer Al-Bashir has 2 cath labs, 2 operation theatres and 18 private rooms. The hospital is now equipped to perform 350 coronary angiographies, 35 to 45 open heart surgeries, 20 renal transplant surgeries in a month. The hospital, she said is not only concerned with the quantity of surgeries but also the quality of service provided silently by the group of qualified and trained medical team. 60-70% of the patients who come for treatment to the hospital are from outside Khartoum state. Dr.Huda thanked Prof. Mamoun Homeida for the trust bestowed on her with the responsibility of the hospital.

Dr.Huda also added that she and her team in Ahmed Gasim hospital are working with a goal to save the cost of travel and treatment of patients who go abroad and now can be treated in their own hospital.