America has turned to an extraordinary man to deal with extraordinary challenges. 

Barack Hussein Obama -- whose Kenyan father abandoned him at  young age and watched his mother lose a desperate struggle with cancer -- has been elected the 44th President of the United States of America. He becomes the first African-American to win the nation's highest office.

But he takes over The White House at a time the world's largest economy struggles to deal with the worst economic downturn in more than 70 years,  a slumping housing market, its troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, its rivals around the world looking for opportunities to challenge its leadership and the nation smarting from a bruising campaign season.

Few American presidents have taken over the Oval Office facing such serious challenges.

 The man Obama defeated in the presidential election, Arizona Senator John McCain, acknowledged the significance of the outcome. He called and congratulated Obama for being elected the first Black American to be elected U.S. president. 

McCain also noted that Obama's election will make African-Americans proud.

One of the leading African-American figures, former U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell, said Obama's victory was particularly significant because he ran for office as "an American who happens to be African."

Powell, a former U.S. millitary chief, said he was not ashamed to admit in public that he shed tears -- together with his wife and son -- when Obama was declared president elect.

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson -- who was twice candidate for the Democratic party nomination for president -- also was seen shedding tears after Obama was elected. 

Obama was elected after an extraordinary campaign that saw him beat formidable political rivals.

He first defeated New York Senator Hillary Clinton to win his party's nomination before taking on McCain, a Republican, in the general election .

Obama also harnessed the power of the internet in ways never seen before, helping him raise more than $600 million from donors around the country to fund the most expensive campaign in U.S. history.

He also inspired millions of young and new voters to register and cast their ballots, a move that ultimately paid off as these essentially made the difference between the number of votes garnered by McCain and himself.

Obama ran a very disciplined campaign that enabled him to focus on his election message, instead of scrambling to put out small fires that could have been sparked by gaffes.

Obama campain's rallying cry was "Yes, We Can." But the president elect's first message to the nation was simple and straight forward: the tasks of rebuilding the economy and delivering on campaign promises may take longer than just one term in office. 

As Americans prepare to elect a new president, one result is very clear -- one of the two candidates is guaranteed to make history. 

If elected, Democrat Barack Obama would be the first African-American to be elected President Of The United States of America. And his opponent, Republican John 

McCain, would be the oldest person taking over the presidency for the first term if he is elected to office.

As campaigning heats up, one cannot escape witnessing the political contest play out on TVs, on the radio, online, in the mail and right in the streets.

I was walking the other day near Harvard University and saw Obama supporters seeking out potential voters, talking to them,  encouraging them to vote and asking for contact details to continue keeping in touch. There was no evidence of McCain supporters in the neighborhood, partly because he deployed fewer resources in Mass

achusetts because the state has a history of voting for Democratic presidential candidates.

Here are some of the photos I shot during my walkabout, including a mannequin  wearing a message promoting Obama.

It's been a while since last I updated this blog. 

There is a good reason for that. I have been working on a new web site that has now gone live.

You will find it at www.ngowi.com I intend to update the blog now and then, but since the web site requires a lot more work to update as compared to a simple blog, that may not happen as frequently as I would like. I am sure, however, that things will change in a short while and updates will again be a bit more frequent. 

In the meantime, please continue to visit both this blog and the web site.

Best regards.

R.

Three African countries that twice were involved in the most devastating wars in the continent have apparently agreed to work together to protect the endangered mountain gorillas.
Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo will share at about $5.8 million in aid to deal with the threat from poaching and human encroachment at the last sanctuary for the world's only surviving population of mountain gorillas.
There are just over 700 mountain gorillas living in Africa's first national park that straddles the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and Congo.
The apes make up a key source of foreign currency from tourists.
Villagers living on the land surrounding the national park, however, repeatedly cross into the gorilla habitat in search of firewood, honey, bush meat and fertile fields to cultivate their crops.
The gorillas -- who roam across the three countries -- have suffered from years of instability first created by the 100-day genocide unleashed in Rwanda, and later by two devastating civil wars in Congo.
The 1994 Rwanda genocide killed at least half a million members of the Tutsi minority and politically moderates from the Hutu majority. More than a million people later fled the country into neighboring eastern Congo, including members of the former army and the extremist Hutu militias who orchestrated the slaughter.
Rwanda and Uganda have twice invaded Congo, in 1994 and 1998. Rwandan officials said they were chasing down Rwandan militias threatening their nation's security. The second invasion sparked a six-nation war in Congo that drew in the armies of six nations.
The three neighbors are now willing to cast aside the history of strained relations and animosity to work together to protect those gentle giants of the highlands.