Acknowlodgements
Dr. Erinma Bell MBE DL BA (United Kingdom)
PEACE Campaigner Erinma Bell accepted an MBE in 2008 for services to the community. It was presented during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
”The Queen asked me about my work and I told her we were working to combat gun and gang culture. "She asked me if shootings were still as prevalent in the area and I told her things were better than they used to be. "She said that what we were doing must be working." The Queen also complimented Mrs Bell on her outfit, describing it as `absolutely magnificent'. Erinma's husband Raymond Bell and three of their children were also there to witness her proud moment.
Erinma is the driving force behind CARISMA, a Moss Side campaign group. She received the honor from the Queen on the day before her birthday. Mrs. Bell, 44, said: "I was nervous and excited but proud to go there and say I was from Moss Side, Manchester.
Dr Erinma Bell MBE DL
CEO - CARISMA
Beaumont House, 455 Chester Road, Old Trafford, Manchester M16 9HA
Listed as one of the 250 Most Influential People in Greater Manchester - April 2012 & 2013
DL - Deputy Lieutenant of County of Greater Manchester
Ambassador for Moss Side, Manchester | Rotary Peace Fellow - Chulalongkorn 2010
To obtain a copy of the CARISMA Peace Toolkit
email: info@carisma.me.uk
or visit www.carisma.me.uk
Sir Highland 'Dobby' Dobson OD (Jamaica)
Dobson began singing while a student at Central Branch School in Kingston and at Kingston College, and successfully took part in Vere Johns Opportunity Hour talent contest as a member of The Twilights.
He began recording in the Ska and Rock Steady eras as a member of Chuck and Dobby, and The Deltas, the latter along with Howard Barrett (who later formed The Paragons).
Dobson was featured in a 2009 theatrical 3-D documentary, by Canadian actors/exploitation filmmakers Tony "Tex" Watt and Vivita (Frankenpimp, Vixen Highway 2006, Dirty Rock 'n' Roll), called Dobby Dobson: An Interview With Jamaica's Music Ambassador, which had the tagline: "See The Double-D in 3D". On 6 August 2011, being the 49th anniversary of the country's independence, the Governor-General of Jamaica conferred the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer (OD) upon Dobson, for his contribution to reggae music and representation of Jamaican culture.
Queen Peggy Otuam (Ghana)
When Peggielene Bartels went to bed on a summer night in 2008, she was an ordinary administrative assistant living in a modest one-bedroom condo just outside Washington D.C.
But a few hours later, when a persistent ringing phone woke her up in the dead of the August night, the 55-year-old found out she was much more than simply a secretary.
At the other end of the line was Bartels's cousin, from Otuam, a small fishing village on the coast of Ghana. Excited and humble, he congratulated her on being the new King of Otuam.
"It never ever occurred to me [that I'd be Otuam's king]," says Bartels, who's been living in the United States since her early 20s. "I realized that on this earth, we all have a calling. We have to be ready to accept it because helping my people has really helped me a lot to know that I can really touch their lives," she adds. "I would have really regretted it if I hadn't really accept this calling."