Esther Ijewere

In Interviews&profile March 14, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

FROM EXPULSION TO BEST GRADUATING STUDENT! THE INSPIRING STORY TRICIA OBAZELE

It’s always inspiring to see how people go on to achieve great things after experiencing failure.

This Instagram user, Tricia Obazele‘s (@trishlina) story is one of such.

Tricia Obazele

After she was expelled in her penultimate year in the university, Tricia didn’t remain down but enrolled again at another university, although with the pain of failure in her heart.

Four years later, she’s the 2015/16 Best Grauating Student of her Department, Faculty, and the University.

That’s how you come back from failure!

Read her story below:

I’ve always been the type of girl who’s always at a loss for the right words to express myself with but I’ve decided to give it a trial…

Hmmmmmmm. I’m so overwhelmed!!! I’ve had to my share of life’s ups and downs. To sum it, it really hasn’t been easy for me at all…

I remember getting expelled from Covenant University in my 300 level, having to start all over at Veritas University.

I remember wanting to finish school right from the day I resumed there.
I just didn’t know myself anymore…
I became a stranger to myself, you know… all because most of my secondary school mates were married with kids and were working already.

I felt like a disappointment to my family… But then God kept me going….
God never gave up on me….

My parents, sister and brothers never gave up on me…

I decided to channel my pain towards my studies….

I remember studying all night because of one test, assignment or exam!

I remember studying in hunger all because of brokage! Lol

I remember being sick almost everytime! Ulcer wasn’t funny at all…

Despite all these and many more, I wanted to make it, to make MUMMY and DADDY proud… I wanted to make them forget my past mistakes…

Now look, I made it!!! Please tell MUMMY, DADDY, OMO, EHIS and EMMA that I made it…

I graduated with a First Class Degree…
God made it happen.

God told me to work hard and always be a good girl and I tried my best….

Truly, it isn’t how FAR, but how WELL!!! Three Awards, like really???

Best Graduating Student, Accounting Department.

Best Graduating Student, College of Management Sciences

Overall Best Graduating Student
My name, EJEHIYOOKHIN, explains it all
THANK YOU JESUS???

Source: Bellanaija

In Career Gems March 9, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

CIARA LOOKS POWERFUL AS SHE POSES FOR HARPER’S BAZAAR

Ciara has released new maternity photos for an interview in Harper’s Bazaar and they are HOT! Harper’s Bazaar magazine describes Ciara as “more powerful than ever”.

The soon-to-be mum talks about her growth in the music industry, growing up tough, her pregnancy, the importance of women supporting other women.

See excerpts below.

On Russell Wilson supporting her: If someone’s not supporting you and your vision and your dreams —whether it’s your relationship partner, your friend, whomever, then you’ve got to make sure to keep it moving. If people aren’t lifting you up, even if you’re the strongest person in the world, eventually it does chip away at you. You don’t even realize that you’re losing yourself. And that’s the scariest place to be in life… I don’t want to lose myself. I love myself too much. I love life too much.

On growing up tough: Before, tough was kind of like, if something happened that was wrong, I’d just keep moving. It was a bit of a challenge, you would build friendships, and then you’d have to say goodbye. I do think part of that made me kind of tough. Emotionally tough. The truth of it is, it helped me with being able to accept cutting things off… Which I think is a good thing; maybe it could be a bad thing, because it can make you cold in that way.

On baby Future’s reaction to her pregnancy: He’ll randomly pull my shirt up and be like, ‘I want to see the baby.’ ‘Hello, baby. How you doing, baby? I love you, baby. Okay, talk to you later, baby. Bye, bye.’ Then he’ll kiss me on my belly and put my shirt back down.

On women supporting other women: There’s this unspoken word: love. When you meet successful powerful women, you show each other love, because it is a tough environment.

On being all about family right now: I’m just super excited about this time in my life. Like, Oh my gosh, I can see my son running around, and soon it’s going to be two of these creatures running around! Our hands will be full of non-stop action.

5 FACTS ABOUT THE VAGINA THAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW

Most women feel that they know their body and how it works. There are some facts however that may be lost on most about the vagina.

1. The vagina has a pH level. A healthy pH level is between 3.5 and 4.5. There are many outside factors that can change the pH level. When outside factors such as blood, semen, lubricant, or bacterial vaginosis are introduced, the pH level drops, making it become more acidic. The pH drops naturally when ovulation is happening so that a few “little swimmers” will be able to reach the egg for fertilization.

2. The vagina relies on good bacteria to keep things in check. The bacteria Lactoballicus is a good bacteria that is found in foods such as yogurt with live cultures. This bacteria will help to fight off infection and keep things running smoothly.

3. The vagina is made up of muscle. These muscles must be strong to withstand intercourse and childbirth. After surgeries such a hysterectomy, age, and childbirth, the muscles are not as strong as they used to be. Kegel exercises can help strengthen the muscle again. This exercise is done by clenching the muscles as if you were trying to stop a flow of urine. The best part is that you can do these exercises any time of the day.

4. There is a production of mucus that some confuse with an infection. Right around ovulation, the mucus becomes thicker to accommodate sperm. It can have the appearance of some type of infection, and if you are not sure, see a doctor.

5. It comes in all shapes and sizes. The plastic surgery business is booming, and some people will have almost anything tucked if they think it doesn’t look right, including the vagina or other parts around it.

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In Career Gems March 8, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

TALI STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

The International Women’s Day on the 8th of March this year 2017, reminds us of the successes, the strides, efforts and commitments women and girls themselves have achieved for their own emancipation. It enables us to reflect on the efforts made by government such as Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 to enhance the lives of women and girls. We reminisce on attainments by the civic society to speak and represent those without voices including fighting for a gender constitution like the 2013 one. Passions are reignited and plans to continue with the work and to do better. All these actions look like supporting this year’s global theme

#BeBoldForChange.

Countries such as Zimbabwe still grapple with many challenges, chief among them financial resources to ensure funding of the implementation of all laws such as the new Constitution of Zimbabwe, policies and national action plans that seek to improve the lives of women and girls, and to eliminate violence and discrimination. The recent national budget has a significant amount of money towards funding education, a good gesture from the Minister of Finance Patrick Chinamasa, however we still have hundreds of thousands of young people out of school who need free education which is enshrined in the constitution. The government of Zimbabwe still suffers setbacks in its national plans to execute best education for all, with the recently launched curriculum seen by many as failing to address in its implementation, the realities of many scholars who come from poor families, and the economic struggles that have been caused by job looses in the current environment in Zimbabwe with more than 90% of citizens being unemployed. Girls suffer the brunt of lack of access to education and when that happens, there is increase in child marriages, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, of which these all add up to increase in HIV incidences, poverty among many of their vulnerabilities.

Girls and young women also face challenges in finding role models, mentors, sponsors and people who can support their efforts for their advancement. When girls have mentors, sponsors and supporters, they can make right decisions about their own careers and sexual reproductive health, they can achieve greatness in life. Young women who have someone who points them in the right direction and sometimes opens doors of opportunities are able to compete with their male counterparts, who often have access to mentors and sponsors including a social setup that supports them from birth.

This year as in our tradition including the previous few years, TaLI is taking some #BeBoldForChange steps in partnership with Vital Voices, a Global organisation which works to promote women leadership, in hosting a Mentorship programme on the 8th of March 2016 at the University of Zimbabwe(UZ) for students from the UZ and Women’s University in Africa(WUA), matching them up with successful women to begin a mentorship relationship with which runs for the next 6months. The mentorship programme is expected to provide some desperately needed support in the business, career and other areas of their lives where they find challenges.

The mentors are women who are at different levels in their lives, some are business women, managers, directors of different companies, NGOs who are passionate about young women and are interested in giving back. They are giving back their time, donating their money to the event, sponsoring through their companies and are also engaging as partners in the TaLI programme for the young women. The door is still open to those women and men who can support the work in one way or the other, and even wanting to be mentors to these young women. We are looking forward in 2017 and beyond, to individuals, companies and organisations who want to #BeBoldForChange and want to support this effort to get in touch with us on the details below. We appreciate the role the media has played in supporting such efforts over the years and are welcome to support. We are happy to tweet, Facebook and share ideas on social media on the day and we join the world in using the following hashtags to raise our voices for girls and young women: #BeBoldForChange #TaLI #TagALife #MentoringWalk #IDW2017.

Tag a Life International Trust (TaLI) is a girls and young women’s rights organisation thats been operating in Zimbabwe over the last 7years to empower girls, as well as working with communities and law makers to achieve this. The organisation works with men, boys, women, communities, local leaders in Zimbabwe, within the region and the globe to advance the rights of girls and young women.

For more information about this event and other ones, contact us on the details below.

Tag a Life International Trust (TaLI) – Making the World a Safe Place for the Girl Child.

Email: tag.alife@gmail.com, Mobile: 0777 549 090

No 52 Glamorgan Belvedere ,Harare

In Interviews&profile March 6, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

CELEBRATING TARA DUROTOYE AT 40, THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY TRAILBLAZER

In Nigeria, the beauty industry has grown by leaps and bounds. A report by Euromonitor projected the Nigerian beauty and wellness market to value about $3 billion in 2017. Beyond the figures is an amazing woman, Mrs Tara-Fela Duroye who pioneered the beauty industry in Nigeria.According to a report by Festus Iyorah .

In the late 90s, just after Nigeria’s return to full democracy in 1999, civilization had taken its toll on every sector: the telecommunication sector was booming, the banking sector had already earned the trust of Nigerians, the entertainment industry featuring the likes of Tony Tetuila, The Remedies and The Plantashun Boiz, was the rave of the moment mix.

No one talked about the beauty industry. It was left bare, untapped. No one noticed or saw prospect in it except a 20 year-old law student, Tara, who at that time was juggling the demands of law school with an overlooked, untapped beauty business no one believed in. Then she launch her start up, house of Tara with little capital and of course no studio.

From Oprah Winfrey to Nigeria’s Folurusho Alakija every entrepreneur’s have experienced myriads of challenges while building their businesses. Ms Durotoye case was not different. In the beginning, the main challenge tempting to rip off her dream, her vision was getting a space to operate; a makeup studio that would see to the demands of customers. At first she started from her living room, a makeshift studio where she did test make up for her customers. Sometimes, she would go from house to house to do make up for brides until 1998 when she finally opened her first studio, a rented boy’s quarter.

“I rented a location because I felt a need that some of my brides coming to my home needed more privacy while I did their test makeup,” she said in an interview.

In 1999 she launched the first ever bridal directory and in 2005 she established the country’s first makeup school, launched the Tara Product line and hosted Nigeria’s first Make-up conference in 2014.

Close up: Who’s Tara Fela-Durotoye

Tara Fela-Durotoye is the Creative Director and CEO of House of Tara International. Aside from being a certified lawyer, she recognizes the need for self-improvement, updating herself in the beauty industry by pursuing a course tied to make up at Charles Fox, Convent Garden, London.

In the early months of the year, March, 6, 1977, Tara was born in Lagos into the family of John Ejegi Sagay and Felicia Omaghomi. She started her elementary education at Command Children School, Victoria Island and was offered admission at Nigeria Navy Secondary School, Ojo. From there she proceeded to Lagos State University where she bagged a degree in Law.

In a society where the quest for pursuing white collar job is rife, one would expect Mrs Tara to be in the chambers, pursuing a vision related to her course of study, law.

But she didn’t.

Today, House of Tara has built an empire in the beauty industry with franchise spread across Nigeria and West African countries of Senegal, Ghana and Benin Republic. She has won many awards and recognition including Forbes Young Power Women in Africa, the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders, and the Future Awards Young Person of the Year and Young Entrepreneur of the Year among other awards.

In December 2016, she was recognized by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) as the Inspirational woman of the year. The award recognizes pacesetters in Lagos state irrespective of their tribes or ethnic affinities.

Her work and profile has been profiled on several international platforms including the New York Forum Africa (NYFA), France 24, Bloomberg and CNN African Voices, a weekly show that highlights Africa’s most engaging personalities.

House of Tara: More than a brand

Today, House of Tara International has become a household name in the developments of makeup, perfume and accessories created to meet the needs of Africa’s booming beauty market. With over 3,000 representatives and over 20 stores, House of Tara competes with international brands like MAC and Maybelline.

Furthermore, House of Tara brands promotes Nigeria’s culture and inspiration to young people. Mrs Fela Durotoye has gone beyond creating a unique brand to inspiring young African women. She believes African young women should be trained and mentored.

“For us, our brand is one that promotes our culture, ethnicity and language. It is also a brand that has empowered young women for financial independence,” she told Nigeria’s BusinessDay in an interview.

This birthed the Nigeria’s first make up school, the House of Tara Makeup School founded in 2007. The school has trained over 3,000 female graduates who are active players in African beauty industry.

Few years after establishing the Makeup school, Tara launched the Tara Product line, a brand that promotes ethics and ethnicity, by empowering young women for economic independence without moral compromise. The Tara Product line comprises a range of professional toolkit including eye shadows, eye liners, powders, lip gloss and foundation.

Beyond House of Tara Makeup School, Tara initiated the Tara Orekelewa beauty representative initiative. This initiative which seeks to make young women financially independent succeeded in empowering young ladies, about 4000 ladies in the tertiary institution.

Recently, she started the Tara Fela Durotoye series, a concept initiated by her mentor, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika. The series was inspired by the fact that Mrs Awosika had seen the impact that the time she’d spent with Ms Durotoye had, so, she felt that there is a need to mentor more young women—to shape their purpose in life, how to be successful at work, how to make the right choices for a spouse and tips on wealth creation and management.

“One of the greatest things about the TFD series is that we are “Paying it forward”. If you have attended in the past, you are encouraged to pass on the teachings to a group of younger women in your network to create a ripple effect,” she said in an interview last year.

Source: LeadingLadies Africa

In self development March 3, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

AKUDO ABENOGWE-ADEBAYO: ON CRUMBLING MARRIAGES…DON’T LIVE A LIE

Marriages are falling apart and that is no news. What is news is the way and manner at which the institution is breaking. Our forefathers clearly understood the purposes of marriage and placed optimum values on the marriage institution. These days, however, people have little or no respect for marriages.

I think people are more in love with the idea of getting married than the married life itself, and I stand to be corrected. Do you know the level of planning, excitement etc that women especially put into their wedding? The hair must be right, the makeup great, the outfits perfect, the venue wonderful, the food and drinks amazing, the music and entertainment outstanding. In fact, everything must be perfect. However, little or no plan is put into the marriage on how to face the expected challenges that comes with it. What often happens is that after the glitz of the ceremony, the day breaks and the challenges comes, you see the couple falter and give up even without trying.

Truth is, marriage is as hard as life. Life is hard, but you see us trying to survive and conquer all odds to be successful in life. But we hardly make such efforts to survive our marriages and conquer all odds to be successful at it. We give up and use every available excuses to defend ourselves. I will try to analyse the various angles to the recent breakup of the marriages of Tonto Dikeh and Ubi Franklyn, the best way I can, bearing in mind that there are three sides to a story, your side, my side and the truth.

Ubi Franklyn fell out with his acclaimed girlfriend Emma Nyra and went public with gory details about her, painting her black and him white. In the same process, he got engaged to Lilian Esoro and they went ahead and got married. Lilian Esoro was matured enough not to speak about Ubi and Emma Nyra’s controversy, but she married him because they were in love right? After their grand wedding, Lilian and Ubi would put up happy pictures and cryptic words showing them living their lives on social media. Meanwhile, there were were already cracks in the wall, and it finally happened few months after the birth of their son.
Lilian walked out of the marriage citing almost the same issues that Emma Nyra claimed she went through in her relationship with Ubi.
My question is, why make so much effort to show a façade on social media when it’s not the reality of that marriage?

Now, Tonto Dikeh got married to Olakunle Churchhill in a secret wedding that shocked everyone. While I gave kudos to her for managing to keep her relationship out of the public until they wedded, I was mostly impressed that she seemed to have turned a new leaf. What with all the inspirational and almost spiritual messages she would often post on her wall, her fans were ecstatic for her. I got a bit worried when she would post every little thing about her marriage on social media. She would write epistles on special occasions and eulogise her husband, calling him all sorts of nomenclatures and praising God for giving her such a loving husband. I felt that all was not well, and that it was a desperate attempt to cover up something and create a different picture from reality.

And suddenly the cookie crumbled, now Tonto is singing a different song. There has been accusations and counter accusations from both parties, the husband whom Tonto used to paint as a demi-god has now become the devil himself. The most funny of them all is Tonto’s recent claims that she lied on social media to paint her husband in a good light. That is absurd because we didn’t ask you if your husband was a saint or not, we didn’t even need to know if he was the perfect husband or not period!

A lot of responsibility of the marriage is placed on women, especially christians. This is because we are homemakers, we are builders, we are shapers. Remember that the Holy book says ‘whoever finds a wife finds a good thing’. It didn’t say a woman will find a husband. It is the man that will find a wife, and she will be a good thing to him.

Make no mistake ladies, we have roles to play in our men’s lives. We have the power and ability to build, shape and make our homes into what we want it to be. We shouldn’t give up on them just because there are issues, rather we should help them get the help they need as the case may be and if that doesn’t work we would know we tried our best.
Don’t waste so much energy displaying perfection on social media, and to the world… instead of building your home. It should be the other way round. Ask God for the ability to forgive all wrongs, conquer every challenge and survive the odds in marriage. Don’t live a lie; if your spouse sees your effort in making the marriage work, he/she will join you and you will both make sacrifices for the good of the home.

My 2 cents, see you next week.

Akudo Abengowe-Adebayo is a multiple award winner, with over 8 years in the media industry. She also hosts (Love Moments With Akudo) and is CEO of SATT Media, a content and media marketing company. She blogs at Akudosworld.
She is married with two adorable kids and loves Jesus with all her being. She is a TV addict, loves dancing and traveling, and a lil gossip now and then. Follow her on twitter@akudoabengowe or instagram@akuabengo

http://akudosworld.blogspot.com.ng/

About Akudo Abengowe-Adebayo

In Interviews&profile March 3, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

MEET FLORENCE ADEPOJU, THE WOMAN WHO LAUNCHED AN INTERNATIONAL COSMETICS RANGE FROM HER PARENT’S GARDEN SHED

Florence Adepoju worked on make-up counter in Lakeside Shopping Mall in Essex, when she was just 17 and studying for her A-levels at sixth-form college.

She noticed the lack of make-up suited to darker skin tones, so she decided to start her own makeup line one day.

She later studied Cosmetic Science at the London College of Fashion, where she did her dissertation on how colour affects different people’s perception of lipsticks.

As part of her dissertation, Florence put together a business plan and social media campaign. This eventually helped her to apply for a business grant from the college, which she used to set up a business.

She launched MDMflow, a lipstick line of bold, bright, highly pigmented colours designed to suit black women.

MDMFlow takes its inspiration from the mid-nineties to early-Noughties hiphop videos that Florence grew up with, and features a range of lipsticks in richly pigmented shades of black, blue, orange and pink.

Florence’s lipstick line which started producing from her parents’ garden shed is now being stocked in Topshop.

In an interview with FEMAIL she says:

‘I was struck by the lack of choice there was for women with darker skin,’

‘Brands would bring out limited-edition capsule collections, but none of the make-up would suit me; the foundation wouldn’t be dark enough or the lipstick wouldn’t be bright enough. I always found it disappointing.’

‘I worked at Space NK throughout university, and people were always requesting shades like blue, but there weren’t many on the market,’ Florence said.

‘They’d see people like Rihanna wearing crazy colours and they’d want to copy her.’

In Interviews&profile March 1, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

MEET OLUFUNMILAYO ODUNAIKE, THE WOMAN GIVING HOPE TO THE HOPELESS VIA HER FACEBOOK PAGE

If you want to know the positive impact of social media , Please go on Olufunmilayo Odunaike wall on Facebook, this beautiful woman who have been tagged “Mother Theresa” on Facebook made a simple post to give 20,000 to someone in need and ended up getting more donations of over half a million from well meaning Nigerians.

Although this is not the first time she will be “Paying it forward”on her page but this particular post however went viral and got the attention of passionate Nigerians , who not only donated but also gave material support to those in need. Sh also had a panel who helped in the selection criteria to help in disbursing the money to those who TRULY need it.

Since she kicked off the “Paying it forward” initiative several accolades have been rolling in from different people, mostly Facebook users who were blown away by her kind heart.

Here is what some have to say about her kind gesture:

Chris Adetayo wrote:

Homage. To Olufunmilayo Odunaike, Facebook Nigeria’s Mother Teresa and the Sage of “Paying It Forward”. 2017 is only 2 months old but it’s doubtful if anyone will surpass what she has already done for quite a number of unknown folks in Nigeria via Facebook in what remains of the year.

Like all great things, it started out rather casually. And small. She put up a post asking anyone who is struggling to provide food for self and or family to write out a small justification for support. She had N20,000 on offer. Before long, she was flooded with lots of tear-inducing stories of folks seeking help. More impressively, many friends joined in contributing money for the cause. By the end of the day, she had enough to offer 17 “unknown” people N20,000 each.

Fuelled by the growing financial support of many who are drawn by 1] the keen desire to help those going through hard times and 2] the innate trustworthiness of Funmi, this cause has grown in leaps and bounds. And ever so diligently, Funmi and a small panel of like minds select recipients based on well-judged and clearly spelt out criteria, disburse the sums available and render full account of same. All on her Facebook wall. This week, this self-imposed task has seen this full-time worker, wife and mother visit some patients in an hospital to make donations. Mother Teresa will be immensely proud.

So, Sis, take a bow. The world is celebrating you already! And to all my FB friends who are moved to help out the needy in this trying times, please reach out to them through this lady with a heart of gold. The Angels will smile at you”

Omotoyosi Ogunbanwo had this to say :

See ehn…. anyone who asks who Facebook epp needs a slap on the face really.

Olufunmilayo Odunaike made a post this morning promising to give #20k to someone in need. And right now I have no idea how much the total donations have been.

This evening it was about 240k in total.

Wow…. I am beyond surprised.

Loads of people are in need.

You don’t have to have enough to give out.

I always tell people, you can never give out without receiving. As long as you do it with happiness and love.

I have no words for all the donors.

It is my prayer that the universe smiles on them. And they get all they ever wish for.

People are suffering. The economy is hard. Give the little you can. Your neighbour might have no idea what to eat for dinner. 1k can do a lot in some people’s life.

Give and never stop giving.

And you would never lack.

Try it.

You don’t even need to pray. Just give with love.

Thank you @olufunmilayo for this initiative.

Yesterday Funmi gave a report on how much was raised on her Facebook page:

Paying it forward.

N175,000 raised between yesterday and today. Wow! All donors prefer to remain anonymous. Some have indicated that the funds go to 2yrs old Mary Idowu who is finally receiving treatment. I am glad we’ll be able to go back to LASUTH as promised. From a meagre N20,000, we already disbursed N615,000 and raisedN790,000 in total. My people, you are the reason we continue to pay it forward. God bless you. When we come together, we can do amazing things. Thanks to you all.

*** We salute your courage and appreciate all you have done and still doing to help humanity. Thanks for giving hope to the hopeless and shining a light on their dark path.

You are a Woman of Rubies inside out and we celebrate you Funmi.

In self development March 1, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

ESTHER IJEWERE : EMBRACE YOUR FREEDOM

Freedom is an amazingly powerful part of life. Some of us have it all and some of us wish we had more, but we all have the most important freedom of all.

According to Dr. Viktor E Frank , “The last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” –

How often have you stopped to think about how free you are?

Today and everyday forward, I encourage you to embrace what we have at our fingertips. Make the below a part of your everyday life and allow yourself to live freely.

What makes us, as humans, free?

We are free to smile, laugh and play to our hearts content.

We are free to have an idea and create a career out of it.

We are free to spend time with the people we love.

We are free to read and learn and to use our knowledge to teach and help others.

We are free to be as healthy and treat our bodies with as much respect as we want.

Every person in this world is free to choose their thoughts. We are all free to choose the meaning we give to life’s occurrences. No matter our circumstances, however wonderful or terrible, no one can take our freedom to choose our reactions to what life throws our way.

Life will not always go right. In fact at times it may feel like it’s gone terribly wrong. That’s all part of the journey. It is during these crucibles that it is on each of us to choose the meaning that most serves our life situation.

Choose your thoughts wisely. They are the only thing that can’t be taken away.

What do you do to feel free on a daily basis? What empowering meanings do you give to your experiences? Share in the comments section below.

Twitter & Instagram – @estherijewere

Facebook – Esther Ijewere

Email: Esther@womenofrubies.com

In Career Gems February 28, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

HELEN OYEYEMI WINS PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD FOR HER COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

Helen Oyeyemi has won the PEN America OPEN BOOK Award 2017.

The PEN Open Book Award was created by PEN American Center’s Open Book Committee, a group committed to racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities.

Helen won the cash prize of $5,000 for the category of the “Exceptional Book-Length Work of Literature By An Author of Color Published In 2016” for her collection of short stories “What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours”.

In 2010, she received the Somerset Maughan Award, and was named as one of Granta’s ‘Best of Young British Novelists’ in 2013.

Her books include: What Is Not Yours is Not Yours (2016); Boy, Snow, Bird (2014); Mr. Fox (2011); White For Witching (2009); The Opposite House (2007); The Icarus Girl (2005), and Juniper’s Whitening and Victimese (2005).

Source: Woman.ng

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