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THESE TWO YOUNG WOMEN HAVE BEEN ELECTED AS COUNCILLORS OF THEIR WARDS IN THE UK

Two 22-year old women, Princess Bright and Tele Lawal, have been elected as Councillors of their wards in the UK

Princess Bright was elected the councillor for Eastbrook ward, while Tele Lawal was elected the councillor for the London Bourough of Havering council – representing residents in Heaton Ward, Harold Hill.

Tele, in a series of tweets shares how she won the election despite the many obstacles on her journey.

She tweeted,

Let me give you a quick run-through of my journey and obstacles faced. Hopefully, some of what I’ll share will inspire you to believe that even when it seems like the odds are against you, no matter what may come your way, if it’s for you it will be yours with faith.

I don’t come from a political background, I have never studied politics, nor do I have any friends/family involved in politics – in fact, I’m fairly new to politics(I’ve been a member of the Labour Party for about 2 years now). So, I lacked experience and knowledge

Compared to all the other candidates. This did not hold me back or put me off from running, nor did it stop residents from voting for me. Why was that? GOD! • I did not run in a ‘safe’ Labour borough. My council is Tory-led and has TWO Labour Councillors out of 54.

You can do the maths…. With my area not being a Labour Party focus, we had less funding for our campaign compared to other political parties. This did not hold me back and I was still elected despite fewer funds to run a year-long campaign. How was that? GOD!

I was juggling a full-time job, volunteering at Capital Moments, a part of KICC Romford choir, the constituency’s youth officer and taking part in the uprising leadership programme. How did I find the time and manage? GOD!

The final Labour Party candidate selection stage was on a day I was out of the country and I had to provide a statement to be read out on my behalf. (swipe to see a vid of when I found out I was selected) I wasn’t even there yet they picked me. Tell me how? GOD spoke for me.

Close people told me I couldn’t win, others laughed at me. I begged people to support me in different ways and got nowhere. I had only a three/four-man team leafleting hundreds of houses and knocking on doors for a year plus.

Yesterday’s Election Day a stanger called me and asked if she could help me out of the blue. Where did she come from and who brought her to me when we were struggling. GOD!

I am not the typical/more favourable politician, I am not white neither am I older or male as are the majority of leaders in my area. But yet I won getting the third most votes. Compared to candidates who have been doing this for years.

How did I get more votes? Why is it that despite the trend showing us that people with foreign names were receiving fewer votes why did I get more? GOD!

This is only a snapshot of what I faced and I thank God for everything. Please go for everything you want to do and keep fighting, it truly will be worth it. • • I am so humbled and thankful for every single resident who voted for me and I will work so hard for you all.

My team who came out in rain and snow. Thank you so much for everything you did, without you all I wouldn’t be here!

https://twitter.com/pri_bright/status/992317746439491585/photo/1

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Cllr Tele Lawal@telelawalxo

Yesterday at approx. 5:00 am, at the young age of 22 I won my first political election. I am honoured to now be the youngest @uklabour party Councillor on the London Bourough of Havering council – representing residents in Heaton Ward, Harold Hill.🌹❤️

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Credit: woman.ng
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DR EZINNE MERIBE: CAN WE ALL BE A SIZE 6?

The first season of Beyond A Dress Size podcast explores the most important component of life beyond a dress size which is . . . .our bodies. Too often, we tend to treat our bodies as if it were something that needed fixing so we can finally live our lives freely *no thanks to the messages we receive from society and the media*. What we fail to realize is that we are our bodies and whatever messages we send to our bodies permeates every other aspect of our lives especially our self-esteem as women.

We also dig deep into body diversity – the concept that different bodies of this world come in different shapes and size, the appreciation of our bodies and that of others and how we can approach our bodies and that of others with kindness and compassion.

Hosted by Dr. Ezinne Meribe of Zinnyslifestyle, Beyond a Dress Size podcast creates stimulating conversations with the sole purpose of empowering women to OWN and LOVE their bodies and LIVE in it fabulously.

In this episode, our guest is Dr. Nneka Chima who is also a physician and Public Health expert. The conversation sheds more light on why it is more important that people of all sizes pursue health and not weight loss or fad diets. Most importantly, “people in bigger bodies are not unhealthy, lazy, unworthy of love and belonging or less smart. Let’s pursue and promote health for people of all sizes. We can’t all be a size 6 but we can all be healthy”.

The goal is to throw more light on what other health indicators we should all pursue and realize that health is not defined by the number on the scale.

Listen below.
Embed code: <iframe src=”https://anchor.fm/zinnyslifestyle/embed/episodes/Can-We-All-Be-A-Size-6-e1ep9r” height=”102px” width=”400px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe>

URL: https://anchor.fm/zinnyslifestyle/episodes/Can-We-All-Be-A-Size-6-e1ep9r

Thank you for Listening!

To share your thoughts:
• Leave a note in the comment section below.
• Start a conversation on your social media pages with the hashtag #BeyondaDressSize
• Share this on your social media pages.
• Head over to www.zinnyslifestyle.com/size6 to download our favourite images and get the resources mentioned in this episode.

To help out the show:
• Leave an honest review on iTunes and Anchor
• Your ratings and reviews really help and I will read each one.
• Subscribe on Anchor and iTunes.

Special thanks to Dr. Nneka Chima for joining me this week. Can’t wait to share my next guest with you.

 

 

SHORT BIO
Dr. Ezinne Meribe is the host of Beyond A Dress Size podcast; a podcast series that creates stimulating conversations to pull down misconceptions on nutrition, weight loss, health and body diversity while empowering women to live life beyond the numbers on the dress label, scale or tape.
She is the Lead Wellness Coach/Founder at Zinnyslifestyle, where she leverages her professional qualifications and personal experience to teach women how to OWN & LOVE their bodies and LIVE in it fabulously; having successfully won the struggle with being overweight and loving her body. A UK certified Wellness Professional with a Bachelors in Medicine and Surgery (MBBS), she completed her postgraduate training in Public Health at Kumamoto University, Japan. As a Medical Doctor and Public Health Specialist, she continues to promote preventive medicine as the number one way to combat the severe health system constraints in developing countries.

She runs a refreshing Facebook community of over 14,000 women – Healthy Yummy Mummies; where mums can lean on each other while exploring through what a healthy lifestyle means for them and their families. She understands the influence mums have on the community because when you positively influence one woman’s lifestyle, you influence her children, her husband, her siblings and of course her parents.

You can connect with her on
Instagram @zinnyslifestyle
Facebook @zinnyslifestyle
Read more on Medium @ezinnemeribe
Or send an email to info@zinnyslifestyle.com

About Mo’ Sibyl
Mo! hails from Lagos (yes, we still exist) and has come to fall in love with the Korean culture – politics, drama, language, food, economic development (pre and post the Korean war). Mo! also loves to writ(h)e and have meaningful conversations with people with diverse opinions.

She speaks 4.25 languages (Yorùbá, English, Korean, Pig Latin, and 0.25 French), has visited a few countries, and is excited to explore more. She’s also a cultural nomad who resides in Oklahoma City where she works, does Toastmasters (an organization dedicated to communication and leadership development), raises her imaginary quokka, and volunteers with Korean international students.

Mo! is extremely curious, needs to learn something new every day, and hopes to infuse that insatiable thirst for diverse knowledge into BN readers. Mo! hosts the weekly podcast – The More Sibyl Podcast (www.mosibyl.com) – a podcast on culture and cultural nomads.

Mo! holds a B.Pharm (Hons.) from the University of Lagos and a Ph.D. in Health Economics and Outcomes Research from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently works as an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma.

Mo! also writ(h)es here: https://medium.com/@Mosibyl

Follow Mo! on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as @Mosibyl. Email Mo! on talktomo@mosibyl.com

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TOKE MAKINWA FEATURED ON CNN’S AFRICAN VOICES

During her interview, the media personality talked about her brand and her journey so far.

African Voices is a feature series that airs on CNN and examines Africa’s fastest rising stars who are making an impact in their various industries.

Toke shared a clip of her interview on her Instagram page.

See her post below:

The likes of Waje, Tiwa Savage,  Gbubemi Fregene, Funke Akindele, to name a few, have also been featured on African Voices series.

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TONTO DIKEH EMPOWERS VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND RAPE

Another beneficiary will be the Benue State born lady who was married with two kids, and suffered domestic violence throughout the marriage that lasted for 7years.

The tragic shock that led to the divorce of the couple was that the husband forcefully slept with her 15-year-old younger sister, the domestic violence victim.

She was also empowered by Tonto Dikeh who will be paying up her university school fees and also starting up a business for her.

 

Credit: Pulse News

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OAP TOOLZ OPENS UP ON THE LOSS OF HER BABY

Toolz, in an interview with Genevieve Magazine, said that it was a painful experience for her.

Speaking, she said that she finds hard to talk about the loss of her baby.

According to LIB, Toolz lost her baby sometime in 2017.

Also speaking on the marriage, she said “I’m a die-hard romantic, so I did think marriage was going to be like a Disney movie….no arguments, birds singing every morning.

To be honest It’s not quite like that, but I’m very happy. I think what I love most about being married is being part of this team.

“It’s amazing knowing that whatever I’m going through good/bad – someone will always be there with me to hold my hand or cheer me on,” BellaNaija reports.

Full interview is on Genevieve Magazine.

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ONE WOMAN IS MURDERED EVERY 4 HOURS IN SOUTH AFRICA -REPORT

According to Africa Check, a total of 14,333 murders were committed in South Africa between April and December 2016. 1,713 of those murders were women, meaning that a woman was murdered every four hours in South Africa. 57.1% of these women are killed by their partners – boyfriends, fiances, husbands – according to the South African Medical Research Council’s Gender and Health Research Unit. So, one woman is murdered every eight hours by an intimate partner.

Not to be dramatic, but this means that women are an endangered specie in South Africa. South Africa’s femicide rate is five times higher than the global rate, according to stats from the World Health Organization’s Violence and Injury Prevention Programme. The global femicide rate in 2015 was 2.4 per 100,000 women. South Africa’s rate for the same year was 9.6 per 100,000 women, meaning that femicide in South Africa is four times that of the global average.

In South Africa, gender-based violence is an everyday reality, and even when justice is done in courtrooms as in the case of Sandile Mantsoe, women still live in constant fear. Across Africa, and the world, women live in fear. Walking down the road, going to work, at work, at conferences, at restaurants, women are in a constant state of alert because the danger is everywhere – mostly from men.

 

This is a call for women all over the world to stay woke. The society can do only little or nothing to protect you. It is sad but it is what it is. Once you notice signs of abuse in your partner, run as fast as your legs can carry you (that should be faraway) Do not try to make excuses for an abusive partner. Be street smart too. If you notice someone stalking you, report to the authorities right away.

 

Reports source: konbini.com

Image credit: face2face Africa

 

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TOLASPEAKS: FEAR OF MISSING OUT

OK, so I figured it was time to come up with some highly practical ways to spend. Shopping was always a part of my life; I just didn’t put any conscious thought or energy into understanding it, or my relationship to it.

 

Recently though, I started wondering why I bought unplanned items and overspent with a ‘reasonable margin’. I also realised that 40% of items in my shopping trolley were unplanned, not immediately required and bought on impulse.
Guess I need to improve on my ability to say NO. Let me re-phrase, ‘Why can’t I say No’. or rather, will the direction in which I am looking within the store change my perspective?

 

All these different views can be taken in without moving my feet beyond one square foot. I only have to turn 90 degrees one way or the other, and what I see changes dramatically.

 

When it comes to shopping, so much of what we experience as shoppers and consumers has to do with the perspective in front of us which is based on the direction we are facing. And it is almost always within our power to change our direction, even if just a little bit. Sometimes just the smallest change in direction or approach can lead to the largest changes in perspective and outlook. Our shopping environment is much cluttered due to space constraints and also because the competition has become fiercer as alternatives and variants are on the increase. If it must catch the shopper’s attention, communication material must cut through the clutter, with unique ways of engagement that creates brand love and affinity.

I know what I want to be looking toward. And it ain’t the carpark…Most definitely, as there was this huge red signage in front of me that not only had sales written in my favourite yellow colour, but read 50% off!.

It was a no brainer, it was disruptive and in my face, seeking attention – I went for it.
Familiar experience? I guess.
Here are a few tips to that breakout and breakthrough the clutter.

• Campaignable Ideas/Communication: The fundamental law of successful is engagement: if you’re not engaging the consumer with a compelling story, they’re going to make up one of their own. It’s important to provide shoppers/consumers with memorable ideas and engagements they are compelling to talk about and share.

• Harnessing the creativity of shoppers/consumers: While conventional consumer research provides an essential foundation, it no longer creates a competitive edge. As there’s more need to experiment with non-traditional, sometimes radical and untried approaches that seek upfront inspiration – and actual ideas – from creative consumers who have a passion to innovate. These gives an opportunity to tap into consumers’ minds and passions to co-create products, solutions, communications and “experiences” that are truly resonant.

• Word of Mouth: Taking the time to watch / Listen /read feedback including feeds from Social Media for common themes and insights can provide a plentiful source of fresh, consumer-inspired ideas. Striking up relationships with the most prolific, influential bloggers with the aim of better understanding what makes their shoppers/consumers tick and how to improve the engagement platform is key.

 

Shopping these days have become defining moments with powerful choices instigated by compelling in store and out of home communication which usually brings consumers under the spell of ‘Fear of Missing Out’…but really, this butterfly called ‘satisfaction’ is going to be constantly out of reach, we need to start getting contented!.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola is a Regional Marketing Manager for West Africa in an FMCG.
A firm believer in empowering others for success in the work place as she is a well sought after facilitator on Marketing and Business management. She also manages Workplace Management columns and Consumer Insight columns in magazines published across West Africa as well as volunteering with NGO’s as a child educator.
Instagram: tolaspeaks
Twitter: alottola
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MEDIA PERSONALITY, TOOLZ LAUNCHES BRAND FOR PLUS SIZED WOMEN

Media personality, Tolu Oniru popularly known as Toolz has launched an inspirational brand for plus-size women, called “Sablier”
Sablier is a brand that represents confidence, female empowerment, and self-expression, especially among plus-size women. It is set to drive a message that promotes inclusivity and change the stereotypical perception of plus-size women.
She wrote:
 
“As a plus-size and curvy girl, you tend to feel out of place – my body type wasn’t the hot thing back then. I just didn’t fit in. I became very self-conscious – I thought my hips were too wide… my bum was too big, and I was on the short side.

 

As a teenager, you are dealing with a lot, especially when it comes to self-identity and accepting yourself. And you often get confused about what beautiful is. My self-consciousness got so bad at one point that I had to cover up all the time.

In the middle of summer, I would wear a light coat to cover up my hips, and people thought I was weird. Clothes shopping was a bit of nightmare, not to talk of shopping for lingerie. Most of the lingerie in plus sizes were quite unattractive; boring styles and colours with super thick straps. Sadly, inclusivity wasn’t such a big thing when I was growing up, you were basically stuck with what was available.

Later in life, I began to notice and research curvy/plus size models like Tabria Majors, Candice Huffine, Anita Marshall and Ashley Graham – her confidence is incredible! In an industry that is notoriously discriminating about anyone above a size 8, seeing this beautiful and curvy ladies flourish was magical. I was extremely inspired to say the least.

Being in the public eye also had a big impact on my ‘acceptance journey’.

 

 I have been bashed and shamed about my body on so many occasions, I can’t even count. The first few times it happened, I was very hurt, because there was always so much venom behind the attacks, and I would be at home in tears thinking what did I do to anyone to warrant this? Unfortunately, this comes with being in the public eye, and I soon managed to get a thick skin.

On the positive side, as I got more popular I began getting messages from women who admired me for being one of a few plus size women in the public eye. I would get messages from young women who had contemplated suicide because they looked different, and they were being bullied for that. They would write and say how seeing pictures of me boosted their confidence – making them accept themselves and their bodies. These comments made me realize that my presence and visibility in the industry was having a positive impact on at least a few people.

My experience strengthened me and gave me a voice – one which I have decided to use in empowering and boosting the confidence of plus-size women like me – those who are currently in a physical and psychological battle to accept their own bodies.

I am Tolu Oniru-Demuren. You probably call me ‘Toolz’.

Welcome to this journey with me.”

 

 

Credit: fabwoman.ng

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FIVE HABITS OF A CONFIDENT WOMAN

There’s a saying that “A confident woman is not afraid to stand alone, and that’s why everyone wants to stand with her”

When you see a confident woman, you see class, grace, and power. A confident woman inspires everyone including people who don’t like her.

So what are really the major habits of a confident woman?

See five habits of a confident woman below:

They seek challenges.

The fear of failure stops many people from taking chances — but not confident women. Instead, they search for opportunities to challenge themselves and view any “failure” that comes from it as simply a stepping stone to get to where they want. These women collect experiences through trial and error, expose themselves to new ideas, and constantly push themselves to continue learning. Whether it’s changing their career path or investing time and money into mastering a new hobby, confident women aren’t afraid to step out of their comfort zone — they live for it.

 

2. They support instead of compare.

With the convenience of social media, it’s nearly impossible to not know what someone is doing. It takes a swipe of a finger and a screenshot of an image to discover what someone is up to and share it with your friend. Although it’s easy to begin comparing yourself to the successes and life decisions of others, confident woman avoid this toxic decision and choose to support. Thus, they open the door to networking with more people and feeling inspired by the milestones of others (instead of threatened by them).

3. They hold themselves accountable.

Confident women not only have goals — but they also have steps they take to achieve them. They’re not waiting for a sign to make a move, because they’re already too busy taking action and pursuing what they want. These women understand that their lives are happening right now and that it’s up to them to take control of it. From sticking to the new monthly budget they’ve set for themselves to taking time out of their schedule to dedicate to their side hustle, they make the conscious effort to better themselves and make their own luck happen.

 

4. They communicate effectively.

The ability to communicate is a skill that anyone in any field of work or situation can gain from. Confident women are the walking definition of this — they easily adjust to social settings and can hold conversations on a wide variety of topics due to their knowledge and natural curiosity to learn more. Not only are they a pleasure to speak to, but they also have positive body language that makes them easy to approach. Whether a confident woman is giving a professional presentation or explaining her feelings during a conflict, she’s able to clearly communicate in a way that’s simple for people to understand, making others want to listen.

 

5. They ask questions.

Similar to how confident women live outside of their comfort zones, they also don’t accept views and ideas simply because they’re told to. They’re individuals, and they aren’t afraid to be who they are — and fight for it. Confident women are natural born leaders — they’re people who aren’t afraid to ask questions to try to understand a concept better. Furthermore, they won’t settle their standards to comply with what the majority of people believe. They aren’t afraid of standing alone, and that’s what makes them worth standing with.

 

 

Photo credit: google.com, every girl.com

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FOUR BEST FRIENDS TURN THEIR PASSION FOR CHOCOLATE INTO A BUSINESS

Four best friends who have known each other since childhood and also share a love of chocolate, has decided to start a company called Kakawa Chocolates in Mozambique.

Kakawa Chocolates makes beautiful handcrafted chocolates bonbons with both local and foreign flavors.

The four friends are a team of 3 doctors and 1 architect but decided to start their company in 2017, after they all had completed their college degrees.

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While talking about their future plans and goals, they revealed that they are opening their first physical store soon. They also plan to expand their products to the rest of the country and to the world in the nearest future.
Credit: lionessofafrica.com

 

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