Women of Rubies
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PREGNANT WOMAN WHO WROTE JAMB NINE TIMES BECOME BEST GRADUATING STUDENT AT LASU

A 29-year-old woman, Remilekun Orefunwa has shown what it is to be resilient as she was declared the best-graduating student of the 2015/2016 academic session of the Lagos State University.

Remilekun, who is pregnant with her first child graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.74.

Remilekun had sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination seven times before gaining admission to study at LASU.

She wrote UTME seven times and applied to OAU three times without success. She was finally able to gain admission to LASU to study Accounting Education in 2012.

While waiting to get admission to a University, she started ICAN and qualified as an Associate Chartered Accountant in 2010.

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BETTY IRABOR SHARES HER BATTLE WITH DEPRESSION AND SHE OVERCAME IT!

Publisher of Genevieve Magazine turned  sixty last week and she covers the latest edition of  Genevieve Magazine,  and again  shares with the world her strugggles with Depression.

Read excerpts from Genevieve Magazine below

On what triggered the depression

Insomnia and menopause triggered the depression. This is something women don’t talk about but the reality now is that people go into menopause as early as 37. I went into menopause on the other side of 50 but the depression came later. It wasn’t diagnosed in time. I was simply told I was under severe pressure and was advised to close down or take two years off. I lost a lot of weight and people thought it was intentional. Thisday Glitterati wrote that I was anorexic.

After two years of going back and forth on the root cause, one day I asked my doctor if it was menopause related. He was surprised I was 50 and he admitted that it was likely to be menopause. I suffered depression for years until I made the decision to get out of it. In the morning, I didn’t want the blinds open. I did not socialise for two years and the depression took its toll on my skin as well as my emotions.

I would be having a conversation and randomly burst into tears. People were insensitive and made comments about me losing weight because I wanted to stay young but it was all based on ignorance. I am sharing this because we hide what could be helpful to others.

I had to deal with mood swings…one minute I was laughing, the next, I was moody. It was bizzare that I became afraid to socialise…my socialisation skills were hindered. I tried to avoid celebrity events so the cameras won’t catch me. I stopped looking in the mirror because I didn’t like what I saw. Really weird.

Doctors didnt detect it was depression early enough!

Not for a while. I think it finally dawned on my doctor when he asked me to describe exactly how I felt. I said I felt sad! Funny thing is he couldn’t understand why a woman who had it all could be depressed. “Is it your husband,” he asked. “No, I said.” “Do you have money issues?” he asked again. “No,” I responded and added, “all of us will be depressed if it was about money.” “Are your children not doing well in school,” he probed further. Once again, I said, “they are doing very well.” “Is it your magazine,” he asked helplessly. “No,” I said, “but it’s a lot of work but not enough reason for a melt down,” I assured him.

“Could it have anything to do with menopause and the fact that I suffer chronic insomnia?” I volunteered. “How old are you again?” he asked. I pointed at my age which was boldly written on my case file and then he went…. “Oh, its depression triggered off by insomnia and menopause. You’re losing weight because of the lack of sleep and loss of appetite.”

Read the full interview and how she overcame depression in the new edition of Genevieve Magazine

Source: Woman.ng

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LET BAILEYS SHOW YOU THE SPECIAL WAY TO CELEBRATE MUM THIS MOTHER’S DAY

As part of the efforts to mark this year’s Mothers’ day celebration, Baileys Nigeria has launched an extension of her “Love is”… campaign tagged “Why tell others when you can tell mum?”

The campaign, set to ignite the child-to-mother love and also encourage people to celebrate and express their love to their mothers more often, was carried out via a social experiment carried out in Lagos Nigeria as Baileys invited a cross section of Nigerians to express how they feel about their mothers.

According to the psychotherapist who carried out the survey, people’s inability to tell their loved ones that they love them is one of the common social issues being faced on a regular basis. Against this backdrop, the experiment was carried out with a view to help people connect more with their mothers and mother-figures by showing appreciation and love for them.

This was carried out by having mothers and children in two separate rooms where the children talk about how they feel about their mothers as well as their various unspoken confessions of love for them. This is driven at letting the mothers know that they are seen, loved and appreciated. All through the conversation, the children were ignorant of the fact that they are being transmitted live and their mothers are watching and hearing all that they are saying from another room.

Some of the emotional comments as made by the invited people include: ‘She is a very strong woman’, ‘She is hard working and loving’, ‘She is a sweet mother’, ‘She is the best mom anyone could have’ among many other loving comments being made. This undoubtedly stirred an emotional outburst as mothers shed tears of love while the children also couldn’t hold back their tears during the process of the social experiment.

Baileys is calling out to people to indulge their mothers and celebrate them using the hashtag: #PledgeToIndulgeHer.

Please find below the video link to the social experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6CQ1zRHVdY

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MEET JESSICA MATHEWS ,THE  NIGERIAN WOMAN WHO INVENTED SOLUTION TO HELP WORLD’S ELECTRICITY PROBLEM

From time to time, parents might find themselves telling their children to put away a soccer ball and stop playing. Now, thanks to an innovation by Jessica Mathews Company ,  Uncharted Play, those same parents might be encouraging some extra playtime. Uncharted Play has created the SOCCKET, the power-generating soccer ball that literally turns play into energy.

Jessica, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United States, first came up with the idea for the company when visiting Nigeria for a family wedding. When the power went out during the party, her relatives switched on the noisy, noxious diesel generators that have become a way of life for nearly 60 million Nigerians. As we all know by now, only 25 percent of Nigerians have access to regular electricity, and the nation averages 32 eight-hour power outages per month.

This inspired the Harvard graduate to innovate on possible off-grid power solutions. Alongside the SOCCKET ball invention, Uncharted Play is also credited with other innovations such as PULSE, an emergency battery charging jump rope. Both products use Uncharted Play’s proprietary M.O.R.E. (Motion-based, Off-Grid, Renewable Energy) technology to harness power generated by minutes of play to create hours of electricity.

She believes that people should not have to be restricted to being connected to walls to have access to power and has been making great strides in converting kinetic energy to usable electricity.

Though her company is based in New york, she has revealed plans to spread her power solutions to other parts of the world including Africa, and with the recent 7 million dollar funding she has just received, She just might get her wish.

The $7 million investment in Uncharted Play makes Matthews the 13th black female founder who has raised more than $1 million in outside investment.

In the tech ecosystem, black female founders receive basically zero venture capital. Of the several thousand venture deals that went down from 2012 to 2014, less than 1 percent of them went to black women. This goes to highlight just how much of landmark this is for Jessica Matthews and all African American women in the renewable energy sphere.

Some might argue that Mathews is yet to truly create a lasting solution to most of the world’s power struggles but at 28 years old one would be foolish to bet against her achieving that in the nearest future.

In an interview when she was questioned about comparisons with her schoolmate – a certain Mark Zuckerburg, she emoted, saying

“I said to them, ‘I just have to come clean; I don’t know if I can do this. Zuckerberg and I went to the same school, but we grew up in a totally different experiences, He is much more like them (silicon valley type). They won’t understand me. They won’t understand the experience.”

She further explained that personal experiences and struggles give birth to solutions. Zuckerberg could not have invented SOCCKET,   because his struggle was he could not get a date while at Harvard. Meanwhile, Matthews’ solution is based her own family’s struggle with energy issues in Nigeria.

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“MY MAJOR CHALLENGE IS THAT SOME OF OUR CLIENTS DOUBT MY INTELLIGENCE AND CAPABILITY BECAUSE I AM A LADY – GRACE STANLEY,AC REPAIRER

My name is Grace Stanley a.k.a Becky; I am 27 years old from Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria. I am an automobile engineering apprentice at DADDY TECH Nigeria limited in a Abuja, Nigeria”
“I have been learning this skill for the past two years. We are specialist in the repair of automobile Air Conditioning system (AC)”.
“I have always been fascinated about male dominated jobs, while growing up, I had an uncle who was a Mechanical engineer, his specialty was in generator repairs; I remember that I use to follow him to his workshop back then and that was how I developed interest for this type of Job. The yearn and urge to do something masculine surfaced when i arrived at Abuja, so I decided to start learning how to repair automobile ACs. I love this Job because it is unique; I am so glad that my dream is coming through”.
“My major challenge is that some of our clients doubt my intelligence and capability because I am a lady, they always reckon with me after their cars has been fixed; while some of our clients can be so distractive, they get amazed that a lady can do this type of work, they always want to ask me questions while I am at work”.
“I have the support of my family members; my brother told me that if am sure this is what I want to do, I should go for it. So I advise parents to study their children while growing up and they should support them in whatever career they choose, children should not be forced into a certain profession”.
“My advice to females who want to venture into a male dominated field or career is to start something and they should start it now, within a certain period they would have become a professional in the chosen field”.

 

 

 

 

Source: http://tobioyedokun.blogspot.com.ng/2017/03/grace-lady-ac-repairer.html
Photography : Tobi Oyedokun
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CECE YARA FOUNDATION LAUNCHES ITS CHILD ADVOCACY CENTRE IN LAGOS

On the March 19, 2017, the Cece Yara Foundation officially opened its new, ultramodern state of the art Child Advocacy Centre at No 2A Akin Ogunmade Street Gbagada phase 2.

The event opened with a short press conference, where its Founder/Director Bola Tinubu, Assistant Director Grace Keteve, and Lola Vivour Adeniyi, Coordinator of the Domestic & Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) spoke about the foundation and its achievements thus far.

The press conference and brief address to various dignitaries and guests was followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony headed by the Director of Education Lagos State, Kehinde Azume, representing the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, the wife of the Minister of Works and Power Abimbola Fashola, Senator Oluremi Tinubu ably represented by the Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni, Acting head of service, Adesoye Folasade, and the Director Office of the Public defence Olubukola Rotimi.

The dignitaries, guests, and media personnel were given a tour of the state of art facility, and introduced to the in house team that handles the incoming cases to the centre. Facilities within the centre include:

  • A private calming room furnished with toys, games, and other age appropriate furniture where the children can play.
  • A forensic interview room is available where the child can make disclosures without the fear of being heard by their parents.
  • An observation room where the children in the forensic interview room can be closely monitored and observed by the parents, trained counsellors, police,  psychologist and medical experts behind the one way mirrors.
  • A medical examination room where preliminary tests can be carried out to verify the claim of abuse.

Built to effectively accommodate children and adolescents, the centre will cater to the physical, mental and psychological, needs of sexually abused children and also helping them and their families through the process of healing and rehabilitation.

The Cece Yara advocacy centre also offers legal advice and support to survivors and their families. Being a first of its kind in Nigeria, the centre provides a warm and child friendly environment where children can speak and express themselves freely in order for them to give as best a description of what transpired to their parents, counsellors and investigators.

The Cece Yara foundation and advocacy centre are a well thought out cause, aimed at especially catering to those in the grass root regions who do not have the ability to seek or get the help they need. The centre caters for the needs of children regardless of the age at which the abuse occurred, and also those who are adults now and were abused as children and are seeking counselling.

“The growing number of child sexual abuse in Nigeria is alarming and that is the reason why the Cece Yara Foundation was established. We assist in the investigative process of cases brought to us and promise complete confidentiality,” Bola Tinubu said.

See photos below:

Bola Tinubu

Bola Tinubu (M), Lola Vivour Adeniyi (R), and Grace Keteve (L)

Lagos Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni and Bola Tinubu

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ERELU BISI FAYEMI, TOUN OKEWALE & MORE ATTEND THE UNVIELING OF ADESUWA ONYENOKWE’S DEBUT FILM “CHATROOM”

Wife of the former Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, Associate producer; Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Actress; Damilola Adegbite-Attoh and Producer, Peju Fadirepo

A new film to be produced by Maysquare studios and Adesuwa Onyenokwe – publisher of the popular Today’s Woman magazine and the producer of the show Seriously Speaking is set to cause a bubble in the film industry.

Themed around abuse against women, the producers held a significant unveiling event to kick start the process at the Silverbird Galleria in the presence of partners, film enthusiasts and the media.

The film, inspired by true life events, will have prominent actors such as Damilola Adegbite Attoh, Kanayo O. Kanayo and comedian Akpororo.  Also starring in the movie for the first time after a very long time will be international on-air personality and television host, IK Osakioduwa and popular radio show host, Yolanda George Adams fondly called Aunt Landa amongst others. The film will be shot in May in Lagos, Abuja and the United Kingdom.

Speaking at the launch, the wife of the former governor of Ekiti State, founder of the African Women’s Development Fund and women’s rights activist, Erelu Bisi Fayemi stressed that the message was timely and that there was no better time for the production of the movie giving her commitment to supporting the project.

Also speaking at the event, the founder of WFM, Toun Okewale shared a real life experience and passionately expressed her support for the project while calling on attendees to also support the film and what it stands for.

The producers of the movie, Peju Fadirepo and Adesuwa Onyenokwe noted that the project was not just a movie but a movement adding that the film will be extremely entertaining and hilarious without losing its salient and timely message.

See photos below!

Group Head, Creative Industry, BoI, Uche Nwuka, Wife of former Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Associate producer, CHATROOM, Adesuwa Onyenokwe; ‎Actress, Damilola Adegbite-Attoh; Director, CHATROOM, Chike Ibekwe; Producer, CHATROOM, Peju Fadirepo; ‎ and Chief Executive Officer, WFM 91.7, Toun Okewale Sonaiya,


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“I AM INSPIRED BY PEOPLE LIVING WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE WHO FACE UNIMAGINABLE OBSTACLES TRYING TO SURVIVE” – BUKOLA BOLARINWA, FOUNDER- HAIMA HEALTH INITIATIVE

Nigeria records the highest incidences of the sickle cell gene and disease globally with 150,000 children born with SCD each year and 100, 000 of them die before they are 5, because of her  personal experience with Sickle Cell and her passion to create greater awareness and support for people living with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), Bukola Bolarinwa joined her friend Nkechi Azinge as a partner to run Sickle Cell Aid Foundation (SCAF) , a non-governmental organisation established to raise awareness about sickle cell disease and related health conditions. While Nkechi is the founder of the organisation, Bukola works in the capacity of the  President . Because she knows how important blood is to health care delivery system in Nigeria, Bukola founded Haima Health Initiative, to support hospitals who struggle to find blood in a safe and timely way because of the absence ofblood donors. She shares her inspiring story and the work she is doing through HHI in this interview

Growing Up

I think my challenges as a child made me resilient. I always had a passion for human rights growing up and our motto in my Primary school was “thoughts for others”. This stuck with me and influenced my personality today.

Bukola Bolarinwa!

I am a lawyer, Advocate, president of the Sickle Cell Aid Foundation (SCAF) and founder of Haima Health Initiative. I joined SCAF in 2011 at the Nigerian Law School in Bwari where it was set up by my friend Nkechi Azinge. We both had personal experiences with Sickle Cell and wanted an avenue to create greater awareness and support for people living with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). Nkechi’s three siblings live with SCD and she knows first hand the emotional, physical, psychological and financial burden it places on families. She started SCAF to support those who do not have the kind of support her family does. I live with SCD and I have also been lucky to have an excellent support system of family and health care providers but I know this is not the case for majority of people in Nigeria. So we work together with an amazing team of staff and volunteers to carry out activities to raise awareness about SCD and aid those living with it.

Being a Lawyer

I have not stopped practicing per se, I definitely always see myself as a lawyer first and I am hoping to go back into it at a later date. For now I dedicate my time to SCAF and Haima because there are a number of projects we are working on which would be impossible to juggle with practising law full time.

Sickle Cell Aid Foundation(SCAF)

The Sickle Cell Aid Foundation is a youth led non-profit, non-governmental organisation established to raise awareness about sickle cell disease and related health conditions. Nigeria records the highest incidence of the sickle cell gene and disease globally with 150,000 children born with SCD each year and 100, 000 of them die before they are 5. This indicates that there is still a lot amiss regarding awareness and delivery of medical care to people who have SCD, especially the young and indigent.

In 2012, SCAF commenced the Know Your Genotype Campaign (KYGC) which involves carrying out free genotype tests, counselling and sensitisation in the F.C.T. We have so far carried out about 10,000 free genotype tests across 5 States in Nigeria and it remains the largest on-going campaign on sickle cell advocacy in Nigeria. Our activities have reached over 15,000 persons across Nigeria. In addition, SCAF runs the Sickle Cell Club Scheme (SCCS) to set up sickle cell clubs in secondary schools where we also carry out free genotype tests.  Students found to have SCD were placed on free drugs and their tuition fees paid.

Haima Health Initiative(HHI) 

I started Haima Health Initiative because our Sickle cell beneficiaries often need blood transfusions and would ask us to get them donors. Most hospitals does not have blood in stock or they require a replacement for the one they use. We started by calling our friends and families to donate at hospitals and as more people started heard about us, we decided to help as many people as possible get blood. Haima is the Latin word for blood and is the first of its kind in Nigeria. We have an online database which allows people to register as voluntary blood donors that can be called on in emergency situations. We currently have about 500 registered donors across 8 states in Nigeria who have donated over 300 pints of blood free of charge directly to patients. The goal is to increase the number of voluntary blood donors and create a culture of donation devoid of superstition especially amongst young persons.

What Inspires me

I am inspired by so many things and people.  I am inspired firstly by my mother who has taught me patience and perseverance during adversity. I am inspired by Nkechi who is extremely focused and innovative at such a young age. But most of all, I am inspired by people living with SCD and other health conditions in Nigeria who face unimaginable obstacles trying to survive. Living in Nigeria is very stressful for able bodied persons, but living with a disease, disability or physical challenge is a hundred times worse. Inspite of these, we are often the most positive, ambitious and  vibrant people you will come across!

My projects and Activities

We have recently published our school’s handbook on SCD which is a fun activity book for teenagers. We are working with the Ministry of Education to incorporate it into as many Government secondary schools as possible as an after school sickle cell club. We are doing this because sickle cell education has to start from a young age to ensure every child knows their genotype and to avoid discrimination. We aim to launch the book in June to mark World Sickle Cell Day and invite stakeholders to help fund this project.

In addition we are working to ensure hospitals have better access to blood using the Haima web and mobile service so that donors are constantly available. Nigeria has a young and largely healthy population and it is abysmal that health care providers are constantly short of blood. We hope to gain funding to embark on more marketing to register and inform more young people on the importance of voluntary, regular, non-renumerated blood donation.

Gratitude from Beneficiaries is my greatest reward

It has to be the gratitude of our beneficiaries who have become a community. A lot of Nigerians with conditions like SCD live in isolation and often do not tell even their closest famliy about their struggles because of fear of judgement or ridicule. When they reach out to us, they find comfort in speaking openly about their challenges and being able to assist them in any way I can is incredibly rewarding, In addition, I am receiving a Commonwealth Youth leader award from the Queen of England in June in recognition of my work and the accolade has been quite exciting.

Challenges

Gosh there are so many! Working in the non-profit sector is very challenging in Nigeria because there are always a lot more people in need of help than you can render. Funding is our primary challenge, as like most NGO’s, we run on donations from individuals and organisations. These are usually inconsistent and make it difficult to plan. We always have more projects than funds so we have to prioritise quite aggressively which can be frustrating.

Secondly, ignorance and misinformation are rife in Nigeria regarding SCD as well as most other health conditions. Often times people with SCD and their families have tried all forms of herbal, spiritual and religious interventions to their ailments before coming to us for help and this diminishes the effectiveness of their treatments. Trying to re-educate the public including health care providers on SCD is a constant challenge.

Finally, most Nigerians do not know their genotype or blood group. In fact I would say that 85% of the population have no idea what it is or are unsure. There is no way that an NGO like ours can work to correct this without the Government making SCD a priority. Implementing a new born screening program so that all babies born in hospitals are tested for their genotype during the immunisation programs has to be made a priority by the Government and we will keep advocating for this. It is regrettable that even though Nigeria has the highest rate of SCD and sickle cell trait in the world, it is not a health care priority allowing SCD to keep contributing a huge percentage to under 5 mortality.

I am a woman of rubies

I would say it is my ability to turn challenges into opportunities, not just for myself but for those around me!

Final word

Everyone that knows me knows that I am a card carrying feminist! Men and women are not the same but both sexes can achieve anything they set their minds to with passion and diligence. Unfortunately we still live in a very patriarchal society where a lot of the rules are determined by men, while women are marginalised socially and financially. However there has never been a greater time to be a woman anywhere in the world as things are improving slowly but surely. I would encourage women to always help each other up and not tear each other down, as we have obligations to further each other if we are to get ahead.  I am hopeful that the future will open up even greater opportunities for women.

Kindly add any other information you want to publicise.

For more information on SCAF, our activities, how to volunteer and donate, please visit www.scaf.org.ng or follow us on our social media handles @scafnigeria

To register as a blood donor and save a life please visit www.haimahealth.org.ng

 

 

 

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STAR ACTRESS & TV PERSONALITY DAMILOLA LAUNCHES “PROJECT ALPHA WOMAN”

Superstar actress and TV personality Damilola Adegbite is reintroducing herself as an “Exercise to Music” instructor as she announces a fitness and wellness initiative for women.

The new initiative is called “Project Alpha Woman” and we love it.

To launch her new project, Damilola has shared some HOT new photos exclusively with BellaNaija showing off her banging body.

Watch Below:

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