womenofrubies Archives

In Career Gems March 28, 2017 By Women of Rubies

TEN MILLION BOYS AGAINST VIOLENCE

Morna International Children’s Foundation in collaboration with GreenLeaves Connect Development Initiative has launched a project tagged: “Ten million boys against violence” on the 8^Th OF March, 2017 in Ikotun, Alimosho Local Government area of Lagos state. It was a Seminar for young boys in Secondary and Primary Schools with over 250 boys in attendance.

This is a long term project on all forms of violence against women and girls in Nigeria. The project was conceived Out of our concern to end violence against women and girls and violations of their human rights which is an is common problem globally. The focus is on young boys and Youths; to catch them young.

Ten Million Boys Against violence is going to be in the form of campaigns, rallies, seminars and workshops in every quarter of the year and would spread across every state in Nigeria.

Bukola Afolabi Ogunyeye

Executive Director / Founder

MORNA International Children’s Foundation (MICF)

Phone number: 08175625915

Email: info@mornafoundation.org

Website: www.mornafoundation.org

ABOUT MORNA INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION (MICF)

MICF is a registered Non- Governmental Organization. She campaigns against Child Abuse, it’s prevention and assist Victims of Sexual Abuse and promotes the rights of the Nigerian Child. Her vision is to build a word where Children are respected and protected from all forms of abuse.

MISSION STATEMENTS

MICF’s mission commits to nurture and empower Children on their fundamental Human rights.
To provide public awareness on the current state of Child abuse and neglect in Nigeria.
To spread programs that focus on advocating prevention and early intervention in Child abuse and neglect through public education.

ABOUT GREENLEAVES CONNECT DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (GCDI)

GCDI is a registered Non-Governmental Organization focused on youths and women empowerment, Child abuse, and the sustainable development goals.

She also promotes the rights of women and girls in a Patriarchal society like Nigeria.

In Career Gems March 28, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

MO ABUDU, FLORENCE ITA-GIWA & MORE AT BETTY IRABOR’S 60TH BIRTHDAY SOUL TRAIN THEMED PARTY

Betty Irabor, Editor in Chief celebrated her 60th birthday with a soul train themed party and it was a night to remember.

Betty Irabor was joined at the event by her husband Soni Irabor and daughter Sonia Irabor.

The party had so many celebrities and socialites including Rita Dominic, Stephanie Linus, Michelle Dede, Dele Momodu, Prof Pat Utomi, Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva, Tony Rapu, Nkoyo Rapu, Florence Ita Giwa, Hakeem Belo – Osagie, Mo Abudu, Ruth Osime, Chief Medina Ibru, Jimmy Shonuga, Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Victor Okigbo, Funmi Victor-Okigbo, Nkiru Anumudu among others.

Ozzy Agu, Meg Otanwa, Azuka Ogujiuba, Dr. Vivian Oputa, Eku Edewor, Peace Hyde, Monalisa Chinda and more were also spotted at the event.

The party which was hosted by Bovi had unforgettable moments like Musical chairs competition, Lip Sync Battle, and eventually a 70s inspired dance-off.

See the photos below.

The Fab Guests!

Betty Irabor

Lanre DaSilva-Ajayi & Tara Fela-Durotoye

Ndidi Obioha & Stephanie Linus

Michelle Dede & Rita Dominic

Mo Abudu & Ruth Osime

Mo Abudu, Ruth Osime & Nkiru Anumudu

Stephanie Linus, Azuka Ogujiuba & Aisha Igbinovia

Nkiru Anumudu, Mo Abudu & Ruth Osime

Monalisa Chinda

Sonia Irabor

Rita Dominic

Stephanie Linus

Beverly Naya

Liz Osho

Dr. Vivian Oputa

Meg Otanwa

Omoyemi Akerele

Vimbai Mutinhiri

Peace Hyde

Azuka Ogujiuba

Vanessa Banigo

Michelle Dede

Ozzy Agu

Time to Boogie!

Photo Credit: Genevieveng.com

In Career Gems March 28, 2017 By Women of Rubies

CHUKWUNETA OBY | MOTHERS : THEY DESERVE OUR UNDERSTANDING

Our lady also doesn’t seem to understand that the woman was widowed when she was barely 33 years of age and had seven children to cater for!Another lady (who lives in the US) tells me that she has often had to go for therapy over there-to enable her deal with what she claimed was her mum’s cruelty to her-as a young girl.

According to her… her mum would always throw her out of the house and ensure she stays hungry for days. She downplays the impression that she was a wild girl, to whom domestic chores is alien. She would rather call on the boys in the neighbourhood to help her shift the furniture in their sitting room for an emergency ‘disco’ session, once her mother steps out of the house. And that’s even on the days that she elected to stay at home, otherwise, she’s known to leave home to wherever ‘it is happening’ for days.

All these were happening in an era when shame would almost kill a mother, whose Ada (first daughter) is not as homely as the other good girls in the neighbourhood.Two sisters, whose parents divorced, are still nursing some deep-seated resentment towards their mother.

According to them, she left them with their dad when they were barely 10 years of age. And she never looked back. The younger one has outrightly refused to deal with her and the older one does so with obvious aloofness. Their angst is understandable but it also helps to spare a thought in the direction of that woman.

I was told that the marriage began to nose-dive when the years began to roll by without any fruits of the womb. And his meddlesome female relative began to dictate what happens in their home. She’s alleged to be the type that, if there was an outing, would send the man’s wife to the back seat of the car-as she occupies the front seat.Things began to deteriorate so much so that by the time the children arrived…it was like “she dared give birth to girls only!”

The marital ‘nose dive’ continued until the extended families decided to divorce them-traditionally. In those days (in some Igbo tradition)…the woman is told to leave her husband’s home with just her clothing.

I suspect that it’s probably in a bid to ‘stay strong,’ without her girls, that she went so far away and tried rebuilding her life. Those who are in the know also said that she was an exceptional mother-to her girls.

Over the years, one has come across a lot of ladies that have unimaginable resentment towards their mothers, for either what they did or failed to do.In their rights, their feelings are justified but it should also occur to us that most of our parents raised us the best way they knew how. If there is anywhere motherhood is sacrifice, it is in this clime!

Nobody sets out to be a bad mother to the best of my knowledge, but circumstances “arm-twist” people. Some of these women had so much on their young shoulders and probably couldn’t be the super-mum that every young girl idealizes.

You can handle this better by resolving to be, to your own children, everything good that your mother is/was not. Not by burdening your soul with resentments. Some people travel abroad and suddenly realise that their mothers didn’t try at all.

Advanced societies have support institutions for the family, but here, the “straightening out” is done with cane, tongue-lashing and maybe…hunger!I remember those days when I would go play without doing any house chores. My mother would use silence and hunger to straighten me out. I would be the one hovering around the woman with lines such as‘’Mama, did you call me?’’ ‘’Mama should I do this or that?”, anything to make the woman have mercy.

My prayer remains that every lady experiences motherhood…if only to realise that it is not easy at all, especially with a ‘handful’ of a child. These are women we know nothing about their emotional issues, who are operating in a culture that has idealised them into super humans.

“Forgive your mother, not because you don’t have a right to be upset about the way she has handled some things in her life and in your life. Forgive your mother because until you do, there will always be a void in your heart-’’ Iyanla Vanzant.

Culled from : Guardian

In Interviews&profile March 28, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#INTERVIEW | “I STARTED MY FIRST FORMAL BUSINESS SELLING MAKEUP WHILE I WAS DOING MY MBA”- TALE ALIMI, BUSINESS COACH

Tale Alimi is the CEO/Lead Coach of Tale Alimi Global. A foremost entrepreneurial thought leader, business coach and strategist, she is on a mission to raise a new generation of entrepreneurs that would bring about change and transformation. To achieve this, she has written a book titled UpLevel to guide business owners. She tells NIKE SOTADE about the upcoming book launch and more

Tell us about yourself, education, family and career-path
Family wise, I was born into a close-knit military family. My Dad was an Airforce officer. I grew up with a lot of discipline and structure, which has stayed with me till today. Education- wise, I have a first degree in Accounting, an MBA and numerous certificates in business and technology including a certificate in personal coaching from the Coaching Academy United Kingdom. Career-wise, I have worked in multiple sectors of the economy especially in consulting and Technology, which equipped me for the work I do as a business coach. I have also ran several businesses, some have become successful and some have failed!

You are so passionate about doing business and raising entrepreneurs. What experiences in life prepared you for this mission?
My academic qualification in Accounting and Business administration equipped me with the business skills. I have always been business inclined because I saw my mum start and run several businesses growing up. I started my first formal business selling makeup while I was doing my MBA and it helped me with my expenses during the MBA. My second business, which was in fashion retail, was also inspired by case studies on the MBA like Kate Spade and Tory Burch who have built successful fashion brands.

Also, my business failures and experience, combined with my career working in a consulting organization helping people start and grow successful businesses, has fuelled my passion and given me the requisite skills to work with high achieving aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs who want to succeed.

You’ve spoken to over 5000 business owners in the last five years, from your own experience with them, what have been their major challenges of doing business in Nigeria?
The major challenges I hear continually are capital and infrastructural challenges which makes it challenging especially for entrepreneurs in manufacturing. The recent rise in foreign exchange is also a major challenge because imported goods now cost three times their former price, and this is a big challenge for an import dependent country like ours with 70 per cent of the population living below a dollar a day. I believe this has encouraged a lot of inferior goods to come into the Nigerian market. The positive side to these challenges is that a lot of Made-in-Nigeria products are getting appreciated because we have begun to look inwards.

You are also on WFM for the same purpose, what’s your content for radio and what time do you go on air?
I used to host a show on WFM 91.7 called The Entrepreneurs Journey, which was focused on interviewing successful entrepreneurs and drawing lessons from them that would be applicable to aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs. Truthfully, I did the show for myself also because I wanted to demystify entrepreneurship for myself and the common man who has gone through struggles starting a business or was afraid to even start. The show was put on hold because we could not secure a sponsor despite promises from major Organizations. This was due to the tough economic climate in the country. I plan to continue educating and informing entrepreneurs using free to air mediums like Youtube.

Tell us about your new book Uplevel. What motivated you to write it? Is it only for business start-ups or for everybody in business? Do you address men, too?
Uplevel is a book for everyone who is tired of living a mediocre life and ready to Uplevel and live to their highest potential in life and business. The book is for both men and women and everyone who is on the journey to live their best lives and profit from it. I also decided to write this book because it was a long road for me to find my own niche in life and business and it came after several false starts, mistakes and failures. The book is the guide I wish was available to me when I was on that journey and I hope it will be a guide for the reader to help them find their niche, share their story, build their tribe and profit from their passion. The book launch workshop is taking place next week Saturday at Trends House, Remi Olowude Street, Lekki Phase 1.

You were also a renowned shirt-maker with the Recreation Shirts label? What happened to the label? Have you been able to take it to the next level?
Interesting question. I got into shirtmaking like I explained earlier because I was inspired by fashion retail case studies during my MBA. At the height of the business growth and expansion, I got an investor in the business. At some point, I had to walk away from it because we had a misunderstanding. I shared the story and lessons learned in choosing business partners and understanding your strengths in detail in my new book Uplevel.

If you’re not doing what you’re doing now, what else would you be doing?
I really like what I do and I think my life is still going to unfold in several dimensions. I will probably be a full-time writer and business show host because I am intricately a story teller and I like to curate people’s stories and lessons and analyse them in a way that other people can learn from them and make their life and business better.

Going by your write-ups, you’re known for your boldness, tenacity and can-do spirit. What keeps you going in the face of challenges?
My faith in God and understanding that I am here on this earth for a higher purpose. When I am discouraged, I pray and ask God to encourage me. I also listen to people who motivate me and have succeeded against all odds, which keeps me going.

How do you unwind from your busy schedule?
I love exercising! I try to work out six times a week. I jog sometimes, do aerobics and core training. I used to play lawn tennis, but I have not played in a while. I also love to spend time with my family and my eight-year-old son. I am a sort of foodie, so fine dining is something I hope to do more. I am also some sort of geek so I am constantly reading and researching.

Who are your role models?
Sincerely I have so many locally and internationally because I am constantly learning and growing. And the truth is they have changed as the seasons of my life have changed. The number one person I turn to these days is God. This is very important because I can get unbiased and Divine counsel from my Creator. I also seek counsel from Mrs Adenike Ogunlesi, Founder of Ruff& Tumble and Dr Enase Okonedo, Dean of the Lagos Business School.

Culled from : Guardian

In Career Gems March 27, 2017 By Women of Rubies

NABFEME AFRICA LAUNCHES NETWORKING EMPOWERMENT NON-PROFIT FOR FEMALE EXECUTIVES IN MEDIA

One organization taking female empowerment beyond the usual “talk and no work” fluff is the National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment, Inc. (NABFEME).

On the 8th of March, 2017, marking the International Women’s Day 2017, the NABFEME Africa team launched the first chapter of the organization right on the rooftop of Maison Fahrenheit in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event which had in attendance some of the biggest names in the media, fashion and entertainment industry provided a platform for female executives and other stakeholders in these industries to network and have progressive conversations around the interests of African women.

The opening address was given by the founder of NABFEME Johnnie Walker, former Vice President of Def Jam Records and Head of Black Music at Dreamworks. who recounted how the NABFEME dream was birthed also talked about how NABFEME AFRICA will address the peculiar issues of the Nigerian media and entertainment sector.

Next was Chichi Nwoko, General Manager of Kwese Free Sports TV and Executive Producer at Hey, Whats on. Ms. Nwoko serves as the Network Leader for NABFEME AFRICA and she spoke on the importance of NABFEME to women in the media and entertainment industry in Africa and how the organization will help raise the profile of female executives in the industry.

She also informed the gathering about the different training, networking and career advancement opportunities NABFEME AFRICA has in place for female professionals in the entertainment, media, fashion, health and finance industries including the annual NABFEME International Women Leadership Summit which holds later this year.

NABFEME AFRICA will also launch new chapters in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa later in 2017.

In Career Gems March 27, 2017 By Women of Rubies

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.

In self development March 27, 2017 By Women of Rubies

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

In Career Gems March 27, 2017 By Women of Rubies

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

In Interviews&profile March 27, 2017 By Women of Rubies

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.

In Interviews&profile March 26, 2017 By Women of Rubies

“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”.