womenofrubies - Women of Rubies

In Interviews&profile February 7, 2018 By Editor

READ HOW AJAK DENG ROSE FROM BEING A REFUGEE TO BECOME A TOP MODEL

Born in Sudan, raised in Australia and now living in New York, top model Ajak Deng broke into the modelling world about a decade ago, when she was scouted while still in secondary school.

She made her runway debut at Melbourne Fashion Week, and has since stormed the runway for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Growing up was no walk in the park for her, as her family fell victim to the civil war in South Sudan which led them to flee to a refugee camp in Kenya where they spent three years. After losing her mother to malaria, the Australian government moved her family out to Melbourne when she was 11 years old, and that was the beginning of her runway fate.

Although given her sculpted physique, stunning skin tone and striking features, you’d think a career in modelling was predestined for her, however her initial dream was to fight in the army.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald about becoming a model, Ajak said:

“I wanted to join the army but my teachers at Kurunjang Secondary College told me no, that it wouldn’t be for me.

They knew I loved to travel and had a thing for fashion and suggested modelling, and since then I haven’t looked back.”

Ajak is very hard to miss, and you’ve probably noticed her in a magazine editorial or storming the runway during fashion week. Despite this, as per usual in any industry, her race poses a problem as she doesn’t get booked as much as other white models do. To protest this, in February 2016, the model announced in a now deleted Instagram post saying:

“I am happy to announce that I am officially done with the fashion industry, I will be moving back to Australia in order to live the life that I fully deserved, which is real life. I can no longer deal with the fakes and the lies… My life is too short for this dramatic life.”

We need more models like this shaking the table so that black models get their coins for their good and hard work!!

Credit: konbini.com

In Career Gems February 7, 2018 By Editor

FIRST LADY OF LAGOS STATE, MRS BOLANLE AMBODE, CALLS FOR ERADICATION OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

The Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, has urged government at all levels to formulate the right policy for the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria by 2030.

Ambode made the call at a programme to commemorate this year’s International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM at Alausa, Ikeja on Tuesday.

The wife of the governor also urged parents and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) to continue to advocate for the total eradication of FGM.

She expressed optimism that FGM could be stamped out of Africa by 2030 if relevant institutions and stakeholders work together toward achieving that goal.

The governor’s wife said that FGM constituted an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls, directly violating their rights to health, security and physical integrity.

She wondered why women should be subjected to such life-threatening dehumanisation.

According to her, the pace of penetration of awareness seems slow because the practice is an ancient one that is deeply rooted in our various cultures.

Female Genital Mutilation is an extreme form of discrimination.

(Instagram (@akinwunmiambode))

“But that does not make our efforts fruitless.

“Though progress may be slow, we are going somewhere as rural women, mothers and young girls are becoming aware of the severe health implications of the barbaric practice.

“A Few years ago, many women, even some educated ones, saw it as a normal and socially acceptable practice.

“But the story is fast changing as awareness is getting mileage and rural women are now campaigning against it,’’ she said.

Ambode expressed concern that the practice was well entrenched in the continent, with some countries recording up to 90 per cent prevalence rate among girls and women.

She, however, said the situation was not hopeless if the present advocacy was sustained or increased.

Ambode advised governments at all levels to fight the practice with direct legislation in the manner they were doing with some other barbaric anti-female practices.

NAN reports that Feb. 6 every year has been set aside by the United Nations to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM across the world.

Credit: Pulse News

In Interviews&profile February 7, 2018 By Editor

MEET GLORIA OLORUNTOBI, POPULARLY KNOWN AS MARAJI ON INSTAGRAM

Gloria Oloruntobi, popularly known as Maraji on Instagram gained fame after series of her funny videos went viral on social media. . She has earned more than 650,000 followers creating skits about everything from friendship to gossip to film and television.

Here are some things to know about her:

1. She was born on the 6th of February 1997

2. She studied international relations at Covenant University.

3. Born in Edo State, Nigeria, she has one sister and two brothers.

4. In addition to her Instagram account, she has also been known to create lip sync videos for her maraji_ musical.ly account.

5. Maraji’s consistency in delivering highly entertaining content via instagram saw her reach hundreds of thousands of followers and engage with millions in little over 12 months.

6. It was at university she started making lip sync videos out of boredom.

7. Her greatest fear would be to lose her mum and to lose her spirituality.

8. Her biggest achievement is the ability to make herself a public figure because she never used to be one.

Credit: fabwoman.ng

In Career Gems February 6, 2018 By Editor

LINDA IKEJI SETS TO LAUNCH OWN TV ON DSTV

Linda Ikeji, Nigeria’s top most celebrity blogger is in no way relenting in her money making moves. The 37 year old will be launching her entertainment and lifestyle channel on DSTV and online, in March 2018.

On social media she wrote:
“Growing up I wanted to be a reporter or a TV presenter… now I employ reporters and TV presenters,” said Ikeji. “Instead of working at a TV station, I’m about to own one. God has a way of doing his thing. Just trust him and never depart from him as you go on your journey. And remember, you just can’t beat the person who never gives up.”

Source: PM News

In self development February 6, 2018 By Editor

FAITH OYEDEPO@60: FEW AMAZING FACTS ABOUT PASTOR MRS FAITH OYEDEPO

Pastor Faith Abiola Oyedepo is the wife of Dr. David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.

In her own way, she has managed to help her husband move his ministry woman in ways that most would imagine a woman cannot.

She is 60 years old and definitely a woman who is worth celebrating. So, we join the world as they celebrate this great icon.

1. She got married to her husband in 1982

2. She was still in school (University of Ife) while her husband was still a student in Kwara polytechnic when they met at a motor park.

3. Before marrying her, he took her to church and made her sign an agreement to marry him in whatever condition.

4. She propagates the Good News of Jesus Christ along with her husband, in numerous nations of the world, with a mission to liberate the oppressed.

5. Pastor Faith Oyedepo, is the Vice President, Education, of the Living Faith Church Worldwide (the Proprietor of Covenant University) .

6. Pastor Faith is endeared to many in Nigeria, and across the globe, especially for her endless work in strengthening the family unit.

7. She has written several books, and maximized various avenues of communication, such as media outlets, to become an authority in the area of family, youth, and women empowerment, as well as marital success.

8. She has been happily married for over three decades now, with four wonderful grown up children, and grandchildren.

Culled from fabwoman.ng

In Career Gems February 6, 2018 By Editor

MARGOT DUHALDE, CHILE’S FIRST FEMALE FIGHTER PILOT, DIES AT 97

Margot Duhalde, who flew Spitfires in World War II as Chile’s first female fighter pilot, has died at the age of 97, the government said Monday.

Duhalde smashed gender tradition in Chile by learning to fly at age 16. Years later, she answered the call of French President Charles de Gaulle to fight the Nazis.

A country girl from southern Chile of French Basque ancestry, Duhalde became her country’s first female pilot — and the only woman aviator to join the Free French Forces of de Gaulle’s government in exile.

“Ever since I can remember, I wanted to fly,” she told AFP last year. “According to my mother, I started saying ‘plane’ before I could say ‘mummy.'”

Duhalde convinced her parents to let her leave home in the town of Rio Bueno aged just 16 and go to Santiago to train as a pilot.

She lied about her age and enrolled in a flying school.

In 1940, she joined the French forces as a volunteer. She was recruited as a pilot, then just 20 years old, by the Free France consulate in Santiago.

Duhalde headed to Buenos Aires and from there by ship to brave the war in Europe.

She ended up being incorporated into Britain’s Royal Air Force as it fended off the Nazi threat.

At first, Duhalde was made to look after the sick and help mechanics.

But eventually, she was recruited into the British force’s Air Transport Auxiliary to help with the war effort.

Her mission was to fly Spitfires and other aircraft from one British airfield to another to prevent them from being destroyed on the ground by the Germans. She never flew an actual combat mission.

Apart from the English weather, she faced the barriers of language and sexism at a time when women pilots were rare.

“The men always said that women were never going to be able to fly airplanes,” she said in the interview. “But they had to swallow their pride, because really we flew just as well as they did.”

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs said on Twitter: “We regret the death of Margot Duhalde, Chile’s first female pilot.”

The cause of death was not given.

For her service in the war, Duhalde was decorated by Britain, Chile and France, which inducted her into the Legion of Honor.

Duhalde last flew a plane in 2007.

Source: Pulse News

In Career Gems February 6, 2018 By Editor

OAP DAALA ORUWARI’S TESTIMONY IS A PROOF THAT SOMETIMES DISAPPOINTMENTS ARE BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE

You know how they say disappointments are blessings in disguise? Well, Daala Oruwari is living proof of this.

The OAP just took to Instagram to share the story of a chain of disappointments that ended up saving her life.

According to her, she had gone out with her family to apply for their permanent voter’s card (PVC) but were met with one delay of the other.

From the registration itself to car battery issues, everything that could go wrong went wrong. That is until she started feeling dizzy and passed out.

Waking up in the hospital, Daala was told that her blood pressure had been very low and if they had left the premises of the Ikoyi club where they had gone to register for their PVC, she may have died.

Read the full story below:

Presently, Daala who is a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Lagos, works with Ovation TV. She used to be a VJ for Hip TV and prior to that, she worked with Dynamix TV.

Once again, an age-old proverb is proven right and another life saved.

Source: Pulse

In self development February 5, 2018 By Editor

READ HOW A WIDOW AND MOTHER OF FOUR STARTED HER AKARA BUSINESS WITH #3,000 AND MAKES UP TO #150,000 IN A MONTH!

Instead of begging for alms after she lost her husband, Fatima Abdullahi, a mother of four decided to go into the business of selling bean cake popularly known as “akara.”

Surprisingly, she makes an average of N5000 daily from selling akara and pap, known as “koko”.

Fatima said she started her business about 10 years ago after the death of her husband because there was no one to help her and her kids, and she hated the idea of begging.

“I started with as little as N3000, and gradually expanded the business by adding sweet potato and now I make an average of N5000 daily, about N150,000 monthly. Although the business is stressful and dangerous because you have to seat by the fire every day, it is helping me to pay the bills, take care of my children. At least I can afford to pay school fees for my children and medical bills when the need arises. Whether a widow or housewife, you can start a business, no matter how small, so as to have financial freedom,” she said.

HOLLYWOOD’S ACTOR, DAVID OYELOWO GRANTS 5 CHIBOK GIRLS, BOKO HARAM SURVIVORS SCHOLARSHIPS

David Oyelowo is not just an actor, he’s also a humanitarian and he flexed these muscles in August 2016 when he spearheaded a scholarship which aims to ensure that young Nigerian girls have the necessary tools to excel in society.

In partnership with an LA-based NGO GEANCO, the David Oyelowo Leadership Scholarship For Girls specifically aims to support female victims of terror attacks and gender-based inequality.

geancofdn

Instagram

okayafrica

The foundation donates important supplies to schools in Nigeria, while providing scholarships to young female victims of terrorism in order to give them a fighting chance. The scholarship was named after the actor because he encouraged the creation, and he also plays an active role in selecting recipients and raising money to ensure its continued success. He has got his important friends like Oprah and others involved in funding the foundation.

Speaking about the scholarship on Instagram, David Oyelowo said:

“We cannot stand idly by while thousands of innocent girls remain under serious threat. With our help, these bright and resilient girls can blossom into Nigeria’s most inspiring leaders in government, education, business, entertainment, and so much more.

Proud to present the glorious recipients of the David Oyelowo Leadership Scholarship. They survived terror at the hands of Boko Haram, now the journey toward their true destiny has begun.”

Go to Davido Oyelowo’s Instagram page to see the latest recipients of the David Oyelowo Leadership Scholarship:

davidoyelowoVerified

Instagram

Source: konbini.com

In Career Gems February 5, 2018 By Editor

NOLLYWOOD ACTRESS, CHIKA IKE GRADUATES FROM HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

In her post, the actress take about her consistent struggle to get into Harvard and how she had been denied repeatedly but she never gave up. She also wrote of the pressure she had juggling her business together with schooling.

We have her Instagram post below