womenofrubies - Women of Rubies

In self development June 6, 2017 By Editor

MRS KUSH: GET RID OF THE ANNOYING TINY COCKROACHES IN YOUR KITCHEN

This article is a personal triumph for me, because it took me over a year to figure out how to get rid of the tiny cockroaches that terrorised my kitchen.
We moved into a new house a few years ago and we were on the ground floor. Apparently if you live on the ground floor you are more susceptible to pests. I cannot verify if this is fact or not, but from my experience I am inclined to agree. I read up so many articles on the subject matter and even mentioned it to anyone that cared to listen just in case they had valuable tips. As strange as it sounds, I never knew I would have a “cockroach preference” but bigger cockroaches are better.

The tiny ones are a different species that learnt work from the devil. They are everywhere and multiply in hundreds possibly thousands.

I did the fumigation thing twice. The first time it was effective and 6k well spent, but after about three months they came back.

The second time the fumigation people had upped the price to 10k #blameitonthedollar and I started seeing the cockroaches the very next week.

After so much frustration and several cans of insecticide I decided to do the following to combat the problem:

Do not leave left overs lying around
If you don’t finish your pot of rice, please pack it up and refrigerate. There were times I had cooked late and was too tired to pack up the food, I’d just put the whole pot on paper towels in the fridge. I also kept bread, fruit and even plantain in the fridge.

Make sure you always sweep and mop after cooking. Clean your counter tops and sink to get rid of bits of food.

Food storage containers must be tight fitting and preferably latch shut:
I learnt this the hard way when I opened my container of Garri one day and saw a mini village of cockroaches. I had to bin the whole thing and replace my containers.
The point is to starve the pests as much as possible.

Dismantle your kitchen furniture, if you can
This discovery was by accident. Someone sat on my kitchen counter and when they jumped off accidentally broke one of the legs. In the process of trying to get it fixed we lifted the marble on top and low and behold we found their hiding place!
The cockroaches were lined bumper to bumper on the wood beneath. I quickly grabbed my insecticide and sprayed like a maniac. I voluntarily dismantled the other counter and the findings were the same.

Not all insecticides are the same
Since this is not an advertorial, I’m not allowed to endorse a brand but I can tell you the insecticide I used to combat this problem starts with S and ends with R. There is also a P somewhere in the middle. (**wink** Someone please type it in the comments). I was advised to dilute with kerosene, but I decided against that and diluted with water instead.
I used one part water to one part “miracle cockroach killer liquid” and it was amazing! It worked better than the fumigation and all other insecticides, I tell you. Since I have it to hand I spray nooks and crannies periodically.

Please be careful; this solution is very toxic like other insecticides. Do not spray near food or utensils. When I’m doing a thorough spraying I put my food stuff in the fridge and rewash all my crockery just to be safe.

Keep your fridge cold as much as possible
This is a difficult one, because of NEPA wahala, but I’d mention it nonetheless.

I lost a fridge to tiny cockroaches. In the middle of the cockroach wahala my fridge broke down and I paid a (insert nasty adjective) repair man to fix it.
2 days later it broke down again. It took him 3 months to come back after giving me so many cock and bull stories; but by then it was too late.

The dark dampness of the fridge was very attractive to the cockroaches and they moved in. I luckily saw a fridge online on sale for about 50% off so I replaced it. When he finally fixed it and it worked fine, I had to sell it at a giveaway price to another repair man for parts because the cockroaches never left.

Finally, do not eat in your bedroom
I’ll be honest I’ve never really liked the idea of eating in the room in the first place. Something about your blanket smelling like Efo riro when you’re trying to nod off is not appealing. Anyway, I started noticing the odd tiny cockroach in the room and I knew I needed to act fast. I banned all bedroom eating and filled all my wardrobes and drawers with camphor.
Luckily for me, they didn’t come en mass I suspect the ones I found were “scouts”. The kitchen was becoming inhabitable and they were looking for alternative dwellings. I made sure that didn’t happen and I am proud to say I have been cockroach free for over a year.

Not even one. I still see the odd big one, once in a blue moon, but they are easy to kill no biggie.
Whenever I remember I spray the floor of my kitchen entrance at night (cockroaches are nocturnal) with my insecticide solution to prevent them from coming in.

There were days I was literally in tears because of how defeated I felt about the whole situation. I would sweep and mop my kitchen several times a day to prove to myself that I wasn’t dirty. If you are going through something similar don’t be ashamed, you’d be surprised how many people are going through the same thing. These tips worked for me and I hope they work for you too.

Have you gone through a similar experience? Please share what you did to combat the problem.

Photo Credit: Hongqi Zhang (aka Michael Zhang) | Dreamstime.com

About Mrs Kush

I am a food expert and I say this with confidence because I have the waistline to prove it.
For instagram food porn check @lovemrskush . you’re welcome.

Source: Bellanaija

In self development June 5, 2017 By Editor

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2017: OUR WORLD IS GOING MAD BY ADENIKE AKINSEMOLU

I have fought all temptation to write an article about Donald Trump or our remote president, Buhari. Well, until now!

Mr Trump announced a few days to World Environment Day (WED) that the US is exiting the Paris Agreement. For someone who wants to make the US great again, I am not sure he is putting the people first. What Nation can be great without its people? Ironically, this year’s WED’s theme is connecting people to Nature.

Climate change is a moral issue. It is not just science. The World Bank estimated that climate change could drive more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. The United States is currently the world’s second-largest carbon polluter, and it is estimated that its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement Accord would add up to 3 billion tones of extra carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. By the end of the century, this would have raised global temperature by 0.1 – 0.3^oC. How about making our planet great again?

Now, let’s address this even more locally. President Buhari did sign the Paris Agreement in March of this year, committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent and conditionally by 45 per cent.

Of course, this sounds good on paper or when you hear it in the news. The practicality of it, however, is what we need to examine.

I was at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September 2016, and I attended a side event on Lake Chad. Truth be told, there was a lack of interest from both the president and the Nigerian delegates (or is it entourage) present. This lack of will or comprehension makes it all the more difficult to have a sustained and viable national policy on the environment. The president soon left the meeting and pitifully, all other delegates followed him and exited the hall, while the meeting was still in full swing. No meaningful contributions came from Nigeria. It was embarrassing. For these delegates, it was merely a photo-op to show that they were with Mr President. What I saw was a group of entitled, lazy sycophants whose last thoughts were the Nigerian people. But, it is expected from our government- they show face but their consciousness was absent.

Most people will tell you they need lots of funding before they can take action on climate change. These so-called Environment organisations that have even received funding, what have they done with it? They push for policies with no strategy and when they get grants from international bodies, they are never adequately utilised. It is the new “green” business.

We should care the most about the environment. That’s what the green on our flag symbolizes. But, Nigeria is an archetypical oil nation. According to Energy Information Agency, we are the 10th largest producer of oil in the world, but we lack strong regulatory infrastructure on environmental protection. Currently, Nigeria ranks 6^th on the list of vulnerable countries in the world. What is more; by 2030, the country would ranks among the countries which will experience environmental disaster induced poverty

We are the 6^th most vulnerable country in the world. Worst, by the year 2030, Nigeria would be one country out of 10 in the world that will have disaster induced poverty.

I have done extensive research in the oil producing regions of Ondo State. In the past 30 years, over 400, 000 tonnes of oil has spilt into creeks, sediments and soil. The core occupation of residents in this area is subsistence fishing and farming. And these oil spills occurs every year, causing major harm to the environment, obliterating livelihoods and placing human health at serious risk.

The human rights consequences are thus, severe. In such vein, Heinrich Boll Stiftung (a Germany based organization) conducted a research in 2015 and highlighted the challenges in Nigeria’s in the following order; Climate change and its impacts, extremism and the pursuance of ethnic interests, rising inequality and persistent poverty in the midst of increasing wealth, social unrest and insecurity, food insecurity, corruption and governance through political clienteles, weak regional integration, lack of energy access and a shift in global energy needs, poor education, population trends, such as the growing body of young Nigerians.

Of all the challenges listed above, I think the lack of energy is the most overriding because it is interrelated to the other challenges. Energy is an essential need. Yet in Nigeria, we do not have stable electricity. Businesses are failing; people are getting sick from kerosene fumes and generator exhausts, education is getting weaker due to lack of access to information technology and reliable light source to research and innovate.

Even relationships are affected because everything is just ridiculously harsh.

Our world is going mad. President Trump may think climate change is a hoax, while Buhari may sign a document he doesn’t fully comprehend. However, that should not stop us from doing our part. This planet is ours. When it thrives, we do the same.

How can we stay sane in a world that feels fully intent on caving in on itself?

For me, it involves connecting more with nature. Going outside and stepping into nature. Experiencing its beauty and its importance. It is only when we appreciate alluring essence of Mother Nature, then, together, we would have the urge to make our planet great again.

This, however, is not a difficult endeavor. You can simply connect with nature by:

Taking off your shoes and kissing the earth with your feet
Planting vegetables somewhere in your yard
Jumping into that beautiful lake
Looking up to the sky, appreciating the shape of the clouds and the sounds of the birds
Taking a hike
Picking up those plastic bottles on the road while walking or jogging
Supporting the Trash for Education Scheme by donating valuable wastes such as old clothes, plastic bottles, used tires, etc. to provide education to people who cannot afford them.

It is already hard being a Nigerian. Do not let the hardships take away your basic rights.

Nature is closer than you think.

In Career Gems June 5, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR EVERY DECISION I MAKE, BUT THAT’S NOT WHY I LOST’ – HILLARY CLINTON

Yesterday, former Democratic presidential nominee, Hilary Clinton was at Recode’s Code Conference in California where she took questions form the panel and made some startling revelations too.

According to her, ‘I take responsibility for every decision I make, but that’s not why I lost’.

She went on to say that when she became her party’s presidential nominee, she inherited “nothing” from the committee. “I’m now the nominee of the Democratic Party. I inherit nothing from the Democratic Party. It was bankrupt, it was on the verge of insolvency, its data was mediocre to poor, non-existent, wrong. I had to inject money into the party to keep it going.”

Then she alleged that former FBI Director James Comey’s decision on October 28, 2016, to send a letter to Congress about her email controversy was simply devastating.

“I can’t look inside the guy’s mind. He dumped that on me on October 28, and I immediately start falling,” she said.

She also specifically called out The New York Times for its coverage of the issue saying ‘they covered it like it was Pearl Harbor’.

Asked whether she will run for president again Clinton quickly answered, “No.”

In self development June 5, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

FRANCISCA OGUNLADE: 3 REASONS WHY CORPORATE EMPLOYEES FAIL AS ENTREPRENEURS

Please hold on, I really don’t mean to scare you. However, 75% of corporate employees fail in business; be it a side business or a full time business after years in corporate employment. Have you ever wondered why it is so?

At a time, I thought it was a jinx, as I could not imagine how a high flying employee could fail woefully in a personal business. I have also had my fair share of failures but now I know better.

Let me share a bit of my failure story.
One beautiful afternoon, I got a call from a colleague and he introduced me to a wonderful health product. The interesting part was that I would get paid for using the product and get commissions from inviting people into the business. It was a networking business.

Being a sales person at work, I saw this as a walk over and I invested in the business immediately. My dear reader, I never smelled any commission as I could not introduce any one to the business. It is over six years now and I still have some of the products in my home. Let’s just say I leant how to fail honourably.

In the last three years, I have invested in three businesses and I am bold to say that I have made considerable success in each of them. This success rate did not just happen, it is because I have learnt from my previous failures and I’d love to share same with you. For the sake of this article, we will call our case study Sunshine.

Order
Sunshine works with a pre-listed job description and role assignment. For 7 years, Sunshine resumes to her job function each day, working through her duties in a breeze and she has imbibed this way of life subconsciously. She sees life in this form of stability and order. This is the mindset that Sunshine takes into the business world. Sunshine does not know that building a successful business requires a level of disruption. Things hardly work out as planned especially for start-ups. Order is her first shocker in the business arena, as there is every cause for alarm.

Research
Sunshine is a very busy hard worker and she hardly has time for social functions except family events. During one of such events, she got talking to a cousin of hers. He cousin invites her to a trending business and voila, her mind is made up. She resumes to the office and tries to contain her excitement till she shares her new found business idea with her colleague at work. Her colleague leapt for joy at the idea and Sunshine went ahead to invest in the business. Sunshine has set herself up for failure as she did not research her market and only got counsel from her busy colleague just like herself.

Capital
Sunshine once failed in a business before she started. This is because Sunshine was waiting for the big lump sum as her initial capital to start. Eventually, sunshine got her huge capital and invested all into her business. She made the huge mistake called OVER CAPITALIZATION. She invested more in finesse instead of founding values. I have been there so I know. The chilling boxes I bought when starting out in my event planning business are presently used as storage boxes in my home.

There are still other factors like Trust and Processes but I will be stopping here for today. I hope this article has helped you think things through, even as you start your business.

Do feel free to comment on other factors you know so as to help that corporate employee venturing into starting a side business.

Source: Bellanaija

In Career Gems June 5, 2017 By Editor

MEET NKECHI, THE 18 YEAR OLD COLLEGE GRADUATE WHO IS ALREADY GOT PLANS FOR HER DOCTORATE DEGREE

18-year-old Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu is inspiring us with her drive and quest for knowledge.

The Nigerian teen just graduated summa cum laude from Howard University with a degree in Chemical Engineering but she’s not stopping there…she already has plans to get her doctoral degree.

Nkechiyere has made history as the youngest person to graduate from Howard this year, and one of the youngest in Howard’s history.

this year, and one of the youngest in Howard’s history.

According to USA Today College, she’s now preparing to start a Ph.D. program at the University of California-Davis after the summer ends. She’ll be studying biomedical engineering with a focus on creating and discovering new medicines.

Nkechiyere had a chat with USA Today College on how she was able to cope with being away from her immediate family while in school, her course choice and more. Read that here.

In the next few months, a graduate program is not all that is on Nkechiyere’s mind as she reveals that she’s also working on a book called “Tales of an Uber Minor in College”.

In Career Gems June 3, 2017 By Editor

CHIBOK GIRLS GRADUATE FROM TOP RATED HIGH SCHOOL IN WASHINGTON USA

The first escaped Chibok schoolgirls to successfully attend and complete an American High School graduated Thursday night in the United States Capital. The two girls known simply by their first names Debbie and Grace graduated after completing junior year (11th grade) and senior year (12 grade) at a prestigious private international school in the Washington metro area in America.

Debbie and Grace were part of the first 57 girls who escaped from Boko Haram terrorists after the mass abduction of almost 300 Chibok schoolgirls in April 2014. Unlike most of their colleagues who jumped out of trucks en route, the two were taken all the way to the terrorists camp in Sambisa before they escaped and made it back home in a terrifying journey that took about a week with their captors in hot pursuit. They were the last to escape Boko Haram until last year’s escape of Amina Ali after two years in captivity.

The two schoolgirls were among a dozen Nigerian girls sponsored to school abroad by a Nigerian NGO Education Must Continue Initiative with the help of US based international human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe. EMC is run by victims helping victims overcome the impact of the insurgency by the world’s deadliest terror group Boko Haram which has destroyed hundreds of schools and killed thousands.

By this graduation, Debbie and Grace became the first escaped Chibok girls to graduate from an American high school with diplomas after completing and meeting academic standards. This comes three years after terrorists interrupted their education during their final year in school in northeast Nigeria. Several other girls had dropped out of EMC’s school abroad project after managing to graduate from middle school (8th grade) last year and are now attempting to take the GED exam (external GCE equivalent).

On hand to witness the historic graduation of the two Chibok girls in the class of 2017 were a delegation from Nigeria which included the founders and directors of Education Must Continue Initiative Mr and Mrs Paul Gadzama and the parent of one of the girls who traveled all the way from Chibok in northeast Nigeria. The only Chibok girl currently pursuing a degree program in an American university, cut short her summer vacation in Nigeria to return for the graduation of her colleagues. The girls’ American host families and Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe and his family were among the audience who witnessed the historic graduation.

The class of 2017 was the 50th graduation of the school which was the first high school in America to win a prestigious President’s award last year. The Chibok girls were among only 21 students who graduated as a few international students were unable to graduate.

In remarks during a celebratory reception, the Chibok girls thanked their host families, the NGO volunteers from EMC for supporting them to achieve their dreams. They particularly appreciated them for driving the girls daily to and fro from school for two years.

Also speaking, the parent visiting from Nigeria stated that he had personally seen that the team had done more for his daughter in America than he could have done for them in Nigeria and thanked them for their love.

Recounting the story of how he conceived the project by divine favor, human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe described how he first brought the orphan of a pastor murdered by Boko Haram to school in the US in 2013. The following year, Boko Haram attacked her village and abducted 276 girls. Consequently because he had helped an orphan from Chibok before he was able to help these ones as well. He concluded that “unless God builds a house, the laborers labor in vain.”

He appreciated the sacrifice of EMC founders Mr and Mrs Gadzama who flew at their own expense to witness the girls’ graduation after missing their own daughter’s graduation with a masters in Public Health (MPH) in Michigan just a few weeks earlier.

He also thanked EMC’s American volunteer Education Adviser Deanna who helped obtain admission and scholarships to the exclusive $35,000 per year school for her role after their former school tried to take advantage of them. The girls had to repeat 11th grade after their initial school failed to meet up to its obligations.

A church Thanksgiving is planned for the girls who are exploring their future endeavors following graduation. Among several awards won by them was an award for “Most hard working student in English as Second Language 3”. “This is an outstanding feat for Chibok girls especially given the fact that in Nigeria, most continue to speak in Hausa to the consternation of many Nigerians. This shows that our education model of immersion – placing the students in American homes – was immensely successful as they are now able to engage confidently, communicate effectively and blossom generally,” says Emmanuel Ogebe the International Program Director. “This is why the girls in EMC’s US program are the most articulate Chibok girls anywhere in the world.”

Confirming this, host parents including lawyers, doctors and accountants narrated tales of how Americanized the girls are quoting one as saying “mum, the weather is gross” while on another occasion explaining to her host mum, an American doctor, how Uber, the app-based taxi service, operates.

With this graduation, EMC has no more students in high school in the US. All are now post-secondary level and exceed all the Chibok girls in the Nigerian programs run by the Federal Government and Borno State government. EMC and AUN’s programs are the two most advanced programs for Chibok girls. “The fact that these girls could succeed inspite of the worst of terrorism and the opposition of their own government no less is proof that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the March of a girl committed to achieving her dreams or any band of individuals united to support them. They are truly a testament to the indomitable human spirit under guidance of a great God. Not one iota of support has come from any government anywhere. Rather we have paid the Nigerian and US governments numerous times for various needs for the girls. At the end of the day, our labor of love has been crowned with success in spite of all the naysayers and saboteurs. To God alone by the glory. We thank all our friends and supporters,” Ogebe says.

Out off the five girls placed in this same school, one of them is now in college earning a degree, two graduated with diplomas on Thursday while two who were taken by the Nigerian government last year still don’t have a diploma.

In Career Gems June 3, 2017 By Editor

OLAJUMOKE SET TO RELEASE REALITY TV SHOW ‘OLAJUMOKE SAUCE’

It seems like it was just yesterday Olajumoke Orisaguna stepped into the limelight through an accidental shot. Now the mother of two has taken full advantage of the opportunities given to her by expanding her horizon.

The model just recently announced that she will be introducing her reality TV show “Olajumoke Sauce“. She posted a behind the scenes video on her Instagram page thanking her fans and appreciating God whilst encouraging hardwork and steadfastness in prayers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU1_5dygg7c/

Olajumoke also posted a stunning portrait of herself and captioned; “Let me re-introduce myself to you:
Orukomi Olajumoke, omo oni buredi, omo Jesu, Iya Semilore ati Grace. Now: Model,Actor,Vlogger, & story teller (reality)… Lol.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU3qx2XALUq/

Source: Bellanaija

In Interviews&profile June 3, 2017 By Editor

I NEVER KNEW ABOUT ACID ATTACKS UNTIL IT HAPPENED TO ME – HANIFA NAKRIYOWA, ACID ATTACK SURVIOVOR & ADVOCATE

Hanifa Nakriyowa had escaped an abusive marriage just three months earlier before she became scarred for life, she had gone to her estranged husband home one Sunday evening to pick up their daughters when a man dressed as a security guard poured acid on her face. She remembers screaming in pain as the corrosive liquid burned her skin. By the time neighbors rushed her to the Hospital, doctors could do little more than keep her comfortable and give her seared skin time to heal. “I was literally raw and faceless she said, my nose had fallen off”. I had lost one eye, the scarring had disfigured my entire face but I had a voice says Hanifa . In 2012 she formed Centre for Rehabilitation of Survivors of Acids and Burns Violence (CERESAV) , to raise awareness about acid violence in Uganda and to give survivors a place where they felt belonged. Hanifa shares her very inspiring story in this interview.

Growing Up

Being the firstborn in the family, I was raised and trained to take care of my siblings, trained to take on values that will be exemplary to my siblings and expected to take on family values as a girl child. While in school, I always demonstrated maturity in whatever I did, which as you may know is a common feature with all firstborns in our African society especially girls. This maturity always led me leadership roles from my earliest school years. As a student in leadership role, I was expected to take good care of the little kids in school. I was also expected to demonstrate good character, be clean, handle myself with respect and be smart in class to be a good role model to the kids I took care of. If I failed to observe good character, then I would be punished in front of the school parade which would of course be an embarrassment that no one wants to go through. There are days I would blunder of course as a child and get my dose of it. Such blunders would help me get more careful. I had to work harder to save myself of the likely embarrassments. I would say all this must have prepared me to be the person I am today.

My Acid Attack Experience changed me

I never knew about acid attacks until it occurred to me. at first I didn’t know what consequences it would have on my life. I had ever seen any survivor of acid attacks in Uganda all my life. Until one month after my attack, while still in hospital, I was visited by a young girl in her 20s who had been had survived the attack at 18 years. Seeing how the acid had disfigured her, listening to her share my story, I broke down and cried. I sobbed for her. I felt so much pain for her that I even forgot all about mine. I could not imagine how someone could be so cruel to ruin such a young girls’ life. Then I saw many other acid attack patients come in each new day. I got so overwhelmed and wondered how this could be happening in our society and many of us have no idea. That was my turning point. I focused on how best I could use y personal experience to raise the awareness of the problem.

Inspiration behind “CERESAV”

My personal experience and my encounters with other survivors. The shock that my attack brought with it to me, my children, my family and friends. The rate at which acid attacks patients were brought into the hospital while I was there. Then when I came out of the hospital, the condemnation I suffered, the ostracism, socioeconomic discrimination and stigma that I experienced firsthand. The public perception and the fear that it brings especially associated with the injustices. The trauma that it brought with it on me and especially my children. “At least if I never knew, others should know and run for their lives. My daughters will not have to go through the same lifecycle. I just cannot sit back and do nothing. I cannot continue to hide these scars. Women cannot continue to hide their burned faces. We have to break the silence. Something has to be done and if I don’t do it, who will?”. These are the kind of statements that ran in my head each time I cleaned my maimed face.

Being the only organization in Uganda advocating for victims of burns

That has changed recently, thanks to the power of sensitization and lobbying. But while it was still the only organization advocating for acid attack survivors, it always got overwhelming trying to meet needs of the survivors in the face of limited resources. These are people whose dreams have been almost shuttered, majority of them do not have any level of education to compete favorably in the labor market, even for those with some education, they face social and economic stigma and discrimination, many would not want to employ a person with a maimed face. Appearance play a very central role in the labor market politics. As a result, survivors’ expectations were exponentially higher than the organization could meet. As far as policy challenges are concerned, the organization advocates for social justice to address and end acid attack violence, which, to many is a “drop in the ocean” as far as statistics are concerned in relation to other “pertinent issues” like HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Rebel wars among others. But every life matters. Acid attacks have spillover effects from the direct victim, to their children, families, relatives, friends and anyone they come across. The effects of acid attacks leave lasting scars on anyone’s memory. It is the most horrendous form of violence. We cannot look at it quantitatively. Its qualitative effects are just way too devastating.

Other project and activities?

I am involved in activities aimed at empowering women and girls especially through sensitization seminars and lectures. This I do during my free time since I spend most of the time in school working on my assignments and school projects. Plus, I have a full time job taking care of my two daughters.

My greatest reward

Seeing a ray of hope shining across faces of four children. These four children were left homeless in December 2012 when their mother died after an acid attack by their father. Helpless and hopeless, the family cried out to me for help. But I could not take up the responsibility. It broke my heart. Each time I came back home to my children, my heart bled for the other four children who no longer had a mother to run to. I am the one they ran to and called mom each time I went to them. I reached out to a journalist friend who agreed to feature an appeal I made to the public in the newspaper. The article was read by one amazing lady who runs a children’s home. She took in the four children on the Christmas eve of 2012. I felt that was the best Christmas gift these children could ever get in life.

Most Memorable Moments and Awards

My most memorable award is my scholarship to attend graduate school after my acid attack. This gave me an opportunity to redefine and re-strategize my life and my career. After my attack, everything seemed to get out of place. I was working for the UNICEF program on a contract which would end. I had no idea what next I would do with my life after my contract ended. Everything I did for the organization largely depended on my salary. I saw myself in the middle of nowhere after my UNICEF contract. I wanted to go back to school but there was no success with all the applications I made. I continued unceasingly because I knew I needed to go back to school and redefine my career path. Finally, I was accepted into the university of Pittsburgh graduate school of public and international affairs to pursue a master’s degree in international development and human security studies

On Africans not well informed on the danger of acid attack

I do not think so. It is not just African, but this is a global gap. I don’t even think that the perpetrators actually know the dangers of their actions when they are plotting such attacks. Otherwise no human being in their human sense would think of such inhumane act on humanity. I have encountered many people from different parts of the world who question what acid attacks are and what the dangers are. Many people ask me how I cope with it. This is the very reason I continue to be actively involved in sensitization activities. Many people including the perpetrators need to know the dangers of such attacks. Many people need to know that it is not a problem of the poor, or the unlearned, or the informed. Just anyone is vulnerable to such attacks. In recent years acid attacks are no longer a problem of poor Africa, or poor Asia, or poor south America. It has now become a problem of rich Europe and America. This has to stop. People need to know. Everyone needs to get involved before it knocks on their doors.

Who and what inspire you to be better?

My daughters. They are the strongest, most resilient human beings I know. They give me countless reasons to stand tall in the midst of storms and darkest days. Then my faith in God keeps me going. I don’t know how I would deal with a maimed face if I had no God. I cannot even imagine or picture what that life without God would be for me. Maybe I would not be here. For every move I make successfully, I know it is God at work behind the scenes. He has held my hand so firmly and tenderly that in most cases I even forget I have no face. Leave alone the face you see today after over 36 surgeries, ranging from scar releases and skin grafts, to complete nose reconstructions from nothing left except one eye.

Being an overcomer make me a woman of Rubies

I am an overcomer. I have been trampled on, picked up the pieces and stood up tall and moved on even more determined to do better than I would ever do my entire life.

Inspiring word for women all over the world

Women are created to move the world. We are shakers of this world, that is why the world is so afraid of strong women. If you are being oppressed or intimidated or abused, then you have a strength your oppressor/abuser/intimidator cannot stand. If you have the chance to tap into your inner strength, do not wait until it is too late. Because we are the most resilient of humans, we tend to cave in and build resilience to tolerate all the negative forces. You are not all the negative things you have been told you are. I never thought I was this strong. I had to be pushed to the edge to tap into my inner strength. You do not have to wait. If you are not comfortable in your skin because of what you have been told, you are not where you should be. Search for yourself from within.

In Career Gems June 1, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

UNFPA AMBASSADOR STEPHANIE LINUS VISITS DRC ON INTERNATIONAL DAY TO CREATE AWARENESS ON OBSTETRIC FISTULA

As part of her commitment to raising awareness on maternal health issues, the UNFPA Regional Ambassador for West and Central Africa Stephanie Linus visited the Democratic Republic of Congo in commemoration of the International Day to End Obstetrical Fistula.

The theme of this year’s commemoration was tagged “hope, healing and dignity for all”, and it featured several activities aimed at giving hope to girls and women around Africa. From 23rd to 25th May, Stephanie participated in a span of activities which included the screening of her award-winning movie ‘DRY’, a private luncheon with African Ambassadors in the DRC and a visit to women repaired of fistula at the Biamba Marie Motombo Hospital in Kinshasa.

While speaking to the Ambassadors, she requested them to work through their governments to do more for the girl child with an emphasis on education, ending child marriage, ending obstetric fistula, improving access to health care.

The over 300-persons audience at the private viewing of DRY consisted of African Ambassadors in the DRC, Donors, Regional Director of UNFPA for the East and Southern Africa Region, UN heads of Agencies and Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Ministers and High Ranking Government Officials, Young parliamentarians of DRC, Representatives of International and National NGOs, Members of the Civil Society and various media representatives.

During her address, she declared that the theme of the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula “hope, healing and dignity for all” is food for thought and that it is time to act and actively seek ways to do more to change unhealthy behaviors, to improve health systems, and improve human rights for all.

“Women should not die while giving life. Girls have rights that need to be respected-education, decent jobs, choose who to marry and when to have children and how many of them. Every woman and girl have a right to be treated with respect and dignity”, she stated.

She challenged the audience to constantly ask themselves the question – What is it that I can do more and do better?

Stephanie also met young artists in the National Institute of Arts in Kinshasa whom she encouraged to look around, pick up the issues that are affecting the society and pass messages to end those ills through arts, music, movie and drama.

Stephanie Linus was named the UNFPA Regional Ambassador in March 2017 in recognition of her far-reaching advocacy for the rights of girls and women. As Regional Ambassador, she will help advocate and raise awareness on maternal health issues across Africa, whilst encouraging policies and laws that protect the rights and dignity of the girl child.

See more photos

Stephanie Linus flanked by Dr. Julitta Onabanjo, UNFPA Regional Director East and Southern Africa & other Special Guests

Stephanie Linus & Amb. Abdou Abarry, African Union Representative

Private Luncheon with African Ambassadors in the DRC

Stephanie Linus & Diene Keita, UNFPA DRC Representative

In Interviews&profile May 31, 2017 By Editor

ANGEL ADELAJA IS GROWING PLANTS WITH NO SOIL AND LITTLE WATER

For better or worse, our world keeps evolving without our permission – and we keep scrambling to keep up, especially in the area of agriculture.

Sure, we’re producing more food than ever before, but our current model is unsustainable, and as the world’s population grows and climate change becomes more unforgiving, we will need a radical transformation to keep up.

This is where innovative new solutions like vertical farming – growing food in vertically stacked layers – and hydroponics – growing plants with no soil and little water – come into play.

Combining these two innovative solutions, Angel Adelaja has created a revolutionary stackable container farm, using shipping containers, that is the most affordable in the world – and just one container can do about an acre and a half of vegetable production.

Born out of the need to make urban farming accessible to everyone, Angel co-founded We Farm Africa, and founded Fresh Direct Produce and Agro-Allied Services, a social enterprise that has pioneered hydroponic agriculture in Nigeria.

Angel Adelaja (Photo: Fresh Direct)

Speaking with The Way Women Work about what inspired the containers, Angel said:

“When we started Fresh Direct, we realized that new technology could make the difference that African agriculture needed.

Unfortunately, we needed to import the technology and it was too expensive. So we decided to innovate and create our own technology from indigenous materials.”

Fresh Direct Nigeria has multiple active divisions, so they don’t just farm, they create low-tech affordable technologies, like the stackable container farm, to simplify agriculture in Nigeria – and eventually, the world.

Source: Konbini.com