Friday, November 30, 2007

LUOL DENG -SUDANESE NBA BALLER FOR CHICAGO BULLS!!






Mais nonn..ah after Boris Diaw, Stephane Lasme et co I'm discovering Chicago Bulls player No 9 Luol Deng ...



This Brotha of 22 years old is quite interesting, he left Sudan rather young and lived in Egypt , before moving to London and now here..


Funny enough he was never into basketball , it's only under the mentorship of his friend Manute Bol that he discovered "balling"and the rest is history...


Deng is known and respected for his sportsmanship and is also known to be 1 of the most cerebral players of the NBA.. He recognises that he may not be the most athletic player but he uses he smarts to outplay the others...

Luol considers home London, but is glad to play here for the states, he uses some of his salary to help out children in Sudan..I think that's pretty cool..:)


His father who used 2 work for the Parliament is now back in Sudan and trying to make a change...Luol and his sibblings are proud of him and hope 2 help their coutry through their academic and atheltic gifts..
If you wanna know more:














Here's a mini reportage about Luol Deng:





Djaa my Sudanese men are fine:)
Eyeee Wayeee:)

THE DARING, BEAUTIFUL FREE SPIRITED DANCER, CHOREOGRAPHER, DIRECTOR -SOUTH AFRICAN NELISIWE XABA!










Nelisiwe doesn't seem to ever stop, she's always in between projects from Europe, the states , to Africa, this girl's passport must be full, mais c'est tres bien, it's a good thing...Matter of fact, in one of the pieces I read about her she says that she doesn't know how people who don't work in the Arts live without it..you can tell that she's really passionate about it.






I personally admire people who just get up go do 1 thing that's challenging ,and another, and another..for a few minutes 2 relax , jump back..2 later on in life leave 1 memorable legacy..

One of the projects she presented and that caught rare reviews is called "Plastization" ..Nelisiwe tries to reflect in this piece how our world is so much more about things and $$ than real & priceless values..
See people there's more to dancers than movements we don't necessarily understand, let's try to open our minds and embrace these people's work because trust they put their bodies through a whooooole lot..

Here's 1 little piece about her:(after 2 secs of commercial)


Djaa my South African sistas are doin' it:)
Eyee Wayee:)



EVERYONE LOVES AN AFRICAN GIRL- AFRICAN TEES COLLECTION


Cute non?!

Go Liberiaa



Go African sista



Go Uganda



There's an African bombshell in all of us


Aight guys so I fell upon this collection of African tees online, I figured a tee, an African tee...we all love 2 wear things of that nature when we just wanna relax and look cute doin' it..

Unfortunately there's no info when it comes down to who's the creator, but Im gonna say that they must be from naija .....

Anywhoo they have tees for Ugandan, Liberian..ect..it's cute

check it out:
http://www.myafricantees.com/ (cute website, cute idea)


Djaa we can rep' for our continent all day:)
Eyee Wayeee:)

Thursday, November 29, 2007

WHAT SHOULD AFRICAN PARENTS TAKE IN CONSIDERATION WHILE RAISING CHILDREN W/DISABILITIES?!!



You know that's 1 question we should all ask ourselves, because there's
no guarantee that our children will all be born healthy, when I watch TLC , the medical shows and I see children w/rather severe medical conditions,

I wonder how their parents do it...

In Africa, u know how it goes..mostly in the rural areas, when a child is born w/a disability, sometimes the first explanation is that someone
went to the "marabout" and did "something", or it's because the parents were repaid for their negative actions..bref whatever the case..being disabled is looked very negatively unfortunately in our continent..that's why when I see American parents here to try 2 give a little bit taste of normal life 2 these kids I am impressed...

I know that in my country for example, leppers are so isolated ,
so so isolated...there's such a negative stigma attached to them..that's a whole another post

So as I was doing research on the subject, i found that it's advised to parents:


-Accept their children disabilities, yes truly accept, deal w/it in their minds before they are truly able to help their children.

-Get as much medical explanation on the conditions, on the exams, the behavior attached to the disease, because u know how we are African sometimes we tend to only say "Ahh I leave it in God's hands " no...it's good to trust God but God helps those who help themselves so pick a book, get the proper info, talk to a case manager , talk to the doctors , know all the facts, the progression of the disease ect...


-Stay calm w/ur children, don't show negative emotions, don't show that u are upset by their diseases ect, try to provide a positive environment to these children who need it


Talk w/ur people around you, educate them on the child's conditions ect...


- Involve the children w/other children who don't have the same challenges, that one must be so difficult for parents but it's needed, it's also said not to expect the children to totally be comfortable, but it's good that they are exposed to others ...


-Also, it's advised to keep things simple for children, not clutter their rooms since it's already challenging for them to understand everything around them already, you wanna keep things as simple as possible


- My advice would be encourage your children, love them ,

make them believe in themselves,let them know that their lives are worthy



While doing my research, i found out how the USAID is so involved fighting that issue in Afrika..interesting mmm



Here's an interesting site covering the issue of children w/disabilities, if any of you guys deal w/that issue , my heart goes out to you, and I wish you a whole lot of Patience and love:)
http://www.childrensdisabilities.info/
Djaa we need to take care of our children:)
Eyee Wayee:)

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

BATONGA FOUNDATION W/ANGELIQUE KIDJO!


One of my major inspiration to remain myself, my own individual


The tee that u can buy to support that foundation's effort


One of the young lady that Batonga has supported in her academic journey



Another one from Sierra Leone




Angelique visting, supporting African sistas in need





La grande Angelique Kidjo




It means so much to these families to know that people care



Using her talent to touch lives


Liya supporting Angelique's efforts


Did you know that Angelique invented the term "Batongo" u know from her song appropriately titled Batonga...lol..she created this word when she was young kid going to school when boys were making fun of her..


Today she's so thankful for her academic exposure,
this goes to say that having an education doesn't necessarily means being a doctor, it just opens your mind to other things...it's
priceless
going to school is something we should truly thank our parents for.

Batongo's aim is to help young girls 2 get an education through donations, it's a US Based non profit organisation, they support mentoring programs for young girls in Africa, gives them scholarships,encourage school enrollment, help build school..etc..


This is the type of piece that gives me great joy in blogging, I am so passionate about non profit efforts that are being done effectively toward our continent...absolutely loves it!!

BATONGA is in full effect in Benin, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Mali for now..pass the word around people...it can always help!

You can also personally help, by buying 1 of the tees for $ 15.95
Actually I am so inspired by this, that Im going to start my first contest w/this tee shirt, the first person to write me w/Angelique Kidjo's birth date will get this tee,my email is yayemarie2226@yahoo.com

Here's the webbie:

Here's miss Kidjo performing w/the Children Choir for Batonga:
By the way if you can please , please, please see Angelique Kidjo live..she's just fiya w/her energy , dancing..ect.gorgeous woman in and out!!

Djaa we need to encourage our little sistas to get an education:)
Eyee Wayee:)

THE MOROCCAN DANCE COMPANY ANANIA!








Aight people so say hello to the Moroccan dance company Anania, the team is made up of already established individual talents:





-Saïd AIT EL MOUMEN -his journey is interesting because he was initially a musician before deciding to become a dance

-Taoufiq Izeddiou

-Bouchra Ouizguen





These 3 dancers all work on their own, teach on their own and collaborate w/other dance companies from time to time.





From reading their bios, I get that this dancing career is ever evolving, they are always training, teaching, working on solo projects..ect..



One of their projects is called "CLANDESTIN, CŒUR SANS CORPS "-once again the theme of immigration, that desire that North African have 2 wanna leave is teased once again.





I am really surprised and impressed by the effort that North African artists(from photographers, to dancers) have 2 paint this raw desire to immigrate...really impressed.


Anywhoo if you wanna know more about Anania, here's their webbie:







Djaa my Moroccan people are more fiyaaa:)

Eyee Wayeee:)





Tuesday, November 27, 2007

ZIMBABWEAN FASHION HIZZY -MUSHE!





My fav' piece..:)


Isn't it so cuteeee:)simpe and exotic






I would wear this on a saturday morning strolling around , thinking ima cute preggers





So Niceee, and seems cute comfi






Love this dress , gorgeous period




Nice colors






Love the pockets







Nice summer dress


Aight I'm back, y'all are gonna have 2 bear w/me for the next month or so because I'm in the midst of big geographic changes in my life ..so trying to keep my blogging as normal, thanks for being patient and being faithful, I think that this will be fruitful to all of us, excited to discover more and bring y'all more Inch'Allah!!


Aight people, so I'm discovering the Zimbabwean fashion house Mushe, which is the initiative of a worldly cultured Zimbabwean young woman. She calls it Afropean ..mm interesting here's the following sentence on her webbie that may explain that term:

"Having African ancestry and living European culture" u got that rite none of us who live abroad can't deny that Western influence in our behaviour, thoughts, and clothing.

I love the webbie, looove the line, in particular the maternity clothing, so cuteee, a lot of time when African women are preggers we tend 2 be so conservative which is great but a little bit of style can't hurt either rite..

But Mushe is also a summer and winter collection, w/beautiful colors, clean lines, funky contrast of different fabrics.

Musa believes in reppin for Afrika in her style and in her choice of fabric which I found quite interesting, she believes in the Fair trade of empowring third world countires by using their main resources, it's interesting to me because she makes a choice 2 comply w/that..

it's her way of giving back..:)

every way counts people ...every action counts

I think her line is really cool, I love it...

it's good that it's universal while keeping it's African spice..u dig

Just 1 thing where are my African sistas..u should get in touch w/Teiko for example who represent for the beautiful African sistas w/curves...for exple....


Love the line, love the concept, would wear these pieces in a heartbeat...
U go girl, keep reppin for us in the Netherlands

Here's her webbie:


Here's her contact:


Djaa my Zimbabwean sistas are more fiyaa:)
Eyee Wayeee:)

WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT MY NEUTROGENA LIP SOOTHER?

The best lip gloss out there , period!


Neutrogena u need 2 send me a few now..lol


Aight ladizz I had 2 recommend this product, my gal Shee introduced me to it and ever since I am addicted, I've tried other maybelline, revlon..ect..
but nothing I wasn't convinced.

This lip gloss by Neutrogena is the bomb, it cost 7$ but it's excellent, it moisturises your lips and give them a beautiful gloss that last for 1 long time..



I am truly in love w/it and I thought I should recommend it



Here's the Neutrogena's site just in case u may be interested in some other products:





Here in NY, they sell it at Duane Read but I am gonna guess that any pharmacy should do, but it's funny it goes to show that when 1 product is great, it just is because I swear I tried all these other lip glosses hated them, either they were not moisturising enuff, or they were not glossy enuff..loves it:)


Djaa we gotta keep our lips in check..lol:)
Eyee Wayee:)

FAIS MOI BISOU-DANCE DEMONSTRATION BY A YOUNG CAMEROUNIAN LADY!!










La go maitrise trop..go gal get'em


I couldn't help it ,had to post this young lady dance skills on my blog,

she killed it period, for those of you who many not be familiar w/this type of dancing dombolo/couper decaller..this is the perfect intro..



loves it, love the song, this young lady is smooth and about business, if u know her tell her to holla at me...

FAIS MOI BISOU MWEN MWEN...LOL


Also I had 2 add this video by the naija boyz, the nigerian version of
" crank that soulja boy" ..hilarious..love when he shows the Gucci shoes..enjoy


Djaa les jeunes filles du Cameroun sont dans le chaud aussi:)
Eyee Wayee:)

THE BEAUTIFUL SINGER/DANCER ..JUST AN ARTIST KAISSA!









I fell in love w/Kaissa's voice a few years back when I was listening 2 a beatiful compil "Global Soul" by Puntumayo;..by the way if you never buy their cds please do..they always have great underground artists on them..


Anywhoo so Kaissa is from Cameroun, grew up in France , where she got her first spoons of music...started working w/French artists among them
Manu Dibango, Cesaria Evoria...
I really like her voice even though I don't understand most of her lyrics because they are in her native tongue..but there's a sense of

sincerity, pride , precision in her voice that makes u wanna believe it..
it's folk, it's sexy, it's traditional, soul..that type of groove that makes u wanna get up, dance, sing w/her in her dialect..
I also saw her in concert w/a bunch of other female artists for the
Mamaya concert series, which was excellent ..she has great stage presence..w/her twists, Afrocentric attire, and sensual moves.
For those in NY, she'll be performing at Shrine on November 30Th,price is $10


Here's her webbie:






Here's 1 video clip :



Djaa my Cameroonian people are on the ze point:)
Eyee Wayee:)