"I'm going to go to their offices, because whenever I hand out the CV nobody replies or they say ‘no’. So if I meet them face to face, I can blag my way in."

Toyin Owoseje | Proving Persistence Is The Key, Wrench and Bulldozer For Unlocking Opportunity’s Door

Feature Post Of The Week

In Her Words |

Principle 2:
The Beloved Community
is the framework for the future.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr |
Six Principles of Nonviolence

"

Food-For-Thought

social integration | soh-shuh l in-ti-grey-shuhn |
n.
"the blending and unifying of social groups, most commonly seen in the desegregation of races throughout history"

Yaaya asks:

To what extent do you feel social integration
for European black women has been achieved in the nation you live in?

?

Join The Conversation

Yaaya Asks About | Social integration for black women in Europe and for European black women globally

Saturday, June 03, 2017

Mary Osinibi, The Virtuosa Of Human Truths

Mary Osinibi is a multidisciplinary London-based artist who uses acrylic paints, photography, hand drawn sketches and digital art to inspire, educate and encourage people to speak up for justice and make an impact in the world they live in. She is influenced by African Art, Cubism and Fauvism Art; and her own self-exploration of faith – her own desires for change and transformation in herself. For Mary, art has the power to enrich lives and alter attitudes; it is capable of engaging and encouraging the human spirit”.

Mary’s impressive portfolio focuses on the feelings, thoughts and experience of real people. Each colour is significant and evokes the notion that not everything is at it appears. For example her ongoing project, The Aftermath passage tells a story of people who have been impacted by migration, war and conflict, through a series of contemporary portraits expressing the emotions and testimonies from each participant.

Featured in The Aftermath Passage is Emmanuel Jal, a child soldier, born in the war-torn region of the Southern Sudan on an unknown date in the early 1980s. Through unbelievable struggles, Jal managed to survive and become a recording artist, achieving worldwide acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message of peace and reconciliation born out of his personal experiences.

Jal appeared alongside Reese Witherspoon as one of the lead roles in the Warner Bros 2014 film release The Good Lie. Jal has since been awarded the Calgary Peace Prize, the Humanitarian Award and has been honoured by Ban Ki Moon at the United Nations for his peach efforts in South Sudan.

Like Emmanuel Jan, other inspiring stories have been encapsulated by Mary. Prior to the Aftermath project was ‘the Lazarus project’ which explored and restored life to old, mysteries ancient masks – reviving untold stories of great kingdoms, cultures and customs.

Mary spends a lot of time in solitude when creating artwork, so when she is not painting, she mostly travels with friends or reads historical books. Throughout 2017, Mary will be showcasing works from the Aftermath Passage in different locations in the United Kingdom. She is currently offering portrait services using her signature style of paintings which is inspired by the Fauvism style which began around the 1900s.

Mary Osinibi: an extraordinary talent that gifts us art imitating life so vividly and colourfully through a kaleidoscope of human truths. She is Yaaya.

Image Sources | Courtesy of Mary Osinibi's website: www.maryosinibi.com

Monday, January 02, 2017

Yaaya Reads: Valerie Kerri | The JJC Handbook: Adapting To The UK With Ease

"Feigning a 'britico' accent
will not get you anywhere and will not make you appear more widely traveled
or more 'foreign' "

Valerie Awele Kerri is an entrepreneur, mentor and author of The JJC Handbook - one of the bestselling Nigerian books of 2016. Miss Kerri, a Nigerian, moved to the United Kingdom in her mid-20’s and suffered a ‘culture shock’ which spurred her on to writing a book about how Africans (Nigerians especially) can adapt to the UK with ease.

For all those who may not be aware, J-J-C is a Nigerian slag for ‘Johnny Just Come’ loosely meaning ‘naïve new comers’. This comical but useful guide brings back relatable memories and in her book, Valerie deals with issues such as ‘What to do when you’re confronted by ticket officers on a train and how to succeed academically with immense parental pressure; after all winners ‘don’t have 10 heads’…

The official launch of the book for the first-time author was in August 2016 at the trendy Shoreditch area in London. Amongst others, in attendance were noted poets and artists like Poetolu, Cherrelle Morris and Kenn Obi. When she is not writing, Valerie runs Kerri Consulting a career advice and personal branding consulting service in North West London. She helps new immigrants with adjusting to the new UK environment. In the pipeline for 2017, Valerie plans a tour for her book across the UK universities to promote her book. She is also writing a new book ‘The JJC memoirs’ an autobiography that is an accompaniment to The JJC Handbook.

Valerie is proud of her Nigerian heritage and has been on the board of directors for the Igbo Culture and support network UK (ICSN UK), for many years. She is an avid traveller and lover of new experiences.


Follow Valerie via her blog, Twitter @valeriekerri, and Instagram @thejjchandbook.

Source | Images courtesy of Linda Ikeji's Blog and Amazon.


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