Dis Generation: African Dream In Lagos! #MING

Thursday, May 17, 2012

African Dream In Lagos! #MING

I mentioned last month that MING's special edition on Lagos was out! And kind Ren did send me a copy :-) I still cannot read in Chinese but I do have an idea of the story each article tells in the magazine.

"We all knew it. Africa. Africans. The struggling history of slavery, the “next-day-may-never–come” living attitude. The ground-shaking, impoverished scene that charity campaign photos embark. The worst tags are all on this piece of land, and we are no short of hearsay. But what and how on earth is Africa? Who on earth are Africans? How does this piece of continent differ from ours?" Ren writes in a blog entry after her trip to Lagos to cover this story.

Good People, Great Country, Global City?

Some of the pages of those interviewed:

Seun of I SEE LAGOS

Olori Super Gal

Tolu of DUSTBIN ESTATE

Temitayo of GLOBAL PRESS INSTITUTE

Yours sincerely, @disgeneration

Photography by Ola

Lagosians as they are. The very Lagosian things:

Photography by Ola

Moji Rhodes, Eko Atlantic City project

My love letter :-)

The magazine cover (took this shot in the dark- it looks better in real life)

Moji Rhodes of Eko Atlantic City project

"Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it." John Maxwell.

Thanks Ren, for sharing this interesting piece about Lagos!

Interested in following Ren's work? Follow on Twitter: @renhermite

Blog: http://loccomama.com/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/jupyeah

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What She Told God...And His Response

"She told God she wanted to fly. To escape every limitation placed on her from birth. To soar to places unimagineable to her ancestors. To reach for the stars and land on her dreams. She told God she wanted to create. To build legacy and transform everything she touched. To inspire generations to come and to nurture the visions of prophets yet to be born. To generate change with her mere words. She told God she wanted to love and trust unconditionally. To be the answer to every prayer he had ever prayed and the manifestation of every fantasy he had convinced himself would never come to pass. To be the breath of fresh air he had never sat still long enough to take in. And God told her that eyes had not seen nor ears heard what was to come for her."

- Rahiel Tesfamariam.

Half a Loaf & a Bakery

Half a loaf & a Bakery was created and published out of necessity. We want to encourage youths who have no loaf today to step out of their comfort zone and aspire. We want to inspire those with half a loaf to make the best use of what they have been given. We want to tell all young people in Nigeria that have their backs pushed against the wall by circumstances beyond their control, to arise, dare to dream bigger and take action towards greatness everyday. We have shared articles on education, entrepreneurship and related issues to stimulate positive enduring actions. We have also shared interview responses from youths who are leading by example. It is our hope that this book will inspire young people to embrace the culture of hands-on experiential learning and be prepared for the labour force, as entrepreneurs or employees before graduation. Owning a bakery and feeding others is within the reach of everyone who believes in the beauty of their dreams. Get a FREE copy on your android phone via Okadabooks.com or download via Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/210221423/Half-A-Loaf-A-Bakery-by-Jennifer-Ehidiamen-and-Funso-Bukoye

Have you read "Preserve my Saltiness" by Jennifer Ehidiamen?

"In Preserve My Saltiness Jennifer addresses life's everyday experiences to our world's trends and shared challenges of the 21st century. Every poem embodies piercing insight and breathless passion. This is the work of a career poet." Jess Rimington, Spoken Word artist & Executive Director of One World Youth Project, USA Also available on Amazon.co.uk and a Bookstore near you: • Naija-Sistas Book-stop, Henry Nelson Consulting26 Festival Road off Adetokunbo Ademola Street. Victoria Island, Lagos. • Terra Kulture (Bookshop), Plot 1376 Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island Lagos. • Florence & Lambard Publisher and Booksellers, 202-204 Ikorodu road, Palm Grove, Lagos. • Latter Rain Assembly Bookstore, Plot 4 Akilo road Ogba, Off Oba Akran Avenue Ikeja, Lagos.

A Review of "In Days to Come"

Jennifer is a remarkable young lady. Living in a country that she truly loves, yet recognizing the many problems as well. From her young mind she reaches out through her poetry hoping that her messages will reach out to educate, but even more so, to offer hope.

Jennifer does not write in rhyming verse or strict form, preferring the freedom to express her innermost thoughts without restriction. Yet poetry it undoubtedly is.

Many have struggled to define poetry, in the same way that many struggle to define art. Poetry paints with words and expressions and as such can be both art and craft.

I believe that if Jennifer’s words move you, then she has expressed both her art and her craft.

Finally, we have tried to avoid making changes to her writing, except perhaps for a few proof reading corrections. We hope by this you will capture not only the words, but (also) the essence of Jennifer’s culture that shines through her poetry.

Philip G. Bell

Editor,

Young Poet Society

Learning to unlearn

"We need to unlearn the idea that our unique mission must consist of some achievement which all the world will see, and learn instead that as the stone does not always know what ripples it has caused in the pond whose surface it impacts, so neither we nor those who watch our life will always know what we have achieved by our life and by our mission. It may be that by the grace of God we helped bring about a profound change for the better in the lives of other souls around us, but it also may be that this takes place beyond our sight, or after we have gone on. And we may never know what we have accomplished, until we see Him face-to-face after this life is past". Bolle in What color is your Parachute?

I SURRENDER!

show me a way
a channel, a route
through which I could reachout to this hurting world
and wipe out that tears rolling down her cheeks

I know, I know
I must tread only on that path I know well
else I cramp my style with stinking gibberish
My wallet is flat tonight
please don't count on that

Still this urge to belong
an undiluted desire to serve
yearns so loudly I can hold back no more

I surrender
in total submission my heart cry
Here I am, use me lover of my soul

to be a helping hand in my society
to learn to give without asking for a refund
to able to influence others into aiming for the best
never to try playing god over my peers
to you my king I obediently surrender.
(c)Jennifer Ehidiamen

Words on marble

“The challenges of our age are global; they transcend national frontiers; they are problems without passports. To address them, we need blue prints without borders. That is why more than ever before, we need dedicated and talented young men and women to be global citizens who make the choice of service to humankind….. a society that cuts itself from its youth severs its lifeline, but a society that engages their interests, enlists their talents and liberates their energies brings hope to the entire world”

Kofi Annan
United Nations Secretary-General
1997-2007

"We are here to be excited from youth to oldage, to have an insatiable curiousity about our world... We are also here to help others by practicing a friendly attitude. And every person is born for a purpose. Everyone has a God-given potential, in essence, built into them. And if we are to live life to its fullest, we must realize that potential." -Norman Vincent Peale

"There is no thrill in easy sailing, when the skies are Clear and Blue There is no Joy in doing only things anyone can do But there is some satisfaction mighty sweet to take when you reach a destination that you thought you'd never make"

Isaiah 43:18-19:
18 “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

We all have an individual calling...a purpose why we are here on Earth. Life to me is not about being rich and famous but about reaching out to others in servitude...positively! so i try to help in every way i can...by God's enabling grace!

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

African Dream In Lagos! #MING

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