Meet Chileshe Katongo; A Zambian Health And Fitness "Guru". A Look Into Her World As She Shares Tips On Fitness And Wellbeing

Today on African Super Woman, we have Chileshe Katongo, who is a fitness and health "guru", I like to call her. Today, she shares a few tips on health and fitness. Also a look into her world. I believe being a super woman also means being healthy and in good shape.

ASW: Welcome on African Super Woman, its an honour to finally have you.

Chileshe: Thank you for having me here.

ASW: I see you have a number of post followers on the famous social media network, facebook. And I am pretty sure people have been wondering who you are. Tell us about yourself, who is Chileshe?

Chileshe: Chileshe Katongo is a Zambian currently residing in Thailand. A Social Worker by profession, a business-lady and a beautician.

ASW: We have been friends for seven years now and ever since I have known you, your life has been in the gym. I have tried to follow your footsteps over the years but it hasn't been an easy one for me :-) . How important is exercising and fitness to you?

Chilesh Katongo

Chileshe: Yes African Super Woman, that is correct! The gym has become part of my daily routine and working out is a lifestyle to me. Exercising and fitness is important to my life and I love to take care of myself. The other thing about exercising is that it has truly helped sculpt my body, I am more energetic than ever. The feeling after working out is just amazing, so refreshing.

ASW: You would agree with me that growing up in Africa, women...and men believed that being big or a +size was believed to be a sign of wealth. 

Chileshe: I agree with you and actually there are some people who believe in this myth but which is not the case . Despite saying that, it doesn't matter whatever size and shape someone is in. What matters is health, if someone is a +size and in good health, well and good, same applies to the skinny and slender.

ASW: As modern African women in Africa, exercising is slowly becoming a part of our daily lives. Growing up, we didn't see so many African women work-out, go to the gym as much as they have been doing in the past decade. Women have become so "obsessed" for lack of a better term, with trying to lose some extra pounds. I have seen the length women are willing to go just to lose weight. Sadly, there have been a number of deaths caused by starvation by choice in the name of losing weight. Why do you think women are so much in desperation to lose weight and are willing to go to the extreme?

Meet Africa's Own Female Football Soldier; Doreen Nabwire Omondi

Though hardly recognised in Africa, Doreen Nabwire Omondi is one of the few celebrated female football star in Europe from Africa. I was intrigued by her story and I asked her if I could share it with you my readers.

THE RISE OF A STAR

Doreen Nabwire Omondi was born in March 1987, in Ngomongo hamlet of Mathare slums in Kenya. At the age of ten, she started playing soccer and even participated in the international tournaments at Valley Bridge Primary School in Huruma were she was a pupil. Her interest in soccer earned a chance at Maina Wangigi Girls High in Eastleigh. At age fifteen, she was called to the national women team and her first game at the national level was played for Mathare Yout. Sports Association (MYSA). Doreen represented MYSA in Europe's biggest youth tournament "Norway Cup". She emerged the best in that tournament and that was the beginning of her career.

In 2006, Doreen represented Kenya in the first ever street football world cup which was held in Berlin, Germany in which Kenya emerged champions. It was in this tournament that linked her to International clubs. In 2009, the Germany club, Werder Bremen hired her and a year later she moved to FC Zwolle, a division one side in the Dutch Women League. While playing in Holland, Doreen attended classes in UEFA C coaching license.

She returned to Kenya in 2012 and joined Matuu Women FC as both coach and player. During this season, her experience helped the women's team emerge winner at the league. She also coached the National Youth and Spots Association. The club she was coaching (Matuu) collapsed due to financial constraints. After that, she went back to Germany in 2013 and joined another club, FC Koln and that is where she is to date.

Zambia's Chuma Chilando Wins The African Queen/DK 2015

Chuma Chilando

Last weekend, Denmark held a beauty contest; The African Queen/Dk aimed at bringing young African women together from different backgrounds representing their country of origin. They all came together as one to interact and share cultures.

The African Queen/DK is a great way to ensure that our roots are not forgotten even as we are living in the diaspora. This event was also done in good faith, for the profits were taken to orphans in Africa.

Chuma Chilando

The 2015 African Queen/DK crown went to one of our own; the beautiful Chuma Chilando from Zambia. ASW is proud of you Chuma, so is Zambia. May you continue representing our country and don't put that flag down. Proud of you and God bless you. Know that this is just the beginning, more great things are coming your way.

Chuma Chilando

The contestants of The African Queen/DK 2015

Chuma Chilando being crowned

Chuma Chilando

PROUDLY ZAMBIAN!

A Chat With Zambia's Most Profound Woman; Norena Mutoya Chiteba, Founder of KUPES Young Womens Network.

Zambia is in need of role models, women who will mentor our girls, women who will create an impact in behavioural change in our communities. Women who will make them realise how worthy they are. I feel, we have lost it a bit in the way our girls are being brought up. We see the chaos in the news, on the Internet everyday in the lives of our young women. We thank God that not all hope is lost. We have women like Norena Mutoya Chiteba, a Zambian woman, with a real heart for our young women, a woman who is so passionate about girls and the women. Norena is a rare gem. She decided to step up and make a difference in our society by founding a network called "KUPES YOUNG WOMENS NETWORK".

African Super Woman met up with her for a chat about the Network. And I should say that, Norena is one of a kind. One of the women I admire in Africa. Lets meet her, know her and learn. about the Network.

ASW: I am so honoured to seat here and talk to you. Thank you so much for creating time to meet me. So, Who is Norena Mutoya Chiteba?

Norena: I am a wife and a mother of four, three biological kids and my nephew. A founder of KUPES Young Womens Network. I am the President of the Zambia's Squash Association, first female ever (with a smile on her face), I seat on a Council for Harvest Institute of Missionaries Bible Collage and I also seat on the gender committee of the Zambia National Sports Council Board.

ASW: Wow! You are one of a kind, Norena. When did you start the KUPES Young Womens Network?

Norena: I started the Network back in 2009, I was working for Finance Bank at a time as the assistant director for marketing and business development. I am so passionate about girls and women and I really wanted to do something for them. I started off with twenty women in Kabanana compound, doing some workshops with them. But being in the Corporate world at that time, I had loads of work on my hands and I decided to take a break from the Network. I stopped working for Finance bank and I joined Standard Chartered Bank as head of corporate affairs and that was my last assignment in the corporate world and that was in 2011.

Early 2012, a friend of mine and I bought a franchise called Bella Dona Finishing classes were we taught women how to behave and our focus was in schools. It was going very well but I still had my network at the back of my head. Then in 2013-2014, I decided to formalise my Network. And that was the reborn of KUPES Young Womens Network.

ASW: Tell me more about the network, what is it all about?

Norena: KUPES Young Womens Network is a network that looks at empowering, motivating and inspiring young women from all walks of life. I say from all walks of life because at the beginning, my focus was on the under-privileged communities, but then I realised that even the privileged ones don't have  people speaking for them. They would have everything but they have no mentorship, no guidance and no information.

ASW: What is your vision for the young women?

Norena: I envision a society where young women have a clear understanding of their self-worthy and capabilities, they have a clear understanding of their purpose, because if you understand who you are, nothing can touch you. If you understand who you are, frankly speaking, you wont be swerved left, right and centre. We need to get it right with our young women in our society. I believe if we can create an impact on you, you should be able to create an impact on your family and your community.

ASW: I like that Norena, that's a very powerful vision and I believe we can make it and we will get there. Change starts from within and its one person at a time.

What about the KUPES Chat, what is it about?

Norena: The KUPES Chat is one of the activities we do at the Network. The idea of the KUPES Chat came about sometime in 2014 when I had attended the CNBC Africa event at the Southern Sun hotel here in Lusaka. At the event, they were interviewing Dr Kankasa, Brenda Muntemba, Monica Musonda to mention but a few. We were about a hundred women in attendance and I released that we were all above the age of 35 years. And I thought to myself that the people who should be listening to this are the young ones, because they are the ones who can make an impact in our society. And that's how I decided to start the KUPES Chat.

The first KUPES Chat we featured Yuyo Nachali Kambikambi, she is the head of corporate communications and government affairs at Airtel Zambia. She came and spoke to the young women and it was lovely. And in March this year, we had another Chat were we were able to seat fifty young women at the Hotel Intercontinental and it was fully paid for by the Hotel. In April again, we were able to seat  seventy young women at Intercontinental Hotel and we were privileged to have Miyanda Mayimbo, the founder of PROSOFT. She came and spoke to the girls and it was awesome. We are actually looking at a longer term partnership with Intercontinental Hotel. And the Vision for the KUPES Chat is to go nationwide.

Meet Faith M Kabende, One of Africa's Top Fashion Designers.

In the last two decades, African has taken up center stage in the fashion industry and Zambia hasn't been left behind. We have Amaka Osakwe, of Maki Oh, the Nigerian fashion designer who recently dressed Michelle Obama. We have the likes of  Adama Paris from Senegal, Thula Sindi from South Africa, Taibo Bacar from Mozambique, Pooja Jeshang from Tanzania just to mention but a few. I like the way Fashion is changing the face of Africa. We now have Hollywood embracing African Fashion which is very exciting. I would simply say..,well DONE African Designers!!

Lets meet Faith M Kabende of Fay Designs, Zambia's own Pride and Joy!

I recently met up with Faith and I had a chat with her. What an amazing woman! Very collective, down to earth, humble..,my kind of woman! I honestly didn't expect she was gonna agree to meet with me deal to her busy life....and honestly, her fame. But I was amazed when she said yes and created sometime to have a chat with me. She is truly an amazing, my true African Super Woman. I wanted to know how her story, we sat down and she started telling me her story..,she calls it "My Super Story."

"My super Story," Faith..

Faith Mulenga Kabende, like many stories of designers we have heard before, has never studied fashion and design in her life! She discovered her passion for fashion when she was about 12 years old she tells me. By the time she was 15 years, she had already started making her own clothes that she would were at school on civilian day, she recalls with a laughter. She goes on to say, "I remember how my friends used to look forward to see what kind of an outfit I was going to pull off on civilian day at school. I would normally wear maybe a tie and a waistcoat, just something crazy. And back then, it wasn't something very common to wear clothes like that. With the help of my mother, I would sketch and she would hand-sew the clothes for me." She recalls with a warm smile on her face.

The Birth Of Fay Designs

The name Fay was derived from her name "Faith". Before going into fashion and designing full time, Faith used to work for Zambia Telecommunication (Zamtel). She used to design part time while working but she got so over whelmed with her clients mostly friends and friends of friends who liked her outfits. At the age of 27, she decided to quite her job and went into fashion full time. People thought it was a crazy idea to stop work and follow her passion. She says, it was the best thing to do and she has no regrates.

She showcased her work at the Zambian Fashion week for the first time about seven years ago. But her international recognition came about when she was invited to showcase her collection in South Africa at the launch of a Modeling Agency. Since then, she has showcased her designs in Malaysia when she went to attend a training in Entrepreneurship.

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, The perfect combination of Beauty, Talent And Brains

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde ( Omosexy as her fans call her, the nick name given to her by her pilot husband Captain Mathew Ekeinde). To me she is what you would call the perfect  "African Super Woman". She is absolutely gorgeous, she has a killer body, she is highly fashionable, she is very talented and above all, she is intelligent. In early 2000, Zambia became exposed to the Nigerian movies (famously now known as Nollywood movies). I was only a teenage then and the likes of Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Rita Dominic and Genevieve Nnaji were my favourite Nollywood actresses and i watched almost all the movies that featured them. I remember Blood Sisters where she acted with the also beautiful Genevieve Nnaji. Games Women Play, Rescue, Lost Kingdom to mention but a few. Omotola has actually appeared in more than 300 Nollywood movies since she started acting in 1995. She is also a singer and an ex-model.

SHARE YOUR STORY..

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

I would love to thank each one of you for being my fan and for following my blog since i launched it almost six months ago. I love blogging and i enjoy every bit of it. I have only done it for a few months but i have loved every minute of it. There is so much more that i will be sharing with you in the months and years to come. And that been said, i would like to announce to you that there is a book coming up and if God willing, a magazine too.

This book is focused on African women of all ages and nationalities who have stories to tell, stories that will inspire and motivate other women. I have heard so many amazing and inspiring stories around the continent from women, stories that are making great impact on lives. My partner and I have decided to come up with a book that will be full of true life inspiring stories of strong African women. The book is aimed to inspire and motivate other women who maybe going through something that you went through.

There is so much pain and hurt in this world we live in. Sometimes when we are going through a hard time and we feel as if the whole world has turned against us, we tend to feel so empty and alone and most of the times we feel like we are the only ones going through what we are going through. When you are hurting and you have a huge mountain in front of you to climb, the whole world becomes black and in your mind..,nobody cares and nobody can possibly understand what you are going through. But the truth is, you are not the only one going through what you are going through and you are not the only one who went through what you went through and definitely you wont be the last one either.

As we share our stories with the world, and how we overcame that huge mountain that seemed impossible to climb at that moment, we will be helping someone somewhere to soldier on and overcome the mountain too. This will be one way of reaching out to someone out there that we cant physically reach. Everybody loves testimonies, we love to know that we are not alone fighting that battles. When we read or hear someone who went through what we are going through and came out of it victorious, we feel energized and inspired...,we then pull ourselves up because we know there is HOPE. And believe me, HOPE is the best medicine that you can give to someone who feels defeated.

If you have a story that you believe will touch someone's life and you would like your story to be published in our book, please CONTACT ME for more information and i will get back to you as soon as possible.

Here is how you are going to CONTACT ME; on the right side of the page, there is a CONTACT FORM.

Email; Write your email address
Name; Your first name
Messge; In here, you just write the Country in which you are in and the city only. (e.g Mark Jones, Lusaka, Zambia.

LIFE IN THE GHETTO (CHIBOLYA). This is my story.

While, to most of you who will read this and actually know me, this story might surprise and even shock you but this is my story and part of the history that has made me who I am today.

In Lusaka city centre, there is a shanty compound known as Chibolya. You can call it the Ghetto or the Slams if you wish. This place is no ordinary shanty compound, this place is a place where all the bad things happens. it is a very small compound but extremely dangerous, actually it is so dangerous in that the police get intimidated. In this compound, there is a street called GAZA street and on this street, you will find all sorts of drugs, alcohol, guns, stolen items etc. The drug dealers sell drugs there as if they are selling tomatoes, there is no fear of the police or the law, the guys there live like they are above the law. This is the street where you will find all sorts of people, when you are passing through in the late afternoons, you will spot expensive cars, you will spot some white folks, Indians, rich people etc. Yes, you will find all sorts of people there and they are all there to buy cannabis, marijuana etc. How do I know all this? The answer is simple, its because I once lived in this compound for two years!

MY LIFE IN CHIBOLYA

One of the streets in Chibolya

When I completed my high school (2003) at Kasama Girls, I came back to Lusaka to live with my grandmother and my two aunties who had put their house on rent in Kabwata (one of the nice neighbourhoods in Lusaka). And they decided to live in Chibolya, (my great grandmother had a block of rooms there) who was kind enough to give out a room to my grandmother and my aunties, just to stay there for a couple of months while they figure out what to do next..., for my grandfather had just passed away at that time and he was the only soul provider. My grandmother and my aunties thought at a time that moving to Chibolya and put the house in Kabwata on rent was the best idea, for they were going to save up some money from the house to start a business and only then, will they be able to move back to Kabwata. It was supposed to be only to live in Chibolya for a few months but they ended up living there for a few years.

The door where i am standing is where we lived

After high school like I have mentioned earlier, I moved back to Lusaka and i moved in with my grandmother and my aunties. At that time my grandmother was not so well, her health was really bad and the living conditions where so bad too, the finances were down the drain as well. The situation was so bad that we ended up brewing and selling the local beer called "kachasu" (believe it or not, i know how to make that beer ;-) ).

Where we used to brew the beer

A few months after i had moved in with them, my grandmother died and my school results were out. Thank God my results were good, I applied for a course at NIPA (National Institute of Public Administration), this is one of the best collages in Lusaka I must say. I was accepted and I studied Information Systems and Programming from there. Life was hard but i had an imagination of that of a child back then, I believed that anything was possible and I could see my future through the windows of my imaginations. I knew then that I was going to get out of that Ghetto and I was going to make it in life and make a name for myself. Two years later, I moved out of Chibolya and I started living with an uncle in a different neighbourhood called Kanyama, which is the next compound to Chibolya. (it is better than Chibolya though).

This was once my street in Chibolya

I continued my studies and my uncle helped me get a job and I started doing some business while going for work and at the same time, I started modeling and I could see my future becoming more bright and more exciting. While, I was busy with my life, I started saving up some money and when it was enough, I took myself to school to sturdy Social Work which i managed to get a diploma. For me, life was good but I knew I still had lots to do before I can have a life that i wanted. I got a few projects working with the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, teaching literacy class in Chainda (one of Lusaka's townships) and I also had a few women groups in Chelstone and Kaunda Square stage one (townships of Lusaka) where I used to teach them some personal development skills, leadership skills etc. 

Afterwards, i had my own flat, I had an opportunity to go to the United Kingdom and experience life there. Then I later moved to Malawi and became one of the Directors and Shareholders of SHADES Ltd (this is another story ;-) ). I have never looked back since. By the way, while, I was living in Chibolya, I had a friend by the name of Zuberi. He was a very smart guy and we used to dream and encourage each other a lot, like the saying "iron sharpens iron", he is also doing great and running a very big company in South Africa.

Last week the cops seized Chibolya because of all the bad things that has been going on for years there. Even some murders have been committed in that compound. I decided to go and see what was going on and just to see how the place was for it was years since I lasted visited the place. I managed to take a few pictures (the ones I have just shared with you), I couldn't take more because I was warned by one of the kids on the street saying that if am caught, it will be a disaster for the gangs might think I was a reporter. I went there a day after the police had been. As I was there, I could see a few camping sites for the cops. I read in the paper that the police will camp there for two months. I think its a good idea and I hope things change for the better in that compound because a lot of lives have been destroyed.

THIS IS MY STORY. WHAT IS YOURS..?
(if you have a story that you would like to share with me, a story that you would like me to publish, feel free to contact me)

WHO IS ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF?

While, we all know that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the Liberian president (if you didnt know, now you know ;-) ). Am not a politician or follow politics per say but i am going to talk a bit about this powerful woman and i will not talk about her as a president but as a woman. Am going to look at her achievements and her as a mother..apart from being a President she has had other achievements that are every impressive, she is ranking at 87 by Forbes for being on of the most powerful women. She also won the Noble Peace Price in 2011. 
Maybe i will mention her political side a bit. She is the first black female president and the first African elected female head of state., that's very impressive i would say, no wonder she is known as the "Iron Lady".

Lets get to know Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf a bit shall we? Ellen is a mother of four sons and a grandmother of eight children. She was married to James Sirleaf when she was only 17 years old whom she lived with in America but she divorced him at a later stage. Ellen is one of the few women on the African continent who inspire me. She is a strong woman who has fought her way up to the top, she is passionate and a hard worker..,i mean she has been working practically since she was seventeen years old. I have been reading her interview on AllAfrica and something she said caught my eyes and it is stuck in my mind..

"To those who are motivated by me, by my life experience, who see me as a role model, i say, be stead fast in your conviction, in your principle, despite the obstacles and the constraints that you will face; perseverance, commitment, dedication to the things you want to achieve are always the virtues of success".

 By the way, she is a workaholick and she really has no time to do anything else she says.click here to read more about her.

H.E President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

LUPITA NYONGO, All You Need To Know.

Lupita Nyongo has become the sweetheart of Africa and the most talked about among the celebrities at the moment. I would say she is the girl or the woman of the moment.., its for this reason that African Super Woman has taken this opportunity to do a research and share with you a few things that you need to know about her. This Golden Globe Award winner with a golden smile has more happening in her life that she can imagine.

She was born in Mexico City in 1983 to Dorothy and Peter Anyang Nyongo. Dorothy is a managing director of the African Cancer Foundation while Peter is a collage professor and now a politician in Kenya. Both her parents are Luo (an ethnic group in Western Kenya), just so you know, President Barack Obama, Tom Mboya, Raila Odinga are also from Luo.

Lupita Nyongo is the second born of six children. Lupita is Mexican-Kenyan because at the time of her birth, her father was a visiting Lecturer in Political Science at El Colegio De Mexico also commonly known as Colmex in Mexico City. Her family had been living there for three years when she was born and when she was less than one year old, her family moved back to Kenya. She grew up in Kenya till she was sixteen years old when her parents sent her back to Mexico to learn Spanish. She can fluently speak Luo, English, Swahili and Spanish.

She graduated from Hampshire Collage with a degree in film and theatre Studies. She also graduated from Yale School of Drama. She worked as part of the production crew for many films including, The Constant Gardener by Fernando Melrelle, also Salvatore Stabile's Where God Left His Shoes. 

In 2008, she returned to Kenya and starred in the Kenyan television series SHUGA, an MTV Base African/UNICEF drama about HIV/AIDS prevention. And in 2009, Lupita Nyongo wrote, directed and produced the documentary In My Genes, about the treatment of Kenya's albino population. Lupita also directed the music video The Little Things You Do by Wahu featuring Bobi Wine which was nominated for the Best Video Award at the MTV Africa Music Awards in 2009.

Lupita Nyongo's breakthrough came when she was cast for Steve McQueen's historical drama 12 Years A Slave in 2013. Which won multiple awards and also won her an Oscar at the 2014 Golden Globe AWARDS for the Best Supporting Actress becoming the sixth black actress to win the award, the first African Actress to win the award, the first Mexican actress to wine the award and the first Kenyan to win an Oscar. Lupita is currently living in Brooklyn, USA.

I' AM A WOMAN...,

THIS IS FOR ALL MY BEAUTIFUL LADIES OUT THERE. THE GLAMQUEENS, SUPER MOTHERS, AWESOME SISTERS AND AUNTIES. MUCH LOVE.. African Super Woman!

Just Sharing....,

I Was Born a Winner..! Failure is not an Option.

I am one of the few people who believe that they were born winners and failure is not in my vocabulary. You know growing up in Africa particularly in Zambia's most remote areas makes you have some kind of limitations in life. In my time, in the mid 90s and early 2000, Chozi wasn't a place that can leave you with lots of imagination but somehow i had a broad imagination and i always used to see myself bigger and very successful. In those times, if i were to tell anyone who knew me in that little town what my dreams were, they would defiantly think i was going nuts. So i kept evrything pretty much to myself. I was someone who dreamt of going to Harvard University or any big University in the United Kingdom or in America, i was one of those kids who used to be very quite and day dream a lot. Am not saying that i achieved my dreams and am actually living them, and yes its been years and i never went to Harvard or anything like that. But in that same small town and my craziness imaginations and dreams, I am one of the best cream that the town has  produced because back then a huge number of girls used to drop out of school and get married and in my class (grade 7) then, we were about 70 pupils and when we wrote the exams, i came out first followed by another girl and the rest were boys. It was then that i started dreaming big. I believed and still believe that i can be anything and that i can do anything i put my minds on. Dreams of becoming a Fashion Designer kicked in, a reporter working for BBC, an Air-Hostess these and many more crazy dreams.

Am now in my late 20s and i have not yet released my dreams. I have tried and tried many things business wise. And i have worked for two companies in my life two...,i have achieved one or two things in my life but I believe I can do more. I was Born to Win and that's what am here on earth for..,Losing is not an option at all. An never gonna give up. I would rather die trying than give up. they say if you want to succeed, you get up and try again every time you fail because you might just get it right the next time you try.

Honestly, i have not idea what i am writing...,to the reader..,hope you get the point and i hope you understand what i am trying to say here. Never ever give up in life, no matter how hard it gets. if you believe in something, let that belief drive you to achieving it. Failure never never an option. Hope am making sense.

SUCCESSFUL AFRICAN WOMEN......Part One; DAMBISA MOYO

Am proud to say that African women are taking up centre stage in politics, economics, fashion industry to mention but a few. Right now we have a few African Super Women who are making headlines in the entire world and i can proudly mention Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian economist who analyzes macroeconomy, foreign aid impact and global Affairs.

Dambisa Moyo is also the New York international best-selling Author. This is a woman who once rubbed shoulders with Queen Elizabeth 2 and British Prime Minister David Cameron back in March 2011 at the Annual Observance Ceremony in commemoration of the Commonwealth Day in Westminster where she addressed an audience of about 2,000 guests. Dambisa also sits at the board of Barclays Bank.

 

She is an AFRICAN SUPER WOMAN!

                                      Dambisa Moyo with Bill Maher

FOR STRONG WOMEN.

Not said in so many words but VIVA to every woman out there, who at one  point or the other in their lives conquered some sort of pain...,it could be some financial setbacks, barrenness, an illness, lost somebody or just anything that was so painful to you that you conquered last. 

You are indeed a strong woman.

WHY WOMEN CRY..

"Why are you crying?", a young boy asked his Mom. 

"Because I'm a woman", she told him.
"I don't understand", he said. His Mom
just hugged him and said,
"And you never will, but that's o.k.".......

Later the little boy asked his father,
"Why does Mom seem to cry for no reason?".
"All women cry for no reason", was all
his Dad could say......

The little boy grew up and became a
man, still wondering why women cry.
Finally he put in a call to God and
when God got back to him, he asked
"God, why do women cry so easily?"

GOD answered......

"When I made woman, I decided she had
to be special. I made her shoulders
strong enough to carry the weight of
the world, yet, made her arms
gentle enough to give comfort...

I gave her the inner strength to endure
childbirth and the rejection that
many times will come even from her own
children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her
to keep going and take care of her
family and friends, even when everyone
else gives up, through sickness and
fatigue, without complaining....

I gave her the sensitivity to love her
children under any and all
circumstances. Even when her child
has hurt her badly....

She has the very special power to make
a child's boo-boo feel better and to
quell a teenager's anxieties and fears....

I gave her strength to care for her
husband, despite faults and I fashioned
her from his rib to protect his heart....

I gave her wisdom to know that a good
husband never hurts his wife, but
sometimes tests her strengths and her
resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly....

For all of this hard work, I also gave her a tear
to shed. It is hers to use whenever needed and
it is her only weakness....

When you see her cry, tell her how much
you love her, and all that she does for everyone,
and even though she may still cry, you will
have made her heart feel good. She is special!"

WHITE WEDDING; Her DREAM...,Please give her a break! ;-)

They say a wedding is every woman's DREAM. I think I can agree with that. and its not just about the "wedding" you know....I mean the occasion itself...,for me it about the DRESS. It all starts when you are a little girl, you know..,dressing up your Barbie doll. And when you went to a wedding with your parents, you looked at the bride like she is the most beautiful woman you have ever seen all because she is wearing that beautiful white gown. you get stuck with the dream of wearing a dress like that one day when you are marrying the love of your life. Its a beautiful feeling and its a beautiful dream but things change along the way. You don't get to wear that dress but you get married anyway...,you see that dream fading away and you kind of accept it and move on with your life.

Hold on a minute lady..., now that you are already married and you didn't get to wear your dream wedding gown, who said you cant now?...I mean if its still something that you would want. There are so many reasons why you didn't wear that beautiful dress that you dreamt of all your life..., maybe you became pregnant outside wedlock and your family decided that you should just marry like that (very common in Africa). Or maybe your husband and you didn't have enough money to have a wedding or whatever reason that you have that made you not have your dream come true. I say you can still have that dream come TRUE. Read my next chapter...;

While, its your dream and why not make it a reality now. There is no rule that tells you when you can wear that dress. Ok, there is one maybe...the one that says...you have to wear it on your wedding day...so whats the point now because you are already married. My suggestion is; On your next wedding anniversary with your husband...celebrate it in style..., buy that white beautiful dress of your dream..organise your BFF and or your kids to act as bridal party..,wear that dress like its actually your wedding day...,(it wont have the meaning of course but wearing that dress is what is the most important).., let your husband dress up.., go and take lots of pictures in it and have dinner or lunch or a small party with your friends and family. There you go.,the dream doesn't have to change...its just the scenario that changes. GO GET THAT DRESS!!!!

DON'T ARGUE WITH ME,,,,,THIS IS MY TAKE, WHAT'S YOURS? hehheheheehhe!!!!

A WOMAN OF STRENGTH.

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape...
but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape.

    A strong woman isn't afraid of anything...
    but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of fear.

    A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her...
    but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone.

   A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...
   a woman of strength realises life's mistakes can also be God's blessing
   and capitalises on them.

   A strong woman walks sure footed...
   but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls.

   A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face...
   but a woman of strength wears grace.


   A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey...
   but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that
   she will become strong.