Amah Magazine Issue 003 June 2018 by AMAH Mag

SagebySatounii

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sagebysatounii

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ISSUE - JUNE 2018

Website: amah.media

AMAH Magazine is a platform to promote Africa’s diaspora in Canada. We believe in the creativity of our brothers and sisters who are willing to put their talent out there for the world to admire it ! Email us at: info@amah.media to share your thoughts with us. Copyright © 2018 June 2018 – N°003 / AMAH MAGAZINE I 5

Makeup Artist : Laurie Lee Stylist : Anita Kangabe Photographer : Faces Studio

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The Editorial Team Editor in Chief : Gloria Amah Creative Director : Innocent Gbaguidi Editors Maya Mariam Copy Editors Micheal N’Guessan Dourra Assani Contributors WandeE.O Christian Kondo Graphic Designer : Termyl Yahouedeou

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melapteh

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Editor’s Letter W

ax as a fabric has been a part of the African culture and identity for several decades. Each print has a significant meaning

depending on the event from weddings to baptisms and more. Throughout time, its significance and popularity increased expanding its usage to more than just fashion . Indeed, we now see it in art and interior design projects, accessories, phone cases, among many others. As a result, more than just a tribute to the fabric, my team and I wish to dedicate this issue to honouring the work of many young entrepreneurs currently valorizing it. We salute all of your hard work, visions, and creativity for changing perspectives and moving the fashion industry forward. We also encourage you to continue to live your passion through wax print fabric. As for Amah Magazine, we decided to use this opportunity to henceforth serve you new contents and an improved look. We wish you a pleasant read and look forward to receiving your love and appreciation. Happy reading!

Gloria AMAH

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Table of 11

Fashion Tips by WandeE.O

18 Art

Tatou Dembele

26 Outfits

Melapteh Sysavaneh Design Precious Threads

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contents 38

Accessories Rea’Accessories Fashion Tips by Christian Kondo Papaya & CO

Cause We Love It

Clin d’oeil Elodie Ji Sokee

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Fashion Tips

Summer 2018 by WandeE.O

Sunshine, Popsicle, Beach, Barbeque, Festivals, Colours, Vibrant and a whole lot of fun. I guess you know what time it is, SUMMER TIME IS FINALLY HERE. For those of us in Canada, we appreciate the sunshine as we don’t get a lot of that. With Summer comes a whole lot of activities, and a whole lot of heat. It’s. so easy for us to get lost in what essential items we need, so here are five summer fashion tips I personally think every female needs: SUNGLASSES In the past year a variation of sunglasses has made a huge come back and I’m loving every single one of them. From a pair of retro glasses to aviator glasses to vintage ones, the options are endless. We all need a good stylish pair of sunglasses. I personally love my aviators, they’re a pure classic and always in style. They also look good on both men and women; however, I’ve recently added two retro and vintage pairs to my collection. I haven’t worn all on my social media, but I plan to incorporate them to my outfits during the summer period.

MAXI DRESSES & THE RIGHT MATCHING ACCESSORIES All last summer, I never wore any maxi dresses. To be honest, I haven’t worn those in years, but going on a trip to Cuba last month made me realize how chic and appropriate they’re for the summer. Most of them are colourful, made out of a light fabric. I personally like to my neutrals, but I challenged myself to wear things that are out of my comfort zone yet they’re a true reflection of my personal style. During my trip, I wore two maxi dresses with different styles. The first was a subtle orange leopard print high neck, halter neck dress with slits on both side and it was such a feminine outfit. The extra accessory I added to it was an arm cuff. The second was a bold red V-neck layered ruffle dress with one side slit, nothing screamed summer more than the bold colour and I accessorized it with a printed scarf. The scarf was tied on my head but you can totally use the scarf as an accessory even your hand bags.

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OFF THE SHOULDER Off the shoulder tops and/or dresses, with a good glow would turn heads in the Summer. An off-shoulder top with balloon sleeves is everything, it can be paired with a pair of shorts/skirts/trousers. It is also very stylish and always in the style every summer.

SWIMSUIT What’s a Summer without a trip to the beach or a pool party? Swim suits have come a long way from being just regular, now they’ve come in such stylish options. They can be paired with visors, scarves, sunglasses, kimono’s and a whole lot more. You’ve got to find the right swim suit for your body type, so far, I’ve worn two swimsuits this year, but I just got one which I’m so excited to wear. So, stay locked in to my Instagram page to see it. Ensure to style your swimsuits properly,

CYCLING SHORTS

as they some in different prints and fa-

Summer calls for visits to the theme park, hiking and a whole

brics now. From frill bikinis, to gingham

lot of adrenaline filled activities. In the hot sun, a pair of cy-

bikinis.

cling shorts and shirt/crop top is the best and most comfortable outfit. Paired with a belt bag, and you are good to let your hair out and have fun. I know a lot of people are finding it difficult to accept this particular trend but I actually wore it for the first time a few days ago and I loved it.

YeyeWandeEO I know a lot of you, are wondering why I didn’t add bamboo bags. Truth be told, they’re so Summer ’17, Aussie bloggers have rocked them and they aren’t really the most practical bags too. But you can still wear them, if you really want them. What Summer trends are you currently loving, that wasn’t mentioned on here? What Summer trends do you love out of the ones mentioned above? Do have a fun filled Summer. WandeE.O

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monfasodanfani June 2018 – N°003 / AMAH MAGAZINE I 15

KING Co

Spring / S

aka.officiel akaofficiel1 www.akaofficiel.com

ollection

Summer

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19 Art

Visage d’or by Tatou Dembele

Tatou Dembele “Let the energy flow

by Maya Mariam

“

In this life we tend to constantly judge what is happening to us, whether it’s good or bad. What we forget is that every single thing that is happening to us, is in a way changing us. Blocking an energy (love or hate) is inevitably blocking our own selves in a state of mind, preventing it to flow; if it’s positive, to nourish, if it’s negative, to empower.” That introduces Tatou Dembele, the author of these inspiring words.

Likewise, she enjoys spending time indoor to cook! Better yet, to eat! Eating is where she gets her passion for food from. It is thus no coincidence that Dembele managed to find a way to combine both of her passions. That’s how «Ivorian food» was born: a platform that promotes Ivorian and African food via a blog, an app, and on social media. Her main goal is to share her love for her homeland’s gastronomy sometimes in an artsy manner. Food first!

Born and raised in Ivory Coast, Tatou Dembele has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and human resources, a master’s degree in management and another one in marketing. She is intellectually loaded but also very much passionate about two other things: art and food.

She created Ivorian Food in 2008 starting with a Facebook page only. Little by little she grew an audience, who was constantly asking for new content. In 2012, she thought about all the great possibilities she could explore through that page.

She loves to create art! Be it in on a canvas or a computer, it does not matter to her as long as she is creating art and she is GREAT at it. Her work includes photography, design in general, plastic, and visual art.

That lead her to wanting a website although she didn’t know how to proceed. Luckily, as a self-taught who spent a lot of time alone, mostly indoors, learning about all kind of stuff; she took the time to learn about web designing.

After a while of self-training, in 2015 she launched her website, a blog. Then followed her app after which she registered the company in 2017 and finally made her first clients in 2018. Her business is not to sell food but creative contents for the food industry. In other words, she creates specific, creative and delicious content for a specific client which she shares on her platform for her audience. Then Art! In 2013, Tatou fortuitously made a friend on Instagram who really enjoyed the few artworks she used to share online. Back then, she was not showcasing all of her artworks in a way to preserve her private nature. But, she stayed in touch with that friend who also loved to draw, so they shared thoughts and ideas every now and then. After a while she realized that “If [she] was able to share with him and have constructive feedback in return, [she] could also share with [more of her] friends on other social media platforms”. And that is how it all started. She began with offering portraits to her closest friends and before she knew it they were surprisingly asking for more for other friends so on and so forth. Requests didn’t stop pilling up so, she took a long break and decided to paint instead from then on at her leisure. Painting, she says, is relaxing to her. It is all about feelings. Portraits on the other hand, are all about technical skills which, does not necessarily make them fun to do. As a result, painting it became. Fast forward to now, most of her paintings are problack-women (which she does not intend to change for now, she affirmed) and many with a touch of wax print fabric also known as Ankara. The first time she did an Ankara inspired style for her artworks was in 2012 on a very small piece of art. 3 years later, she planned on renewing the experiment on bigger canvases but unfortunately; she went through a serious «invisible depression» that prevented her from remain consistent with her work. The first time she did an Ankara inspired style for her artworks was in 2012 on a very small piece of art. 3 years later, she planned on renewing the experiment on bigger canvases but unfortunately; she

she went through a serious «invisible depression» that prevented her from remain consistent with her work. She felt as though she couldn’t personally rock an Ankara outfit. Moreover, it was so trendy that she got frustrated about it. Instead, she decided in 2016 that her girls should slay them in her paintings and it worked! The moment a total stranger wanted to purchase her paintings online, she knew something was changing. Her artworks used to be purchased on her website Tatoudembele.com in 2017. It was mainly paintings. In 2018 she took the website down and currently working on the next art exhibition in Abidjan. The first one in the city. Today, Angelique Kidjo, Didier Drogba and other references appreciate her work. It is still possible to browse her Instagram or Facebook galleries and ask her directly about a piece of art (if the reproductions are available, because most of them are sold). In the future, she sees herself working on her projects, no matter their scales. Stay connected to her pages as she likes I like to surprise the people around her. All the information can be found on the website.

Art

TatouDembele TatouDembele TatouDembele Food IvorianFood IvorianFood IvorianFood IvorianFood.com June 2018 – N°003 / AMAH MAGAZINE I 22

Ivorian Food

https://magicwood.online magicwood_jewelry MagiC WooD JewelrY mwjewellery17@gmail.com

Magic Wood Jewelry

Outfits

by Rea Accessories

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renda Chuinkam a young entrepreneur

thing works in God’s timing. Her audience is

from Ottawa, Ontario. “Melapteh” is origi-

comprised mainly of women between the age

nally from the Bamileke dialect in Cameroon,

of 20 to 45 and with a keen interest in African

it means “thank you”. The owner wanted to use

fashion. She carries skirts, tops, dresses, tunics

a meaningful name because it only seemed

and accessories.

right for her brand to reflect a sense of gratitude towards her supporters. Melapteh currently serves as an online e-commerce retailing African inspired pieces. Brenda does not only carry her designs but others’ as well.

In the future, she plans to expand Melapteh by participating in several events in order to increase her network and hopefully grow into an online African fashion consulting agency.

Regarding her interest in wax, Brenda mentioned that she has always been a big fan of African inspired textiles and wax prints from a young age. She was also influenced by her mother who used to wear only African prints

In a few years, Brenda sees herself traveling between several countries in order to give more exposure to emerging designers, and blog about her traveling experiences.

on a daily basis and seeing women dressed so boldly and colorfully was extremely inspiring. She is passionate about female empowerment,

TheAnkaraQueen

gender equality, entrepreneurism among Afri-

The Ankara Queen

can women and improving living standards

www.ankaraqueen.com

across Africa through education. Everything started with a blog, Brenda used to promote the designs of many talented individuals, then she decided to try to sell and promote her own design. It has always been a challenge achieving results we want but every-

Melapteh “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you

want to go far, go together.

Sysavaneh_Design SysavanehDesign www.sysavanehdesign.org

Sysavaneh Design

zin, Wax, and Senegalese cotton fabrics. She has a shirt collection, that is beautifully made and carefully designed by her. There is also a Bazin collection which include simple shirt or sets (shirts and pants) and finally the Senegalese luxury collection which is the one for special occasions. They all come in sets of pants and shirts. Her products can be purchased online through her website (down below) or make special order with

aye Abdoul Sy is a 22 years old young lady,

your own measurements and details by

born and raised in Bamako, Mali. Passio-

communicating with her either by mail or

nate not only by clothes but all kind of artistic

through the brand’s Facebook page or the

related materials such as drawing. That is the

Instagram page.

passion that got her to start her brand: Sysavaneh Design. This name is inspired by her own

“Style is not about age, it’s about taste and

family name «Sy» which is one of the families

preferences.” she stated.

descending from the Boundou Kingdom of

mainly the young generation from 14 years

Senegal from which she comes. The griots use

old to 35. Her items are for all the gentlemen

the term «SYSAVANEH» to praise her family.

out there, African or not. It’s specially made

The audience is

to be modern and suitable for many types of From her young age, her dad introduced her to

occasions.

electronics and computers. Having a creative mind herself, she started to add skills to the

Going forward, her plan is to keep building

knowledge she had gained with computer’s

and expanding the business to be fully inde-

software. She then, started designing dresses

pendent. She wants to put up an accompli-

on the computer. Basically, design is a hobby

shed E-Commerce that will attract customer

of hers since day one. During her vacations in

from around the globe. In five years, she sees

Bamako in summer 2017 her mother asked

herself in another direction than fashion de-

her: “Are the African students in Ottawa wil-

sign. However, Sysavaneh Design will still be

ling to buy African clothes from Mali? If yes,

there. The plan is once it’s become a real bu-

you know you can use that to make money just

siness, to look for people passionate like her

while waiting to finish your studies!”. That ques-

and willing to work with her and give them

tion triggered her creative mind and she just

the management of Sysavaneh Design.

start thinking about a whole company (name, brand, website, her own designs etc.) Gaye articles come in three types of fabrics: Ba-

doizecanada

Story behind Doize As Canadian of African origin we have always want to make know the beauties of the land of our ancestors to the no Africans. Doize Canada was born from a collaboration between artisans and artists in Africa. Our vision behind Doize Canada is to help those craftsmen (craftswomen) to live from the fruits of their labor. Behind this urge to help to contribute in our way to the development of the African continent we want to make known the culture and beauty of Africa. we want to show that Africans are not just consumers but there can also be producers. For the moment we only work with artists from Senegal and Ivory Coast but our long-term goals and powers and extend our collaboration with other craftsmen from other African countries. Africa being the cradle of humanity has so much to offer and it is time for the rest of the world to see it. Africa is a beautiful continent and we try with the help of our collaborators (craftsmen) to show it through every article Doize.

PreciousThreadsByAbiola PreciousThreadsByAbiola www.preciousthreads.ca

“Inspiring your Modern Style

Precious Threads by Abiola

recious Threads by Abiola is the name

now seeks to remind women how beautiful and powerful they are, even in the midst of their struggles. As women, we are natural nurturers and often times do so much for others that we forget to nurture ourselves. Women wear multiple hats simultaneously (sister, mother, friend), yet the hat that is often missing is “you”. As women, it is important to have a community to help support and strengthen each other. She wants to be for women, what other women were/are for her. The vision of Abiola’s brand is to support and employ women in their areas of passion and skills. Women with a heart for and skills in the arts, public relations, photography, sewing, drafting, pattern making, website development and maintenance, accounting as well as in an array of other areas.

Abiola Akinsiku decided to give to her

She aims to not simply provide an income

brand. It is named in part after her daugh-

with which the women can survive, but rather

ter. As a Nigerian woman, fashion has been

an income in which they and their families

something that she has always been around.

can thrive. She wants women to be able to

Vibrant colours, prints and patterns has been

comfortably pay their bills, take their kids on

a part of her every day existence since she was

vacations, enroll them in sports and arts as

born. She has always been fond of fun, bright

well as save for their futures.

colours and fashion. Thus, this was something she was passionate about. She loves designing

Currently, she has an online store (down below)

as well as helping women look and feel beau-

where she offers women clothes. She also of-

tiful.

fers custom formal gowns and will meet with clients in person for these custom requests.

The brand was originally started as a way to

Some of her fabrics are from Ghana or Nigeria,

fund her daughter’s University education;

but the clothes are all made in Canada.

however, she was fortunate to find an alternative way to raise the money needed. With

In the future, Abiola sees the brand being reco-

the original goal being addressed, Abiola

gnized on an international scale and in mains-

wanted to find a new and meaningful vision

tream fashion all over the world. She envisions

for her brand. As a single mother, who herself

people from all around the world knowing

has been in two abusive relationships, Abiola

about the brand and more importantly its vi-

decided that her new goal would be to sup-

sion.

port women escaping abusive relationships. She had a lot of support, help, care, love and concern given to her during her experiences and wants to offer the same to others. Abiola has taken her experience and turned it into something positive for her and her daughter and

With her vision she is doing something greater than just selling clothes.

Accessories

by Papaya&CO

June 2018 – N°003 / AMAH MAGAZINE I 36

“The accessory that wakes the African in you!

Rea’Accessories

June 2018 – N°003 / AMAH MAGAZINE I 42

ose Emilie Ajavon is our next entrepreneur, originally from the Republic of Togo, she is currently doing her master’s in business law and taxation. Aside from her studies, she has always

been a big fan of fashion since childhood. During the summer of 2016, choker style necklaces made their grand reappearance and conquered almost every neck. That new trend brought Ajavon to think it would be cooler to have wax print chokers to match her outfits even better. From there, she started making her own chokers made of fabric such as wax, denim then velvet and that’s how ‘Rea Accessories’ was born. Other articles include belts and more styles of necklaces different from chokers. Rea Accessories is based in Lomé, Togo, where most of the work is done but they have representatives in Canada and in France. Their main target is anyone interested in fashion “and is ready to want to make perfect [his/her] outfit with nice accessories” Rose states. Even though wax is not necessarily made in Africa, Rose says that it is definitely an important part of the African identity, and there is enough choice to please everyone one way or the other.

REA’A REA’A mlle_rouge

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Fashion Tips by Christian Kondo

Brand: Christian Kondo Slogan: Tough Times Don’t Last Tough People Do Occupation: Entrepreuneur - Social MediaMarketing - DJ

Tip 1: Simplicity always

1 Tip 2: Wear what you’re comfortable in as long it’s presentable

Tip 3: There’s no second chance to first impressions. Tip 4: Learn colour combinations. Not everything needs to match.

3 Tip 5: The clothes don’t make the man, the man makes the clothes.

@dj_kondo Christian Kondo DjKondo DjKondo

Walk it like you talk it.

Lynn Mona

Papaya & CO

eet Lynn Mona, a Haitian wax lover and CEO of PAPAYA & CO. Starting with a little unconventional pathway to fashion, Mona had always been creative and drew a lot in her childhood. Unfortunately,

her parents would not allow her to pursue her university studies in fields such as art or fashion. So, she chose biology and luckily enjoyed the process but as you would later discover, her parents’ refusal did not shut down her passion for fashion. University as it may be for many people, was a big eye opener for her. She met a lot of people from diverse backgrounds and gladly so encountered for the first time wax print fabric. She saw her Congolese friends wear them during special occasions and strongly felt attracted to such fabrics. She then increasingly felt the urge to incorporate them into her art projects, which at this point was not fully realized. In her final year of university, she completed her first runway show but the fuss was short lived as a lull marked her return to Toronto post-graduation. In fact, she created and sewed, on and off for a while with nothing else to it than that until 2015 when her brand PAPAYA & CO was born. She created it with her sister who was the initial investor while she was the artist and designer. Together, they chose that name to embody the vibrancy, freshness and fun of the designs that Mona wished to create. A year later however, their collaboration ended. PAPAYA & CO re-emerged in late 2016 in an effort to fundraise so to assist some Haitian citizens suffering from the disaster Hurricane Matthew had left behind. Her target audience is men and women aged 15-55 years old who have a taste for minimal yet fun aesthetics with a pop of color. Her current creations include accessories, ties and pocket square sets, tote bags, pouches, and scarves available on her website at papayaandco.ca or through Etsy. Additionally, she often participates in various pop up shops in and around Toronto. One of her latest releases was in April 2018 dropping on the market some ready to wear items for both men and women. Her slogan is: “a lot can happen in 5 years.” Although she is unsure of where she sees herself in the next 5 years, she says she knows what she wants to see herself accomplish during that time. For example, she would love to work with artisans in Haiti and create a housewares segment of PAPAYA & CO. Likewise, she wants to operate a multinational fashion business that can be found in major retailers. There is a lot. Too much to write and to reveal. Our advice? Stay tuned and follow her social media accounts to feed your curiosity and be inspired.

iamlynnmona papayaandco

June 2018 – N°003 / AMAH MAGAZINE I 49

akirablack www.akirablack.com

52 Serge Agboli

serge_agb Serge Agboli Cause We Love It

cause_we_love_it Cause We Love It

Serge Agboli

Cause We Love It

hout out to all new young fathers that’ll die for them prince and princess. May God bless

you all! Serge Agboli, is our young Togolese entrepreneur who recently became a father. His daughter is the reason why he keeps fighting. He wants to show her that he’ll always be there no matter what. Serge likes spending time with his family and friends because around them he is always learning something that makes him stay stronger than ever. They motivate him to never give up in life. “Shout out to them for that because if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be sitting here today.’’

What are your passions? First, as you can see, I only live for music. As a passion, we can also say that I love everything that is photography and especially fashion which is one of the reason why I agreed to be the model of the brand NO STRESS last year. Basically, I can say that I am passionate about entrepreneurship. I organize events with a friend of mine name Yannick Laclé. The company name is Afrik Event. I really enjoy it. How did you find interest in music? For me, everybody has their own definition of music.When I was young, in my family we always had music in our veins. I used to listen to any type of song and it was giving me any sort of ideas about what I could do in the future in that field. How did it all start? It all started when one of my friends here in Canada put me in touch with an artist in Togo. He made me listen to his songs and from there I wanted to produce him. His name is Baaz de la zik .When I say produce I want to talk about managing his career. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I started with him. I discovered another artist on social networks through a freestyle. He is called Billion. Things happened quickly and through my social networks, ano-

ther artist on social networks through a freestyle. He is called Billion. Things happened quickly and through my social networks, another artist like full of others contacted me to know the conditions to integrate the label. It was signed a few months ago and it was named Dhinko. Basically this label is made up of 3 artists who all reside in Lomé (Togo). Where are you located? I am in Canada but my artists are in Togo and we are working harder and harder to make them be known from all over the world. ‘In God, we trust!’ Where can we get your music? The label is available on Social Medias and all download platforms.

What is your target audience? Whoever listen to my artist’s music, appreciate it and vibe with it, those are our targets audience. We let them decide. I’m here to push my boys to achieve their dreams with the support of people of different ethnicities. They will go far. What is your label about? Music? What are your future plans? •An album for each artist •Development of a branch of styling in the label •Make our artists known first of all in Lomé, then everywhere in Africa. Where do you see yourself in the next 5-10 years? First of all, I would like to say that it is the Almighty (God) who decides. For that I would ask him first of all to give us all a long life and allow me to fulfill my childhood dreams that you must have defined by now.

Billion Billionofficiel Billion Officiel

June 2018 – N°003 / AMAH MAGAZINE I 54

Dhinko

Dhinko_officiel Dhinko Officiel

Baaz De La Zik

baaz_de_la_zik Baaz De La zik Officiel

56 Clin d’oeil

“Hola muchachas! Your gyal is near!!!

Elodie

lodie is a young woman who came to Cana- now, it gave her a boost, and pushed her to also da to complete her studies in Journalism and start realizing her dreams. She believes that if

Communication studies. She is originally from she can permit herself to say this: «God used Benin Republic. After living and travelling in R.A.F to slap me in the face» and I got up.”, even many countries such as Rwanda, Central Africa, the sky would not be her limit. Ghana, Togo, she came to Canada when she was 14 years old, went to an international high school “You are not pretty enough to be in front of the in Hamilton, Ontario, where she graduated from camera, you need to do some surgery work in in 2014. Now, she is finishing her last year at the order to be a good camera face, you are this you University of Ottawa.

are that». Those were the kind of words Elodie faced when she was younger. Thus, creating

Elodie is full of stories to tell from the expe- the struggle to start her Facebook videos. This riences she encountered in her lifetime prior backlash led her to the wrong paths years ago, to her arrival in Canada. Yet, this country had but by the Grace of God, she has managed to shown her many opportunities and opened her input positive thoughts in her head and get many doors due to the different people she met going. Her videos sole purpose is to share a stoand the languages she now speaks. She is pas- ry line, because we need to face the fact that sionate about traveling, “a little bit too much” there are a lot of issues that do go silenced (physhe says. Staying in a stagnant place has become sical violence, emotional abuse, rape, negative really difficult for her, because she has stayed in thoughts that lead to depression and all other Canada for 8 years now. She also enjoys talking clinically diagnosed sickness). So yeah, even to people from different cultural backgrounds, you are her target audience. The only message learning from them (language, values, etc.) Ac- she is trying to send across in the videos is «accompanied to that, she likes taking pictures, wri- ceptance». Acceptance of the fact that you are ting, and making videos.

unique and are assigned a wonderful destiny. Acceptance of your difference. Acceptance of

Elodie, prior to the start of her achievements, the person you are in general. participated in a gala by the “Regroupement Affaire Femme (RAF)”. It all started with the inter- Looking forward, her plan is to travel, film, vention of a dear friend of hers that requested and broadcast as much as possible, and by that she participates. She explained how at first, God’s grace, have her own TV show where all she was really shy, because as she was surroun- the «weird people» will have an opportunity ded by many amazing women who impacted to voice themselves. She sees herself finished the community, she realized that there was no with school. She sees herself with a clear vision need to dwell in self-pity, but to start moving. about her destination. She sees herself currentElodie puts it as: “A slap by God». When you are ly working on her vision and impacting lives. In surrounded by amazing women doing things for the next five years, she sees herself beside the the community and already impacting lives, you man that God has for me. In the next five years, tend to start doubting yourself. So, when she she sees herself doing better and being better went to the Gala, she got a stroke because she than the woman she is presently. In the next 5 started telling herself that she was not enough. years, she sees herself on the cover of this maBut, by hearing their stories and the hustle they gazine. went through in order to get where they are right

to overcome their obstacles, then they can also do it. Ji Sokeě is in Yoruba language and, in a general way, means «Awakening». The reason why they chose this title is simply because their adventure is an overall awakening. Through it, they learnt

nterested in everything related to culture, more about the realities of Western countries history, community and society. Olufemi Mi- as well as the amount of difference of cultures,

chele Nassi, is a Beninese author currently li- mindsets and identities that exist between counving in the State of Colorado in the USA. She tries and continents. The story shared in Ji Sokeě graduated from high school in 2014 in Coto- is that of two young girls, discovering not only the world but also their own selves. nou. She then, move to the USA in 2015. The book is divided in two specific parts, one in Following her arrival in the United States, which Ebony shares her story and another one in Olufemi struggled with the new realities she which Olufemi shares hers. Each part has numehad to face in this country. Culture shock, ra- rous chapters that develop a particular topic decism, solitude and freedom were some of the pending on their impact and importance in their things that were part of her daily life. She was adventure. The main themes that are developed alone, going through different and new expe- in Ji Sokeě are: culture shock, the education sysriences and found it hard not only to express tem, religion, spirituality, solitude, depression, what she was facing but also to connect with job, open mindedness, racism and Diversity, as those who would relate to it. Eventually, she well as Cultural Identity. shared her thoughts with a friend who happened to have had similar experiences. That Ji Sokeě is available on numerous platforms as is when she got the idea of the book. Ji Sokeě both an e-book and a paperback book. It is on sale is meant to be the voice of those who aren’t on Amazon and on KusomaGroup.com which is heard and the support to those who are in located in Senegal. The book can also be found need.

in Benin at the following libraries: Notre Dame of Ganhi, Akanga of Porto-Novo, Cash and Carry and

Ji Sokeě has two main goals. The first one is Le Rosier of Calavi or even through delivery by to fight against the stereotypes numerous contacting Fred Datondji on (229)97126587. Africans have of life in Western countries. The The two authors’ ultimate goal is to make Ji Sokeě book is portraying a more realistic image of one of reference books or stories on the subjects the realities immigrants and international of immigration and life in the western world as students face when they arrive abroad. The se- viewed by young Africans. Therefore, they are cond goal of the book is to show support to currently searching for any forms of partnerships all the young Africans who every year, come and sponsorships with communities and orto these countries without knowing what is ganizations that share the same vision and can awaiting them. C. Ebony, the co-author of Ji help them reach their goals. For those who are Sokeě and Olufemi wanted to let them know interested in supporting this adventure, you can that they are not alone in their adventure and contact Olufemi through her email for more inthat if those who came before them were able formation.

Femi Michele Nassi M. Onassi- Femiche Femiche Medium Michele Onassi- Femiche jisokee@gmail.com

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