With thanksgiving and gratitude to our Heavenly Father, we are delighted to share with you the announcement of the birth of our second son whose arrival has immersed us with unspeakable joy. Indeed, the Lord has blessed us beyond measure and our hearts are filled with eternal gratitude.
Glory be to His name.
Stephanie & Linus
And God fulfilled his word…sitting pretty under his grace. It’s a boy!
Raising more awareness in our communities is critical to the elimination of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The Extended Hands Foundation with support from Ford Foundation has recently taken its activism to local schools and communities in Lagos state.
The community outreach took place in Agbado Oke-Odo LCDA and Shogunle LCDA of Lagos State while the school outreach took place at Greensprings Schools, Lagos in March and many more to come. Following the events in the schools and communities, advocates were appointed and trained to follow up as watchguards within their communities. They will be responsible for spreading awareness and ensuring people get help when they need it.
To effectively educate the target audience, the foundation developed awareness-raising materials, including a series of short films and brochures on SGBV. participants were addressed by experts from the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) from the Lagos State Ministry of Justice with the emergency number to call for HELP- 08000333333.
Actress, director, and UNFPA Ambassador Stephanie Linus, who is also the founder of Extended Hands Foundation was present at these events. She noted that awareness raising is key to spreading a clear message of zero tolerance of all forms of violence within our communities. “With a rise of domestic violence cases around us, there is urgent need for engaging local communities to address the root causes of SGBV to bring effective behavior and social norms change. We also need to sensitize the younger population, to educate them and tell them consequences of violence. People need to know what to do if they or someone they know are caught in this unfortunate situation.”
The Extended Hands Foundation is committed to providing accessible information about what gender-based violence is, its different forms, possible remedies, and existing support measures. Our goal is to initiate relevant discussions about the root causes of sexual and gender based-violence and ensure people know how to prevent it.
Watch the video of the schools and community awareness tour here:
Becoming a morning person doesn’t always come naturally, but if you make the conscious effort to get up and incorporate a few healthy practices into your morning routine, you’ll find yourself more awake, more focused, and ready to take on the day! What you do when you first wake up matters because how you spend your morning can set you up for success for the rest of the day.
So, what do Healthy Women do before 7 am? I’ll give you 10 of them:
The beginning of a new year is a time to pause for reflection, to celebrate the high points and make peace with the low points of the past 12 months.
At the same time, we also need to be realistic about the goals we’re setting. We need to be honest with ourselves about both our resources and abilities.
Don’t set yourself up for failure this year by vowing to make huge changes that will be hard to keep.
Often, what we don’t realize is that the problem isn’t that we aren’t capable of sticking to our resolutions. The problem is that we need to do a better job making new year goals that are actionable and achievable.
The trick in how to make new year resolution is to make it something concrete so you know exactly what change you’re planning to make.
If you’re successful with the first change you can go ahead and make another change after a month or so. Focus on one goal at a time. Achieving even one small goal can boost your belief in yourself. For larger goals, consider breaking them apart into manageable chunks to work on one at a time.
Let this year be the one you finally follow through.
May 2022 bring to you and all your loves ones blessings and answers to all your prayers. I pray that you experience new happiness, new goals, new achievements, and a lot of new inspirations on your life. On the road to success, the rule is always to look ahead. May you reach your destination and may your journey be wonderful.
Let your dreams take flight in the new year!
New adventures are around the corner. Have a Happy New Year Amazonians and Warlords 🎊
Each year brings its own set of blessings, challenges, and lessons to learn and 2021 was certainly no exception. As we head into 2022, I can’t help but reflect on what I’ve accomplished, what I’ve overcome, and the lessons I want to carry with me into the New Year.
This time of year is always busy, but if you give yourself permission to slow down a little it can also be a valuable season of self-reflection. I’m thankful for the important lessons learned through the struggles of this year!
This year might have been hard, but there’s a reason for it and a purpose. Through every hardship, battle, and trial we’re faced with while on this earth, there is a purpose behind it and a lesson to be learned.
As we optimistically look ahead into 2022, what are the top lessons you’ve learned in 2021?
The start of a New Year holds a special magic. It’s an opportunity to pause and reflect on the year gone, and to dream of better things for the year ahead.
When preparing to ring in the New Year, it’s only natural to think about all the personal goals you’d like to set for yourself over the next 12 months. As you reflect on 2021 and set new goals, it will be necessary to move forward with gusto, hope, and renewed confidence.
Every day is a chance to begin again. Don’t focus on the failures of yesterday, start today with positive thoughts and expectations. Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start.
Step boldly into the new year, to a new moment in time. Make it count. Don’t be afraid. Make it yours and grace will follow. It always does.
Merry Christmas to you Amazonians and Warlords!!!
My sincere wish for you this season is that your holiday will be filled with joy and laughter.
I hope that this presents an opportunity for you to appreciate all the little wins and experiences you’ve had so far. Make sure you have fun with your loved ones.
May this festive season sparkle and shine, may all of your wishes and dreams come true, and may you feel this happiness all year round.
Love you guys 💗 🎄🎁
Storyland Studios, the experience design and production studio with offices in the US and Europe, has been selected to master plan and design a film city and entertainment industry campus, a sprawling, first-of-its-kind film industry hub in Lagos, Nigeria.
The project sponsor, Del York International Group in partnership with the Lagos State Government, is in the advanced stages of development. The project aims to position the state as a focal point for the entertainment industry–primarily film–and its peripheral industries, where both new and traditional media will be produced and celebrated for generations to come.
The facility is envisioned as a sanctuary of leisure, entertainment, and learning; a place where film and all types of creative industry professionals can live, work, and learn in a serene and conducive environment with best-in-class facilities intermingled with amenities and infrastructure that support a modern sustainable city.
“Our team is thrilled to have been chosen for this unique opportunity,” said Mel McGowan, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Storyland Studios. “We’re excited to be part of the further development of Nigeria’s incredibly prolific and rapidly-growing film industry.”
“The industry has long desired a home, that special place on the continent that would galvanize our young people to a new hope whilst igniting the fire of their creativity,” said Linus Idahosa, President and Founder of Del York International Group. “The continent’s burgeoning community of creatives have long been inspired through the magic of film and television, spiriting themselves into worlds they never thought possible, but curtailed by their immediate circumstances.
“With this agreement in place, we can finally realize that purpose designed infrastructure that will match the dreams and most expansive imaginations of these young people on the African continent. I believe we have been specially chosen by providence to make this project a reality for our community and continent. From the onset, our focus was to partner with a world leader with a track record of successful projects from across the world, and more so with a heart for Africa. Storyland Studios was the perfect fit.
“Africa is the next big destination for the film and creative industry and with the phenomenon that is Nollywood, Lagos is its epicentre. The film city project will provide an enduring ecosystem of value and a home where creatives from across the continent can come together to live, work, and learn in an environment that sustainably supports enterprise.”
As founder of the Del York Creative Academy (DCA), Idahosa is passionate about repositioning and transforming Nigeria’s film and media landscape to forge stronger connections with global audiences. The DCA is Africa’s foremost capacity building establishment for the film and creative industry and is at the forefront of creating sustainable impact in the continent’s movie industry.
Building on the Momentum of “Nollywood”
The Nigerian film industry, known as “Nollywood,” has a projected annual growth rate of 8.6%, the industry accounts for ₦ 853.9 billion ($7.2 billion), or 1.42% of the Nigerian GDP. More than one million people are employed by Nollywood, either directly or adjacent to the industry. Next to agriculture, it is Nigeria’s largest job market.
“Nollywood is one of the world’s largest film industries in terms of production volume,” said Ubong Eton, Digital Storyteller at Storyland Studios. “Lagos is home to most of the productions, but there’s no proper infrastructure that can cater effectively to the industry.”
For the first time, the Lagos film city will establish the infrastructure Nollywood needs to grow and thrive beyond its current capacity. Storyland will be engaged in master planning the film city and entertainment industry campus. The firm will also deliver a feasibility study to right-size the space requirements and warranted investment.
“The Lagos film city concept is a cultural, creative ecosystem that will be a catalyst not only for the country of Nigeria but for Africa,” said McGowan. “It will be not only a world-class production studio facility but also a visitor attraction. There will be an extensive production facility, in addition to an education component to develop talent from across the continent.”
The Lagos Film City Vision
The vision for the Lagos film city concept is a modern, Hollywood-style complex inspired by the magic of film. It aims to create not only a production haven for Nollywood and international filmmakers but also a one-of-a-kind leisure destination for travellers and film enthusiasts alike.
The film city’s campus will be located in Lagos’ Epe area, at Ejirin City. The 100-hectare, mixed-use campus will have the capacity to support anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 daily visitors. Both production, post-production, and editing facilities and services will be housed on campus, open to both local and international filmmakers. There will also be educational facilities, including a Creative Academy for film students.
Peripheral infrastructure will include housing and shopping for residents and visitors working in the industry. In addition, the Lagos film city will appeal to tourists from all over the globe. There will be dining, shopping, lodging, leisure, and recreational offerings that include an amusement park, water park, and a variety of attractions, shows, and rides for visitors of all ages. Film enthusiasts will be able to visit the Nollywood Walk of Fame, the Nigerian Movie Repository, and the Museum of Movie History.
The film city will be designed with aesthetics and sustainability in mind, leveraging environmentally-friendly materials, modern features, and elements of the natural world. Lush gardens, artificial lakes, and attractive parks will add to the campus’ aesthetic appeal.
The project has gone through the initial concept and planning stages and has now entered its implementation stages and is set to deliver its first and second phases in the years 2022 and 2023.
I recently had the privilege to discuss the important topic of human trafficking during a recent interview with Arise News.
My message still remains that this menace requires urgent attention from everyone in the society. Human trafficking is not a ‘government’ issue. It is one that we all must join hands to tackle. It is about time that we speed up a stronger, more coordinated response to the scourge of human trafficking.
Watch the interview here: