/ / as the year ends / /

5 Tips to increase your wealth, from The Qur'an and Sunnah 
(share/comment) 


music (featuring Skepta)
Praise The Lord (Da Shine) by A$AP Rocky

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Experience (@theexperiencelagos) on Oct 26, 2018 at 8:43am PDT

The Experience = 
Annual Gospel Mega-Concert Friday Dec 7th (overnight till Saturday)
//

View this post on Instagram

EN: While the great ones of the Earth build themselves ‘thrones’ for their own power, God chooses an uncomfortable throne, the cross, from which to reign by giving his life. PT: Enquanto os grandes da Terra constroem "tronos" para o próprio poder, Deus escolhe um trono incômodo, a cruz, a partir do qual reinar dando a vida. ES: Mientras los grandes de la Tierra construyen «tronos» para su propio poder, Dios elige un trono incómodo, la cruz, desde donde reinar dando la vida. IT: Mentre i grandi della Terra si costruiscono “troni” per il proprio potere, Dio sceglie un trono scomodo, la croce, dal quale regnare dando la vita. FR: Alors que les grands de la Terre se construisent des «trônes» pour leur pouvoir, Dieu choisit un trône inconfortable, la croix, de laquelle il règne en donnant la vie. DE: Während die Großen der Erde sich „Throne“ für ihre eigene Macht aufbauen, wählt Gott einen unbequemen Thron, das Kreuz, von dem aus er herrscht und Leben schenkt. PL: Podczas gdy wielcy tego świata stawiają sobie “trony” dla sprawowania władzy, Bóg wybiera tron niewygodny, krzyż, z którego króluje, ofiarując życie. #christtheking #cristorey #cristore

A post shared by Pope Francis (@franciscus) on Nov 25, 2018 at 4:59am PST

 ~ Papa Francisco ~


"My friends and my road-fellows, pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion. Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own winepress. Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful. Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block. Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking. Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again. Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation." - Khalil Gibran in The Garden of the Prophet (1933)

Olamide's 'Poverty, Die!' is the jam.

*********************************

Get email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.

Vox explains Belt and Road

China's trillion dollar plan to dominate global trade: China's Belt and Road Initiative is the most ambitious infrastructure project in modern history. It spans over 60 countries and will cost over a trillion dollars. The plan is to make it easier for the world to trade with China, by funding roads, railways, pipelines, and other infrastructure projects in Asia and Africa. China is loaning trillions of dollars to any country that's willing to participate and it's been a big hit with the less democratic countries in the region. This makes the BRI a risky plan as well. But China is pushing forward because its goals are not strictly economic, they're also geopolitical. Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Get UpNaira email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.

#giving #goals

Thank you Rihanna
Donated $2 million to Sierra Leone 🇸🇱 relief fund 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/NVN7SbdFPY

— Sure Kamhunga (@sure_kamhunga) August 20, 2017

Hundreds dead in mudslide disaster

Get email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.

Share this too

Mark Zuckerberg Delivers Powerful Speech at Harvard… https://t.co/3m22uWFE43 pic.twitter.com/uPDZSfSjZ5

— BellaNaija.com (@bellanaija) May 26, 2017

Get email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.

We need to talk about this.

She went through unnecessary pain and suffering.
But now, life is goooood.  

Watch even more dramatic stories from Uganda and Kenya here, and commit to being part of the solution NOT part of the problem.
  

Merck's More than a Mother corporate social responsibility initiative aims to raise awareness about prevention of infertility and build capacity to manage male and female fertility issues throughout Africa.

In particular, through its Empowering Berna campaign, it's opening a dialogue that will ultimately reduce the stigma and social suffering of infertile women in Africa.

Get email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.

We're in this together

Ìrọ̀rùn igi ni ìrọ̀rùn ẹyẹ. / The comfort of the tree is what assures the comfort of the bird (on it).

[Pursue the common good, always]

— Yoruba Proverbs (@yoruba_proverbs) July 8, 2016

...

"-- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.  You didn’t get there on your own.  I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.  There are a lot of smart people out there.  It must be because I worked harder than everybody else.  Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.  (Applause.)
     If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  Somebody helped to create this unbelievable .. system that we have that allowed you to thrive.  Somebody invested in roads and bridges.  If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn’t get invented on its own.  Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
     The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.  There are some things .. we don’t do on our own.  I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. "
- Guess who said this // Guess when/where at least

Get email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.

Wikipedia : Simple Living

Simple living encompasses a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one's lifestyle.

• These may include reducing one's possessions, generally referred to as Minimalism, or increasing self-sufficiency, for example.
• Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they have rather than want.^[1][2]
• Although asceticism generally promotes living simply and refraining from luxury and indulgence, not all proponents of simple living are ascetics.^[3]
• Simple living is distinct from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice.

 

Mahatma Gandhi spinning yarn in 1942. Gandhi believed in a life of simplicity and self-sufficiency.

• Adherents may choose simple living for a variety of personal reasons, such as spirituality, health, increase in quality time for family and friends, work–life balance, personal taste, frugality, or reducing stress.
• Simple living can also be a reaction to materialism and conspicuous consumption. 
• Some cite socio-political goals aligned with the anti-consumerist or anti-war movements, including conservation, degrowth, social justice, ethnic diversity and tax resistance.^[4]

MORE

Get UpNaira updates by email

What is poverty?

This clip always makes me cry.   

But can we end poverty, quickly, throughout the world? 

Yes.  If we focus.

April 2014: The BBC's Michelle Fleury talks to World Bank president Jim Yong Kim about attempts to reduce extreme poverty.  Click to watch, and to see the original article.
Economic growth is "not enough" to end global poverty, the World Bank has said.
It has urged developing countries to allocate more resources to their extreme poor, including through bigger welfare programmes.
The bank, which last year set itself the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030, said such measures would increase productivity and growth.
But the impact on poverty of growth alone has its limits, the bank said.
"Even if all countries grow at the same rates as over the past 20 years, and if the income distribution remains unchanged, world poverty will only fall by 10% by 2030, from 17.7% in 2010," said World Bank president Jim Yong Kim.
"This is simply not enough, and we need a laser-like focus on making growth more inclusive and targeting more programmes to assist the poor directly if we're going to end extreme poverty."
 To achieve its 2030 target, the bank estimates the extreme poor - those earning less than $1.25 (74p) a day - will have to decrease by 50 million people each year until 2030.
That is the equivalent of a million people each week for the next 16 years.
"This will be extraordinarily difficult, but I believe we can do it," said Mr Kim, at the start of the bank's spring meeting.
"This can be the generation that ends extreme poverty."
The highest levels of extreme poverty are in Africa, the World Bank said.
The country with the biggest extreme poverty is the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 88% of the population is below the poverty line.
It is followed by Liberia, where 84% of people are in extreme poverty, and Burundi and Madagascar, where the figure is 81%.

What's it like on Mara Mentor?

Over 100,000 facebook likes, and it offically launched just last week.

Mara Mentor is an application you can use to connect with a mentor in business.  That is, you can easily volunteer to be a mentor, or sign up to be mentored by other people that you look up to.

It seems like a really cool idea.  I just want to know if you've tried it yet.  Thanks.

More from the mara-foundation.org website:
Mara Mentor is an online community that connects ambitious entrepreneurs with experienced and inspiring business leaders. The initiative encourages idea and knowledge sharing among Africa’s most promising young entrepreneurs, inspiring a collaborative approach to business start-up and growth. Mara Mentor has been created to empower Africa’s youth in their business endeavours, in recognition that they are the driving force behind the continent’s growth and future prosperity.
Mentees are encouraged to interact with the online community by:

• Raising a question
• Kick-starting a discussion
• Reaching out for personalised advice

Mentees can use the platform to showcase their business ideas and seek out like-minded individuals to identify new business opportunities. Over the next few months, Mara Mentor will be developing a full range of online training materials, including free guides and tools for start-up businesses, along with a series of inspiring videos and articles from Mara’s Mentors.
Mara Mentor gives successful and experienced business leaders an opportunity to give back to Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs and play a part in the development of the African continent. Mentors are encouraged to share general business tips and resources, get involved in discussions and offer one-on-one advice to those that need it. Whether they log in every day or dedicate an afternoon once a month, Mentors will be inspired by the great minds of Africa’s entrepreneurs – they are, after all, the future of Africa.
Mara Mentor can be accessed via the website and an app available on iPhones, Blackberry, Android and many Nokia smart phones. Simply download from iTunes, Blackberry, Google Play, Samsung Apps or Nokia Ovi.
In addition to the online mentorship, Mara Foundation offers One-on-One mentorship in Kampala (Uganda) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). For more information regarding these programmes please follow this link.

Also see a history; more from the 2012 preview: Young African Millionaire Launches Mara.com, Africa's First Online Mentorship Network, by Mfonobong Nsehe for forbes.com

Big Boy Bill

"I start with architecture, and Mark starts with products, and Steve Jobs started with aesthetics."

Bill Gates, by Roberto Parada

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/bill-gates-the-rolling-stone-interview-20140313

Joy to the world!

In many ways our world is getting better.

We are getting older 

Studies show that age brings an increase in wellbeing; people over 50 are less angry, less stressed and less worried than at any time since they were kids; and that the happiest people of all are in their 80s.  Also, dementia rates are falling. 

We live longer than ever 

Since 1900, life expectancy in the West has risen 50% and is still rising, ... even the poorest people in the world now live longer than the richest Victorians did.

Global inequality is falling

As recently as 1981, more than 40 per cent of the world lived on less than $1 a day. Today ... that share is down to 14 per cent.

More reasons for optimism

Environment-wise, some greenhouse gas emissions are down, some new species have been found, and the death-rate from weather-related natural disasters is down.  Meanwhile, childhood malaria rates are down by about half since 2000, the Dow (US) is up like mad, job growth is back, the Naira steadied...

Adapted from: Dare to be an optimist, by Margaret Wente for TheGlobeAndMail (Canada)

Pie Gates and Flog Lance

Remember Pie Gates?
It's this little video-game from the nineties where you click to smack Bill Gates in the face with a pie - splat!  Proven stress reliever... 

Screenshot of the classic Pie Bill Gates game from kuenstner.de

Then he started to give his money away through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Nowadays, everybody loves Bill.
It is important to be nice, not just rich, I think.  

Meanwhile, some dude named Lance Armstrong has built a stellar career as a doping cyclist.  Now that he's been exposed, he has to give up all his Tour de France titles.
I propose a video-game to vent our anger at cheating assholes like him.  Call it Flog Lance. 

Meanwhile, here is a modern version of pie gates, lol, in case you've moved on from Windows 95.

Site visitors can say thank you

Most of you blog for the sake of sharing your thoughts and opinions, however a little side income is like an unexpected gift.
Google has just released a new gadget that allows readers to directly contribute to your blog. Setup is only five simple steps and should only take a few minutes of your time

Add a virtual tip jar like this to your blog
Originally posted to Blogger Buzz by Peng Ying, Developer Programs Engineer

LOTS, Dustbin Children, gorgeous girl

I was at The Future Awards in Lagos in February. BellaNaija has a sweet roundup of the event, with pictures and all.

You know when you just adore someone at first sight, like the person is so full of light and warmth? That was my first moment with Tolu Sangosanya who later that evening was awarded for "Best Use of Advocacy." Here is a story on 234next.com , with details of how you can help now with your talents (like teaching children in your spare time, building decent shelter for their families, etc) and/or money (account information included.) Her charity is called Love on The Street, aka Dustbin Children Foundation.

Cool perk of living in Lagos: meeting many of the people on that BellaNaija page at one gig or the other.

Have a great idea?

CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards 2010

The 2010 CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards, made possible by Walmart, are grants given to exceptional student Commitments to Action aimed at improving communities and lives around the world. All currently-enrolled students (both undergraduate and graduate) may apply for these awards. We recommend reviewing our application tips before submitting an awards application. The final deadline is April 23, 2010.

Winners will receive funding to implement their CGI U commitments, which are new, specific, and measurable plans which make a difference in one or more of CGI U’s five global challenge areas: Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health. (Read More...)
Apply Now

You may also take a look at CGI LEAD, a leadership development program which "convenes the world's most promising young leaders leading public, private, and nonprofit institutions around the world to develop unique solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges." Good Luck.

Don't just rebrand, do something!

Nigeria is hosting U-17. Got stuck in traffic last night because the match was in Lagos. Up Naija!

I'm linking to this video of Jay Jay Okocha because the guy has a heart of gold. He just got done training dozens of young Nigerians in an intensive camp for a promotional for Oceanic Bank called Talent Hunt. He is down-to-earth and just great. And in addition to name recognition: when you travel and say you're Nigerian, don't people immediately start naming football players - that's what happens to me o. In addition to that, now he's given more to those youngsters that he trained, and to their families.

Enjoy Okocha's game

This is One Laptop Per Child

http://laptop.org/en/vision/project/index.shtml

I just ordered mine last week. Look forward to getting and using it. Unfortunately, the give one, get one program closed on December 31st, so you can no longer order an XO laptop for yourself. (Not sure why they do this.)

OLPC in Nigeria: One Laptop Per Child

They're really laptops, and I want some. On the website, there are testimonials by Nigerian children users. You can donate here to OLPC ($200 = 1 laptop to a child)

As for actually getting one, their laptop.org site is driving me crazy...I'm like where's the shop, the "pay" button? Only God knows...so much talk, just sell the things.

What Shall We Do Today?

Support THE-GOAL-FOUNDATION.

They have sent medicines to Nigeria, including Gbagada. They also housed Hurricane Katrina victims, and other projects in Honduras and India.

I can recommend this foundation because I know Lara, Dr. Adejumo, roommate from Secondary School, so whatever she's doing is 100% top-class.

Read more at the website.

Thanks a million. Post your own favourite or 100% certified charity someday too, will you?

"I am doing very well and I owe society"

Although his bank balance is still a fraction of one percent of Warren Buffett's ;) this 21-year old (guess who?) just launched his foundation to help the less privileged in his home country and maybe later the world.
Never too young...