A Night for Change; A night for the Congo

The details for my event are finally set in stone, yay! On October 20th, 2012, I'll be holding my very first fundraiser as Ms AfriCanada 2012 in support of the women of Eastern Congo. Although it's a bit nerve-wracking because I’ve never taken charge of planning an event like this before, I can only have high hopes it will go off well. I feel so blessed by God for all of these opportunities so far, and I look very forward to the event night. It will include an educational documentary, a special guest speaker, and a variety of performances by local African Canadian artists. So, hope to see you all there. – And big thanks to Audrey Chia for her 
help with the poster!

Below is the trailer of the film we'll be watching.

AE Awards + More

Last Saturday, Sept. 15, marked the 2nd annual African Entertainment Awards, and I was in attendance for the first time! I think it's a great thing happening in the local African Canadian community, that showcases the multiple talents our people have in their different areas of entertainment; whether it be film, music, entrepreneurship, or modelling etc... It allows us to be aware of each other's accomplishments and various projects, which I think is great. And I think in general that has been one of the great benefits of being Ms AfriCanada, is all these cool experience and great people that you get to meet. I mean, it's opened my eyes to a lot things happening in the community that I really had no idea about, and I think with time, the African Canadian community is only going to get bigger and better. Check out the pics below. - And also, big congratulations to all the nominees (just being nominated is a sign itself that you're doing big things) and the winners or the night, especially to Motherland Entertainment! Also, my dress was made by Zainab just a lil sidenote!

Singer of Congolese descent; Blandine, and I

Designer of Naori's Bijoux, and I

Motherland Ent.

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Following the awards show, I had a meeting with the coordinators of Ms AfriCanada, the Sunday after, to discuss and sort out the vision for my cause to support the women of the DR Congo. Obviously I'm not going to divulge too much information :) (you'll have to wait around to see what awesome and exciting things are to come), but I will tell you that we definitely have an event coming up for Congo Week (a week dedicated to raise awareness about the different issues surrounding the war in Eastern Congo -whether it be the conflict minerals, the rape against women etc... which is undertaken all over the world, in all the different continents, by post-secondary students like myself primarily), which ranges from October 14th-20th. It will mark my first event, in regards to my initiative, and I can't to see it go down. More details to come, so be prepared to be in attendance!
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And here are a few extra pictures I never put up because they were few, and of bad quality... This was at a charity event I attended a few weeks ago, in support of the Sick Kids Foundation.

The Bright Light Event

This past Saturday, I was invited to attend The Bright Light event, organised by Sierra Global, in order to fund-raise and create awareness about Youth homelessness in Toronto and the war survivors of Sierra Leone. As well, I was asked to present an award to the Doctors Without Borders organisation, while I was there. And I must say, the event was impressively put together. In terms of performances, the two dance groups that presented (one called something like Creole Ballet, and the other an African dance group) were very entertaining and lively, and regarding the appearance of the event, it was lovely. I really admired the fact that all the female organsiers of that night were dressed in green dresses of different styles, made from silky fabric, traditionally used in West Africa. I wish I could've taken a picture of them all together, but they were all dispersed and sometimes it was hard to catch a glimpse of what was going on from where I sat (the very last photo gives you a peek). Nevertheless, I was pleased to attend the event that day, and below are a few pics I managed to get (I know they're not the best quality).- Also, there was a hilarious moment, when the African dance group was performing; a child (I presume of one of the dancers') followed them to the centre of the room and began dancing with them, completely oblivious of the audience which was dying of laughter. She knew all the moves, and at some point even sat on the floor to remove her shoes and socks, so she could be barefoot with the dancers. Hahahaha, I was amazed. She even bowed down at the end with all of them!