PASTOR MRS MOWUNMI'S BABY SHOWER

Penultimate last week, we witnessed a beautiful celebration of a soon coming child as Mrs. Omowunmi Bolaji Idowa was hosted to a baby Shower by her friends. It was quite a beautiful celebration amidst prayers and thanksgiving for the new born. Omowunmi's baby arrived thursday less than a week after the baby Shower, We give God all the glory. WMNG was there and have these pix to show. Enjoy!

PICTURES FROM THE LAGOS MOMS MEET UP

It was an evening of fun, laughter and merriment as Lagos moms met up on the 31st of July. The Working moms group kept to their promise of moms having a blast. Did we get new ideas and learnings on role balancing? Sure the speakers did justice to their topics. Hear kate Henshaw-Nuttal.."Moms must devote time to their children, and give them the nurturing they deserve for if you do not take care of your children, when you are old, they are not likely to take care of you. What of Ini Onuk? Omg! she was fire with us. Hers was a 'No holds barred"speech and we were thoroughly beaten. Mrs. Obaze nko? Mrs. Edna Obaze talked about the many different kinds of moms, and the kind of children you are likely to get, hers was not just educating but extremely indicting. What about us, moms? we were beaten by the messages, we had reflections, as we were reminded of our roles as mothers and caretakers of the most important unit of the society. What else, we had real fun, we asked questions, we watched those slim models show off those beautiful designs from two great designers. Studd an R nB hip hop singer also thrilled us moms with his genre of music, we rocked. Our partners were awesome; Lise Beauty Range, Nepal oil and gas, My hair limited, Finesse, Latobak International and Magic eye, I greet you all. Where is the next meet up?  Visit our meet up group at www.meetup.com/ nigeria-moms-meet-up-group  to find out when there will be meet up in your area. Oh! Did I forget the green carpet? Yeees! Moms love to take picture!!!!! We rocked the green carpet!! Please feed your eyes.

Mary Ikoku Opening Address.

National Anthem R-L Ini, Kate, Mary and Super mom Rep

MOMS SYMPATHIZES WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF SAM LOCO EFE

A sad news broke out  about a movie actor and comedian, Sam Loco Efe, a popular humour igniter in the Nollywood movie industry and one of the best known face on television soaps and theatre productions  who was reported dead on Saturday 6^th August, 2011- At the age of sixty-nine.

He was found dead in his Rapour Hotel room in Amaakaohai on Orlu road in Owerri, the Imo State capital.  The late actor’s body was found in his Room 204 in the hotel.

An actor, who declined to be named, said in Owerri that he accompanied the late Efe to his room at about 11 pm on Saturday. He said at about midnight, the late actor called to remind him of an appointment for noon yesterday. He said he was astonished to be invited by the hotel management yesterday afternoon when Efe’s whereabouts became unknown, yet his room was locked.A peep after a climb through the window revealed Efe’s lifeless body “without his shirt on. His inhaler was by his side and we had to call in the police,” he said.

The body of the deceased was removed and taken to the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, he said. At the hotel premises yesterday, there was calm but people were seen discussing it in groups.A socialite, Efe was seen within his group of friends cracking jokes on Saturday night.

Although the hotel management declined to speak on the tragedy, Imo State Police spokesman Linus Nwaiwu said, “We have received the information on the death of Sam Loco Efe from the hotel. Our homicide unit is still working on the information.”

“Yes, it is true that Sam Loco passed away tragically in his hotel room. I will be making a statement on Monday (today). I can’t say much now because I want to verify the detail, Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) President Segun Arinze said yesterday. 

National Secretary of the AGN Chuma Onwudiwe also last night confirmed Efe’s death.

Onwudiwe described him as, “a polyglot, actor extraordinaire, father to many of us, intellectual and a man of immense stature.”

Efe spoke Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa fluently, though he hailed from Benin, Edo State. He once told an interviewer: “I seem to have a knack for languages. I had the interest to learn the languages as well. There is no language that is not important. I can speak Hausa 40 per cent; Igbo and Yoruba, 100 per cent. Of course, I can speak Benin language 100 per cent.

“I am from Benin. Most people keep saying I am from Benue. Some say I am an Ogbomoso man. Others feel this is ‘Omo Ibadan.’”

Efe performed on stage and Television for over 47 years, 35 of those years were in the movies. 

The thespian that became an instant hit when he was voted the best actor for his role in Lagbodo, Nigeria’s only drama entry at the historic FESTAC 77, died.

A few month after the passing on of another veteran actor Ashley Nwosu, and about a month after another legendary entertainer Christy Essien-Igbokwe. For many years, he distinguished himself as a rare talent for both television and stage drama. In the 70s, he acted the lead character, Picado Suberu in Hotel De Jordan - a live drama series - and later acted Chief Ukata Biribiri, the only Ibo Chief in the play. He also played a lead role in Langbodo during the Festac 77.

He was born in Enugu, but spent his childhood in Abakaliki. A modest attempt at becoming an actor was what triggered his passion for the stage. While at school, he produced William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in which he acted Caesar and also directed it without any formal training.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola described Efe as an extraordinarily gifted thespian whose mastery of his craft on both stage and screen was unrivalled. 

In a condolence letter to the President of AGN President, the governor said. Efe was a cultural model who truly belonged to the class of greats in the world of creative arts, “It is indeed heart rending to think that the very familiar face and very likeable humour merchant whom I had known since my teenage years has taken a final exit from life’s stage”, the letter stated.

Source; The Nation Newspaper

Lagos To Establish Care Centres For Working Mothers

LAGOS, August 02, (WMNG) - It is good news to working mothers in Lagos as the Lagos State Government is set to establish day care centres within the State Secretariat for them. This is  in a bid to promote adequate breastfeeding for the children as part of activities celebrating the breastfeeding week. In this regard, other government agencies are also to be encouraged to establish such centres to promote breast feeding in the state.

The State Deputy Governor, Hon. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire dropped the hint while hosting the Committee on Family Nutrition, who were on a courtesy call to the Deputy Governor as part of activities marking the Year 2011 breastfeeding week.

Hon. Adefulire said the establishment of these centres in additional to such existing facilities, is to match words with action in the advocacy of exclusive breastfeeding for children from birth to six months and also in addition to other meals till the age of two and beyond.

She advised working mothers to ensure that they give their children exclusive breastfeeding during maternity leave and also continue when they get back to work, noting that adequate breastfeeding helps reduce diseases in children, which will also reduce infant mortality.
“While it necessary for women to work to support our husband, we must not shy away from our responsibilities to our children; as mothers, we must give adequate care to our children and one of the most important part is breastfeeding,” she added.

Hon. Adefulire added that corporate organizations and other employers of labour should put in place care centres and breastfeeding rooms in their various organizations to provide the necessary environment for working mothers to attend to their children, while not necessarily abandoning their official duties.

The Deputy Governor also added that Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas in the State will be supported towards putting in place care centres and breastfeeding rooms within the council secretariat for the benefit of the working mothers at the local government level, noting that these among others, such as strengthening of the Primary Health Centres, are steps needed to be taken to ensure that the message on importance of breastfeeding is adhered to by mothers.

Hon. Adefulire while admonishing women to take to breastfeeding their babies said it is not only cost free but also increases the mother-child relationship and also prevent malnutrition in children. “Our women must understand the essence of breastfeeding, especially the young mothers, who often times make excuses for not breastfeeding their babies.  We must take time to educate and enlighten them through all mediums of communication on the importance of breastfeeding,” Adefulire added.

She said as an ‘Ambassador of breastfeeding’ she would support and learned her voice to all programmes and events organized for the propagation of the importance of breastfeeding, with a view to ensuring that all women adopt the policy and adequately breastfeed their children.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr (Mrs.) Yewande Adesina, who led the team, said the Year 2011 breastfeeding week with the theme: “Talk to me: breastfeeding a 3D Experience” said the theme is focusing on the communication of breastfeeding issues and practices at various points of service delivery vis-à-vis primary health care facility points, secondary facilities, private hospitals, markets, motor parks and others.

She said the world Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is a global event that is celebrated by over 120 countries of the world including Nigeria annually.  She said the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) categorized exclusive breastfeeding as the first immunization to babies that protect them from childhood killer diseases.

Mrs. Adeshina added that breastfeeding practices remains a high impact intervention which must be supported, protected and promoted by every responsive government in order to ensure the survival as well as adequate growth and development of the child.

She said the team was on a visit to the Deputy Governor to canvass for her moral and physical support and also to decorate her as ‘An Ambassador for propagating the need for our intending and pregnant corporate women to embrace exclusive breastfeeding.

STUDY:DAUGHTERS OF WORKING MOMS MORE LIKELY TO BEHAVE BETTER

Working moms with guilt may want to give themselves a break. According to a new British study of 12,000 children, young kids with moms who work are no more likely to have behavioral or emotional issues at age 5 than peers with stay-at-home mothers.

Researchers say this was not surprising. “Other studies have found no effect or sometimes even a benefit when looking at maternal employment and child well-being, and much of this is due to the fact that working mothers tend to have higher levels of education, income and other social and economic advantages,” says study authorAnne McMunn, PhD, MPH, Senior Research Fellow & Graduate Tutor in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health at University College London. What was surprising was that young girls who had moms who didn’t work at all outside the home were at an increased risk of behavioral problems. “We don’t know why the relationship is stronger for girls than for boys. We need to investigate this further,” says McMunn.

Social psychologist Susan Newman Ph.D. says employed moms may be giving their daughter an example of what women can do: “Working mothers create a role model for their daughters, someone for them to look up to and aspire to in terms of achieving higher education levels. They portray a model of action and discipline for daughters to emulate,” says Newman. She adds that girls tend to mature faster and that may be why the 5-year-old daughters were already reaping the positive benefits. Finally, in this economy, Newman notes that a second income is helpful for families: “A working mother’s income often helps reduce the family’s financial stress. That in turn, makes for a happier, calmer atmosphere for growing children.”

Of course, like many studies of this nature, we can’t assume a relationship of cause-effect, and researchers aren’t suggesting that stay-at-home moms are doing their children a disservice in any way. But the findings are certainly a reason to feel good about making the best decision you can for your family — financially andemotionally.

If you’re a mom balancing work and family, here are 5 smart suggestions from Newman:

1. Choose reliable, nurturing caregivers who have value and expectations that are similar to yours.

2. Create rituals, like reading a book together or having a young child set the table, that build security and a sense of family.

3. When you are home, be present and attentive, and listen to what your child is telling you.

4. Make your time with them, no matter how short, sacrosanct. Avoid work calls or email during that special time.

5. Make it a practice to say “I love you” several times a day.

From: CBS MoneyWatch.com