Ewuraba - Professional African Women with Class and Style

Africa’s first democratically elected female president, a Liberian campaigner against rape and a woman who stood up to Yemen’s autocratic regime won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of the importance of women’s rights in the spread of global peace.

The 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award was split three ways between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, women’s rights activist Leymah Gbowee from the same African country and democracy activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen - the first Arab woman to win the prize.

Liberia was ravaged by civil wars for years until 2003. The drawn-out conflict that began in 1989 left about 200,000 people dead and displaced half the country’s population of 3 million. The country - created to settle freed American slaves in 1847 - is still struggling to maintain a fragile peace with the help of U.N. peacekeepers.

Sirleaf, 72, has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University and has held top regional jobs at the World Bank, the United Nations and within the Liberian government. In elections in 1997, she ran second to warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor, who many claimed was voted into power by a fearful electorate. Though she lost by a landslide, she rose to national prominence and earned the nickname, "Iron Lady." She went on to become Africa’s first democratically elected female leader in 2005. Sirleaf was seen as a reformer and peacemaker in Liberia when she took office.

Buttons from her presidential campaign say it all: "Ellen - She’s Our Man." The committee cited Sirleaf’s efforts to secure peace in her country, promote economic and social development and strengthen the position of women. Jagland said the committee didn’t consider the upcoming election in Liberia when it made its decision.

Professor Wangari Muta Maathai, Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement, passed away on September 26, 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya after a courageous struggle with cancer. All of us in The Hunger Project family deeply mourn her loss. She received the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger in 1991, and had been a great friend to The Hunger Project.

Professor Maathai won the Africa Prize award in 1991 for founding the Green Belt Movement, one of the world's most successful programs to combine community development with environmental protection. Since 1977, the Green Belt Movement has mobilized hundreds of thousands of women and men to plant more than 47 million trees, restoring degraded environments and improving the quality of life for people in poverty. Throughout her career, she was a visionary leader and a brave advocate for sustainability, equity and justice. In 2004, Professor Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work for sustainable development, democracy, and peace — the first African woman and the first environmentalist to receive this honor.

Read a full synopsis of her life and work, provided by her organization. Read More... http://goo.gl/Tjt0M

Professor Maathai touched so many lives and her passing is a great loss for all of humanity. She is survived by her three children—Waweru, Wanjira, and Muta, and her granddaughter, Ruth Wangari.

source: The Hunger Project - http://www.thp.org

Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Citrine, Amethyst, Tourmaline, Peridot, Topaz, Iolite and Diamonds are the stones of choice for African born, Los Angeles based jewelery designer Monalisa Okojie, founder and CEO of Nehita, an exquisite jewelry collection for that person who loves elegance with a touch of attitude. See Website: http://nehita.com/

A practicing attorney in her native home of Nigeria, Monalisa gave up a promising career in law to pursue her passion of being a world-renowned jeweler. Having graduated in 2008, from the prestigious Gemological Institute of America, Monalisa wasted no time, launching her collection, Nehita.

Drawing inspiration from her African heritage, Monalisa creates a luxurious collection that accurately pays attention to detail that delivers a natural splendor, using only the finest of handpicked exotic stones, gold's and conflict free diamonds. Blessed with the extraordinary ability to make designer masterpieces out of diamonds, exotic stones and golds is a signature style of Monalisa.

Since Nehita's debut collection in 2008, it has been seen on top celebrities such as, Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, Alan Cumming, Melora Hardin, Michael Henderson, Sally Pressman, CCH Pounder, Lu Parker, Katherine Joosten, Meagan Good, Heidi Montag, Brandy, Hosea Chanchez, Carrie Ann Inaba, Quinton Aaron, Danielle Staub, Malina Moye, Jackie Long, Lisa Raye, Christelle, Omarosa, Ricky Bell and many others.  See website: http://nehita.com/

start stop back fwd

Nehita has received rave reviews and is projected to be one of the most promising and creative collections. It has been seen in fashion shows, on television, and magazines in Los Angeles, New York, Europe, Dubai and Africa. As civic minded, as she is stylish, Monalisa donates a generous portion of Nehita's profits to charities such as the International Center of Education and Youth Development.

Nehita jewelry collection mirrors the famous quote of Coco Chanel, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." Nehita jewelry celebrates success, no matter how big or small.

Website: http://nehita.com/