It's a New Season...It's a New Day

New Year’s Eve. It’s got to be one of my favorite “holidays” ever! No lie. And it’s not because it happens to be one of the greatest party nights of the year. I actually can’t even remember the last time I went to a New Year’s Eve party. My family and home-church have always had things planned for the coming of the new year. No, I like New Year’s Eve because it marks the end. And next to every end is a new beginning.

New Year’s Eve comes with a sense of accomplishment. We made it! We made it through another year of highs and the lows, successes and the failures, promotions and rejections. We made it through another year of new found love and broken hearts, new friendships and unforeseen betrayals. And we made it through another year of heightened dreams and minor, yet still annoying little drawbacks. I like New Year’s Eve because it’s one day out of the whole year that we’re kind of prompted to think about all that’s happened to us in the past 364 days of our lives. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got A LOT to thank God for. I’ve also got a lot of things I want to improve, however...in me, around me, and through me. And that’s what New Year’s Eve is all about...at least to me.

2008 holds a promise. I’ve been researching orphanages in Nigeria, trying to find one that not only tugs at my heart (because they all have great need), but one that we can work with, one that will be able to make use of what we have to offer. You know how it is. It’s got to work both ways. I hope to finalize this decision very soon. Then it will be months of planning, preparation, and fundraising for my trip to and work in Nigeria! There are lots of ideas in works right now, but I can’t spill all the secrets, it’ll spoil all the fun! So just stay tuned… Like I said before, 2008 holds a promise…and it must be fulfilled… in all of our lives and livelihoods.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, they are MUCH appreciated! And your comments (below) are very welcome. :)

Happy New Year Everyone!! May you find peace, love, and happiness in the upcoming year.

With Love,
Peace Amadi
Miss Nigeria in America 2007

It's Only Just Begun...

Hello Beautiful People!!

Finally, I get some downtime to formally greet you all as the new Miss Nigeria in America. I'm so thankful to my family and friends for their endless amount of support and soooo looking forward to what this year holds. I just pray I can live up to all of what MNIA represents and hope that a year from now, I will look back with no regrets.

My goodness, where do I start? It's been such a whirlwind! And here I thought getting ready for the pageant was hard work... The work has just begun. We're busy getting ready to launch my platform which involves reaching out to abused, abandoned, and orphaned kids in Nigeria. It's a project I'm calling "Project Whole" that aims to meet these children's emotional, psychological, and creative needs in very practical ways. Charity begins at home... Though I've spent much of my life working with kids here in America, I will not be satisfied until I have reached my younger brothers and sisters at Home. Our Home. You will most definitely here alot more about this project in weeks to come. You will also hear more about how you can help!

So since the pageant, two of the most meaningful things I've been part of have been the events taken place on Thanksgiving and World AIDS Day:

MNIA Thanksgiving Dinner - November 22nd, 2007

MNIA Inc. and a group of amazing, selfless people set out to LA's PATH Homeless Shelter to cook and serve a hard-working crew of people who happen to be homeless. Thanksgiving has never meant more to me as I shared it with people who were, in the midst of their circumstances, genuinely grateful for things we so often take for granted. Sometimes we learn the most from the people who have the least...




World AIDS Day - December 1st, 2007

On this weekend, we set out for Houston, TX to attend Tosa Collection's "Runway to the Cure." While some of Naija's finest fashion designers treated our eyes to a variety of beautiful, innovative designs, all proceeds from the event were reserved for Keep a Child Alive, an organization that provides AIDS medication to those infected with HIV/AIDS and builds orphanages to sustain children who have lost their parents to AIDS. (Visit Keepachildalive.org for more information.)

The fact that I was invited to speak a little bit about the effect of AIDS in Africa motivated me to really sit down and think about the impact of this disease on our world. The statistics are alarming - among them are the fact that over 32 million people are living with HIV today (68% of cases in sub-saharan Africa alone), over 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS, and over 6800 people are infected with HIV e v e r y d a y !!! If these numbers don't pull the strings of your heart, I don't know what will. We must continue to remember the millions of people that have suffered because of AIDS. We must continue to recognize our responsibility to raise awareness and campaign for greater action. We must continue to care...



So that's a little bit of what's been going on with me. Much has happened, but I know much, much more is yet to come. I have a sneaky suspicion that as I set out to affect change this year, I might be the one to change the most... Stay tuned...

With love,
Peace
Miss Nigeria in America 2007

We have settled finally...

Oh my God.. It has been almost 3 weeks after the pageant... and I have to say, I am very impressed with the work of MNIA, Inc. Kudos to the whole team.. In anycase, we are working really hard to get everything updated.

Peace Amadi emerged the winner and has started her reign as Miss Nigeria in America 2007. She will work on implementing her platform which is 'Reaching out to the Abandoned, Abused and Orphaned Children of Nigeria.' She will also work on MNIA Programs. Congratulations to Peace Amadi... Check out www.mnia2007.com and www.missnigeriainamerica.org for more updates.

2007 MNIA Toy Drive - Benefiting the kids at Texas Children's Hospital - Houston

On Saturday October 13, 2007 MNIA, Inc. will host the 3rd annual Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant in Houston Texas. This year, the charity organization we chose is Texas Children's Hospital and we are embarking on a Toy Drive to benefit the kids at Texas Children's Hospital.

The goal :- To raise 100 - 250 toys

If you live in the Houston Area, and you want to donate toys for this worthy cause, you can drop off your toys at

Finger Licking Restaurant
9817 N. Bissonnet Street, Houston, TX 77036
(713) 270 - 7070

Shanae's Place
9780 Bissonnet St # A Houston, TX 77036
(713) 995-5200

If you cannot get to those places, then you can donate $5.00 and we will purchase all toys on Wednesday, October 10, 2007.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

The toys will be donated by the 2007 Delegates for the Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant on Friday, October 12, 2007.

Texas Children's Hospital is an internationally recognized full-care pediatric hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. One of the largest pediatric hospitals in the United States, Texas Children's Hospital is dedicated to providing the finest possible pediatric patient care, education and research.




MNIA Mission for Toy Drive

Our mission is to create a positive image for the Nigerian community, build a strong relationship within the Houston community and to promote the 2007 Delegates of the Miss Nigeria in America. We will also like to place a positive stamp in the hearts of the Houston community about MNIA, Inc. This will become a facilitator for us as we begin to build a positive brand in the Nigerian non profit industry. The chosen hospital for this year is the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.



For more information about the toy drive, please click MNIA 2007 TOY DRIVE

40 Days to go.. Updates, Updates, Updates

So we have 40 days to go.. 40 is a beautiful number.. A lot say "Life begins at 40"

"Forty days and forty nights" was the period Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness, after which he was tempted by Satan.
Forty days was the period from Jesus' resurrection till his ascension into heaven.

In fact 40 is a blessing from God.. and the Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant is just 40 Days away..

So here we go.. Read the following and support!

Tickets

Tickets are on sale so CLICK HERE to purchase either regular or VIP Tickets and also Tickets for the Delegates Ball.

Voting Poll for favorite delegate

We have 16 beautiful delegates that will vie for the title - "Miss Nigeria in America 2007" Please go and vote for your favorite delegate and support them on October 13, 2007.

VOTE HERE FOR YOUR FAVORITE DELEGATE

Assignments

Go in and read the delegates assignments which deal with topics like Nigerian States, Self Esteem, Program Implementation. Read these great essays by the delegates and challenge yourselves by doing some of the assignments...

Journals

If you have never volunteered in your life before, we suggest you start giving back a portion of you time to give to the less fortunate. You can check out and find a volunteer organization in your area and give back. But while you are searching for what volunteer organization to join, read the incredible journals of the 2007 delegates and see how they are making a difference in society.

Again 40 days to go so please go and purchase your tickets and come and witness history as we crown the 3rd Miss Nigeria in America.

For more information about the pageant and to purchase tickets, please log on to

See you in Houston!!!!

The Buzz is on for the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America

We have launched the new website and the buzz for the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America is ON.. We are very grateful to God for the strength and the wonderful team that we have. The new and improved marketing team - Kenneth Emeson [California], Michelle Ogunbode [Maryland], ChiChi Dike [California], and Onyinye Nwankwo [Houston, Texas] have done a marvellous job and they continue to push this great event. This year is bigger and better..

We have loaded all the pictures of the delegates on facebook and the new website. Please check them out and vote for your favorite delegate. Right now, we are putting finishing touches to the script for the show and we promise to bring you the best Nigerian entertainment show.

Please log on to for more information about the show, tickets and logistics for the main event. Please tell you friends, family and all those whom you know will support this great movement.

Here are some of the promotional materials that we have for the pageant



Keep checking back for more information as we continue to update you on the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant.

Official Fashion Designer....

MNIA,Inc. is proud to present to you D'ure Designs -The Official Fashion Designer for the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant.

She is our guest blogger today and her designs would debut at the Fall of Signature Essence Fashion Show in Houston, Texas on August 18, 2007.
D'ure Designs will also be featured on October 12, 2007 at the Fashion Show that will be held in honor of the Miss Nigeria in America delegates. She will design the outfits the delegates will model that night at the event.





These are some of her designs. If you want to see more, check her out on August 18, 2007 or October 12, 2007 at the Delegates Gala for the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant. For more information, you can email her at chiomanwogu80@yahoo.com
Blog by D'ure Design
"Design with ELEGANCE in Mind; Design with COMFORT in Mind; Design with YOU in Mind

Hello Ladies… My name is Chioma Adure Nwogu, The Creative Director of D’ure Designs. I am extremely excited to be working with the MNIA 2007 Team this year to create wonderful designs for the organization and for the delegates.

D’ure Designs celebrates the true and unique beauty of the woman. The pride that follows us everywhere we go. The beauty of being a woman of virtue no matter the size, shape or height. That is the beauty I love and I’m so proud to reveal through my designs. D’URE was taken out of my middle name "ADA+URE = ADURE", for those that remember how it is thought in Igbo classes. My grand father proudly gave me that name the very first time he saw me. A very close friend and sister helped me derive the name D’URE from ADURE; she knows herself and I say thank you for everything.
Everyone can be an ADURE if you look within yourself and find the Beauty that GOD has placed in you which makes you a D’ure Lady.

Elegance is key to being a D’ure Lady because my designs takes the natural elegance that you exude and brings it to life with the clothing.

Comfort is another key to being a D’ure Lady because it is very important that you are comfortable in the body that GOD gave you. Why not be elegantly comfortable with D’ure Designs

'You' is the last key to being a D’ure Lady because if you don’t see the beauty that GOD has placed in you no one will. Let your Elegance, your Comfort and You (beauty) follow you wherever you go. Proudly be a D’ure Lady!!!

My mission statement is:
-To design elegant outfits for Nigerian young adult female population in United States; Utilizing Nigerian and American Influences in order to bring out the best of both worlds.

Updates......

It’s been a while we posted here. You can tell we have been so busy trying to get everything perfect for October 13, 2007. We had the delegates send their portraits and they are beautiful and very talented. We have collected almost all the talent sheets and it’s amazing what these girls are going to perform at the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant.

The delegates will start their volunteer work this week and it’s supposed to last 6 weeks. It is our goal to teach others how to be empathetic, to give back and spare some time in thier busy schedule to help those in need. The volunteer organizations that our delegates have chosen this year include the following:

1. British Heart Foundation – London, England
2. Ithaca Free Clinic – Ithaca, New York
3. Liberty International Ministries (Youth Department) – Ontario, California
4. Chicago Children's Museum – Chicago, Illinois
5. Developmental Learning Center – Nashville, Tennessee
6. Legal Aid of North Carolina - Greensboro, North Carolina
7. The Shepherd's Clinic, Inc., - Baltimore, Maryland
8. Franklin Plaza Nursing Home – Cleveland, Ohio
9. Knight of St. Columbus-Council 2505 – Lakeland, Florida
10. Cayuga Medical Center – Ithaca, New York
11. E&K Therapeutic & Learning Center (E&K TLC) – Silver Spring, Maryland
12. Sunrise Senior Living: Sunrise of Silver Spring – Silver Spring, Maryland
13. Chinese Community Center of Houston – Houston, Texas
14. Child Time Learning Centers – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
15. Second Mile Mission Center – Houston, Texas
16. Adventist Youth Society (AYS) – Houston, Texas
17. Dallas Weekly – Dallas, Texas
18. Brigid's Hope – Houston, Texas
19. The Restored Christian Ministries – Dallas, Texas
20. Ronald McDonald House of Houston, Inc. – Houston, Texas
21. Houston Food Bank – Houston, Texas
22. Youth Outreach Youth Organization – Houston, Texas
23. Adventist Health International - Umuahia, Abia State- Nigeria

We commend all delegates and wish them God’s blessings as they give of themselves to those in need. Please log on to the Miss Nigeria in America Event Website to follow them weekly as they provide you with a day-to-day synopsis of their activities.

For more information on the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant, please continue to check back for more updates as we get closer to the show.

Love,

MNIA 2007 Team

My Goodness...

Wow, trust Nigerians to wait to the last minute to do everything. We set out to do this year's pageant with [15] very qualified candidates. The official deadline for applications was July 1st, making it approximately a 2-month long window for anyone interested in applying. A week before the deadline, we had received 34 applications, however 20 more came in that last week. Exciting, but terribly overwhelming at the same time.

All applications go through a series of screenings. Everything about the application is scrutinized to see how the applicants followed the simple instructions. Normally, we tend to overlook little mishaps here and there, but with the amount of applications we got this year, there was no room for error. It literally came down to the simple minute details.

Of the 54 applications we received, 38 applicants made it to the interview phase, 18 of whom applied in the last week. The 38 applications were sent of to our selection committee [individuals across the US, from different works of lives]. Each member of the committee got an electronic folder of each candidate. In the folder, we included their original applications, the pictures the candidates submitted, and notes from their phone interviews. Each member of the committee had instructions on what the organization is looking for in candidates. They had the difficult job of ranking the candidates based on a number of points. When all committee members had finished their ranking, we now had to compare all the rankings and come up with our final selections. Remember we had intended to have 15 delegates, but the candidates this year are so on point, we ended up with...........24 Delegates!

It wasn't easy...but we have them. They know who they are and you'll find out very soon. We would like to thank everyone that helped us get the word out there and every one that applied. Now that we have our lovely ladies, we're switching our focus to preparing for the show. Houston...y'all need to start preparing for us too...SERIOUSLY!

CONGRATULATONS to the 2007 Miss Nigeria In America Beauty Pageant Delegates, you earned your spot, let the competition begin.

113 Days left..

Well it’s been really busy this whole week and we can’t believe we are at the end of it already. Time goes by so fast. Can you believe the pageant is exactly 113 days away? It seems like there is still a lot to be done to make this production unique and spectacular [like we PROMISED]. This week, we mailed out some packages to potential corporate sponsors. The applications are still pouring in and there are more interviews to be scheduled. Its getting really exciting because the girls are just getting better and better.

We also secured the beautiful Houston Grande Plaza Hotel as the official hotel for the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant. We have a discount rate of $85.00 a night and you have to book by October 1, 2007. Please call 713/748-3221 and reference the Miss Nigeria in America Pageant.

This year, we're making a bigger program book and we are accepting requests for ads in the booklet
For those that want to place ads in the program book please email Event Manager-PR Officer - Michelle Ogunbode [michelle@missnigeriainamerica.org]

MNIA, Inc. is dedicating this event to God and we are putting everything in his hands because he is the MAIN DIRECTOR of this program. So put us in your prayers too and come out and support.

Gotta go back to work.. Later

The Introduction

Hey folks, we're new to this blogging thing so bare with us. Yeah "us", this blog is a creation of MNIA, Inc. a non-profit organization who's mission is to empower and educate Nigerian women, with a concentration at those in the United States. There are different people involved with the organization who have access to post here, thus the "US." Ok, so why the blog? Simple, in the course of finding a way to promote our events, especially the upcoming Miss Nigeria In America Beauty Pageant, scheduled for October 13th, 2007 in Houston, we came across a lot of blogs, and it was a no brainer that perhaps this will give us yet another platform to spread the word about our organization, programs and events.

Not only that, we figured it would be fun to share some of the "insider" information, of course nothing that will influence the outcome of the pageant. Right now, things are really heating up as the application deadline is fast approaching and the applications are pouring in...trust naijas to wait to the last minute. Well, they still have about two weeks though. July 1st is the absolute deadline. With the amount of applicantions that came in already , we wish we can just close it now because we have so many well qualified candidates but very limited number of space for delegates.

Anyway, we'll try our best to keep this updated as much as we can. At this time, 17 out of 50 candidates have made it through to the interview stage with just a few more scheduled. After the interviews, the board of directors will review the applications and carefully deliberate before eventually making the final selections. Right now, provisions have been made for 15 delegates but with the quality of young ladies still applying we might be forced to increase that number. If you're interested in learning more about the organization, please log on to MNIA, Inc. Online and if you want to apply, check out MNIA 2007 Beauty Pageant. The final candidates will be announced the first week of July at which time, the [later] website will be updated to reflect more about this year's show.

The theme for this year's pageant is "Celebrating the Beauty and Excellence of the Nigerian woman." The candidates this year, like in previous years, will embody all that and some.

Ok, time to get back to work...but check back for updates. We'll share the production process as best we can and we hope to see you there.

To get in touch with the organization, please write to:
MNIA, Inc. or Cladiya Entertainment LLC @ 9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 or email info@missnigeriainamerica.org. You can also call 310.926.2316 or 213.593.9704.