Keep Breathing - By Martha Nwosu -Miss Ekiti 2007

This month, we introduce Martha Nwosu - Miss Ekiti 2007 who emerged the 1st Runner up in the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant. Martha writes inspirational poetry and her work will be featured continuosly on the blog. Read Martha's biography in her own words and enjoy her first poem - Keep Breathing

Born on May 15, 1987, second of twin girls having arrived six minutes later, I still share an equal leadership role as the oldest child in my family of six children. I currently attend St. John’s University in New York, New York where I am majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. In addition to studying the mind and society, I am an ardent lover of music from all diverse walks of life, a leader in many others, and a staunch advocate for children with special needs. I am a people’s person, skillful and multi- talented. I am also gifted with a strong call to acceptance and loyalty along with a sense of renewal of reaching out to others for peaceful co-existence and restoring or furthering unification. I am currently part of four multi-cultural organizations at my university, two of which I hold executive positions.
As a member of Pan- African Caribbean Students Association (PACSA), I am the executive secretary and I maintain membership in the Latin American Students Organization (L.A.S.O.). I hosted a fashion show called, “Fashions Around the World” in November 2006. Although I held the title of event coordinator, my strength was expanded with my fellow leaders on the executive board as we worked side by side. I was blessed to perform at numerous campus events with the Magnificat Gospel Choir of the Staten Island Campus of St. Johns University, which included the Opening year Mass, The Women’s History Month Dedication mass, and I was chosen to perform the National Anthem at the 2007 Commencement Ceremony at St. John’s University Staten Island Campus. In addition to my vocal talents, I also tutored young children at a halfway house under an organization called Project Hospitality on Thursdays from October to December 2006.
As an advocate for children with special needs, I dedicate my mind to thoughts on how to make the world a better place, starting with my country Nigeria. Now as I see it, there is a curiosity and a level of interest on the part of a lot of people who are my age to make a difference in our country, Nigeria. I stand strong and tall today with a positive disposition toward the cause of children with special needs. The blessing of a tight-knit family has provided me with a strong support network enabling me to focus on advocating for their rights-equality of opportunity for children with and without disabilities with strong emphasis on advancing the cause of children with special needs. My dedication and perseverance are my major motivators for goals I aspire to reach personally and socially.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us”. Of course, in order for the quote to fully manifest itself within my life, I would need to find myself. I know who I am; a voice for the voiceless. For me this would become the most rewarding task I would ever encounter. In the early stages my life, I chose to take the back seat while my twin sister took the spotlight. As years went on, I began to evolve with my own identity, which would later establish an equally balanced bond between my sister and me. Now I am a young lady growing into a beautiful woman, I am allowing my identity and achievements as a twin to expand and evolve into a foundation for my strength, grace, and beauty.

Keep Breathing by Martha Nwosu - Miss Ekiti 2007

Inhale, exhale
Take in, let out
A breath of fresh air that has been trapped in your lungs for the longest time
Passage ways freely flowing with pain and guilt and aguish all at once
Still balanced by freedom and happiness and pride of knowing
That YOU did it
You spoke up for yourself
You stood strong for who you are
Because you love
Love a lot
Love to little
Love a bit more
Love just enough
To say NO
Not this time
Not again
Not back here where we always are and end up being
I want more
I want a life of no repetition
A life free of sameness and indifference
A life with you who I know and appreciate
A life with us
A life with love and patience and kindness and truth
All wrapped in with the calmness in Knowing we did it
We grew past our problems and issues
Nothing can break us now
Because we tried something different and we love it
I love it
I love me for finding that strength in myself to be aware of what i need to do
I had to do it
I needed to do it
I must do it
Because in doing it
I am breathing
I can breathe
I keep breathing and in that I am Living
I am speaking
I am growing
I am Me
I am WHAT I am
Who I am
So for all these reasons, I keep breathing
Inhale & Exhale

By Martha Nwosu - Miss Ekiti 2007

MNIA Feed the Homeless Part II

MNIA Feed the Homeless- Part II is the 2nd phase of our new initiative that supports and extends hope and love to homeless shelters accross the United States of America. We plan on making this one of our new programs as this supports our new mission and objective of "Service and Commitment to our community."

Thus we, 'MNIA, Inc.' will align ourselves with People Assisting the Homeless [PATH] in Los Angeles, CA to help bring hope and spread love to the residents at these homes. On November 22, 2007 [Thanksgiving Day], MNIA, Inc., Peace Amadi - 2007 Miss Nigeria in America as well as friends and supporters of MNIA raised funds, cooked dinner and served the residents of PATH Westside Center. This was the most humbling experience for all of us.

See Pictures

MNIA will raise funds again to support this cause and will cook a special Easter Dinner on Saturday, March 22, 2008 at the PATH Regional Homeless Shelter at 340 N. Madison Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90004. We are also raising funds to donate to thier wish list of the following:
1. Wet and Dry Shop Vacuum
2. Electric Coffee Bean Grinder
3. Silver Ware
4. Dinner Plates
5. Cutting Boards
6. Toys for the kids
7. Serving Aprons to mention a few

We will need your support to raise money to purchase these items as well as food supplies to cook and bring love to the residents.
Miss Nigeria in America 2007 - Peace Amadi will be there also to speak to the residents to lift thier spirits and to spread love. To help raise the necessary funds for this cause, CLICK HERE We are asking for a $5.00 donation from everyone and we hope to get the much needed funds to help PATH attain thier goals and objectives. For more information about PATH please log on to www.epath.org
Thank you for all your love and support
ChiChi Dike
Executive Director
MNIA, Inc.

Strength and Loyalty

Greetings all,

Its a New Year and as you have read in our past writings, "A New Beginning," MNIA, Inc. has so many great things to offer this year. We are set to hire Program Managers to help execute our vision to make MNIA, Inc. very strong. In the coming weeks, we will feature some of the inspirational writings of the 2007 Delegates. We will also let you into the Project Plan for 2008, and the great events MNIA plans to have this year.

I will return to writing in Director's Desk as I have received so many of your emails asking for more. I am also working on setting up an awareness campaign that encourages people who dropped out of College for any reason to find the strength to go back in and complete their education. My tag line is "There is still a chance.. Finish up! Education is Strength! If you are reading this and you dropped out of college for any reason, please find the strength to go back in and finish.. If you have a friend or know anyone who dropped out and is battling the decision to go back to school, say a prayer for him/her and encourage them to finish. Look out for more information on this awareness campaign.

God Bless

ChiChi Dike
Founder/Executive Director
MNIA, Inc.
"Service and Commitment to our Community"

Happy New Year and many more from MNIA, Inc.

Happy New Year! We are so blessed to be going into this year with all of God's blessings on our organization. We promise to bring you so much more this year! MNIA, Inc. will partner with Africare to support the WISE PROJECT. ChiChi Dike - Executive Director of MNIA, Inc. will spearhead this initiative in Abuja, Nigeria to bring hope, love and support to the project.

2008 marks the 4th year of MNIA, Inc. and the Miss Nigeria in America Pageant. We hope to strengthen the goals and mission of the organization.

We started with Ms. Leslie Oluchi Ibeanusi who was the inaugural Miss Nigeria in America. She set very high standards for her successors and she continues to lend her support to her community. Leslie is currently studying medicine at St. Matthew's University in Cayman Islands. Ms. Alimatu Garuba succeeded Leslie in 2006 and is also studying medicine at the American University in Antigua. Ms. Peace Amadi, the reigning queen, is currently pursuing her doctorate in the field of psychology (Psy.D) at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California.


We also hope to guide the 2007 Miss Nigeria in America in achieving her goal and platform that she will embark on during her reign. We intend to equip her and all the future queens on the strong mission and vision of MNIA which is "sacrifice and commitment to our community."

Thank you all again for your support over the years and we look forward to a new year!

ChiChi Dike
Founder/Executive Director
MNIA, Inc.

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.