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Lifestyle & Travel
19 OCTOBER 2019

Ditiro Mashigo on Creating Products That Speak to Her Essence


She may have lost her job, but Ditiro Mashigo gained a whole new career and a new lease on life.  Rather than let adversity get her down, she launched her own fashion business, which continues to get accolades and celebrates her Sepedi culture.

SOURCES: DESIGN INDABA

Booker Prize: Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo Share Award

In an unexpected breaking of the rules, this year's Booker Prize for literature was awarded jointly to Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo, the latter of whom wrote a ground-breaking book about women and identity. Atwood's The Testaments, the Canadian writer's follow-up to The Handmaid's Tale, was recognised alongside Londoner Evaristo's novel Girl, Woman, Other. The pair will split the literary award's £50,000 prize money equally. The Booker rules say the prize must not be divided, but the judges insisted they "couldn't separate" the two works.

SOURCES: BBC

Lupita Nyong'o Releases Debut Children's Book 'Suwe,' an Ode to Dark-Skinned Kids

Creative powerhouse Lupita Nyong'o can now add author to her list of accomplishments with the publication of her first children's book, which aims to help kids feel comfortable in their own skin.

SOURCES: OKAYAFRICA

African Artists Give Their All at African Fashion Unites Show

It was a fashion and entertainment extravaganza at the African Fashion Unites show, at which top African creatives collaborated to showcase and celebrate some of the continent's top talents. First to get on stage was Nigeria's Femi Kuti who performed during South African designer, Gavin Rajah’s show. From Madagascar, Eric Raisina went hard on fine beads embellishments, patterns, and flower prints. 

SOURCES: IOL

A Love Letter to Nairobi

Prominent author Zukiswa Wanner, born to a South African father and a Zimbabwean mother in Zambia, has a complicated relationship with Nairobi, the Kenyan capital and her adopted city of seven years. The award-winning author of nine books, with themes revolving around gender, sex, race and nationality, is also the moderator of regular talks with African artists in a series sponsored by Goethe-Institut Nairobi, a nonprofit cultural association. Ms. Wanner says Nairobi is a magnet for a reason. “What I love about Nairobi is how accessible it is to the rest of the continent and the world. I often feel like I’m staying in the center of the world. Its people, across the economic brackets, also have beautiful appreciation of art that warms the heart.”

SOURCES: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Gambia's New Adventure Cruise

Peregrine Adventures takes two dozen passengers at a time up The Gambia, to explore the nation’s markets, wildlife, and villages. Mooring at the village of Kuntaur is ust one of the highlights. At the farthest point upriver guests board a smaller craft that sails onward as the waterway narrows, passing a horde of wading hippos and a colony of wild chimpanzees reintroduced to the region during a conservation project in the 1970s.

SOURCES: CN TRAVELER

Spend the Summer in the Seychelles

Home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, stunning coral reefs, unique fauna and balmy weather, Seychelles is the perfect destination to put your feet up and relax mind, body and soul. Good rum is synonymous with island life. Located on the main island of Mahé, the distillery offers guided tours of the distillery and its beautiful grounds.

SOURCES: IOL

Here are Interesting Ways African Countries Got their Names

In 1984, the name ‘Burkina Faso’, meaning “land of incorruptible people” was adopted by the president at that time, Thomas Sankara. Prior to the name Ethiopia, the country was named Abyssinia. Ethiopia derived its name from the Greek form, aithiopia which means “burnt-face” as a noun and “red-brown” as an adjective. Liberia is the oldest republic on the continent and became an independent country in 1847. The country was established by freed African-American slaves and was named for liberty. Mozambique was named after an Arab Sheikh, Mussa Bin Bique, who ruled the land when the Portuguese arrived.

SOURCES: TRAVEL NOIRE

Top 10 Budget-Friendly Tourist Spots in Africa

Looking for the best budget-friendly tourist spots in Africa? Tourism is one very lucrative business in the whole of Africa, only if it could be given more attention. Generally, people love to unwind and relax after several months, weeks or day of hard work. Means of relaxation should not be too expensive or hard to come by. There are many beautiful and inexpensive locations to be explored in Africa, whether North, South, East or West.

SOURCES: AFRICA.COM

The Delights of Visiting Senegal

Simb is an interpretation of a legend involving a lone hunter who once faced a lion and left with part of its soul. During the rainy season, regular men become possessed by the spirits of lions, transforming into “false lions.” They cover their faces with thick, terrifying face paint and wear manes made of dried reeds and goat fur. They lose their words, resorting to grunts, growls and roars. They chase crowds of screaming children through the neighborhood after dark. They dance — leaping into the air, spinning in circles, throwing high kicks and windmilling their arms with feverish abandon, undaunted by the September humidity that makes the air feel as heavy as a lead blanket and wet as a bath. If they catch you, it’s because they’re hungry and you’re too slow. And money is the only thing that satiates them.

SOURCES: THE NEW YORK TIMES

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