5 Relationship Resolutions That You Shouldn’t Skip Out On For 2017

 

 HELLO, 2017. The brannd New Year is here and the perfect time to wipe that slate clean and fix everything that went wrong with life last year. If you weren’t too happy with the way your relationship shaped up in 2016, now is the perfect time to examine things and fix matters. Whatever your resolution list is, be sure that you include these five practices to ensure that you have happier and healthier relationships in 2017.
1. Dinner Dates

You might find them overrated or even a chore at times (all that dressing up can be a pain). However, date nights are the perfect way to put in some effort into an otherwise monotonous relationship and spice up the game. Plan some great dates, dress up, send him surprise gifts and simply have fun.
2. Flirt More

With each other of course. You know that amazing “butterflies in your stomach” warm feeling you would get each time your eyes met across the room? Recreate that kind of magic again. Tease him in front of his friends, grab his hand when he is least expecting it, hug him in the middle of a conversation … just make things magical again.
3. Make Space

Figuratively and literally, make space for each other. Put him high up there on your priority list (don’t forget to call him because you were in meetings all day long), give him his space at home (let him sit on the sofa and binge watch Netflix if he wants) and watch the difference. Once you start treating each other as priorities, and not as people who can be pushed around because they’ll understand, you’ll automatically see a shift in your relationship.
4. Don’t Demand Perfection

Because then you are setting him and yourself up for failure. No one is perfect and you both are bound to mess up every once in a while. So forgive yourself and him and learn to let go.
5. Stop Comparing

There are always going to be a million people who seem to be having a better relationships than you. Their Facebook profiles are more fun, their status updates seems like they are having a ball … but are they really? Stop comparing your relationship and just have fun with what you have.

6 Tips on how to get a woman’s attention

If you are the type of guy to go out to bars, clubs and other venues in search of a date, it is important to know how to attract a woman’s attention. However, you probably aren’t the only man who is going to be there with hopes of finding a date.

Therefore, strive to make yourself stand out from the other men. Help the women feel like they should choose you over everyone else. All you need to do is make some small changes to gain women’s attention.

1. Dress to impress the girls: Wear a nice shirt and pants rather than a worn T-shirt and jeans. Make sure your hair is neat and you are freshly shaved. If you wear a beard or mustache, trim it neatly. Women like a man who takes care of himself and makes an effort to look nice.

2. Give off an air of confidence: Keep your posture straight; back straight, shoulders back, chest out, stomach in. Walk with a purpose. Avoid slouching and looking down. Keep your eyes moving around the room.

3. Make eye contact with any woman in whom you are interested: If you avoid her gaze, she will not know you are interested and will move on to someone else. If you make eye contact, smile. Do not approach her at first. If she thinks you aren’t immediately available, it can further peak her interest.

4. Position yourself so you are within her line of sight:  If you hide yourself in the corner, you are not in a position to be noticed by many women. A few of them may notice you, but they will only wonder why you are in the corner rather than being attracted to you. Put yourself out among the crowd.

5. Start a conversation if there is a woman with whom you want to be better acquainted: Speak in a respectful manner. Avoid using slang terms. Practice these conversations ahead of time so you already have an idea of what you will say; however, avoid sounding rehearsed when you actually speak to her.

6. Ask her about herself, and avoid bragging about yourself, even if she asks: While it is important to answer her questions honestly and directly, avoid talking about yourself too much. Keep the focus on her and pay attention. Show her you have been listening by slipping in tidbits she told you into your conversation.

Source: Wikihow.com

Underage pregnancies are bad anywhere, any time

IT is indisputable that Africa has the world’s highest rates of adolescent pregnancy, a factor that affects the health, education, and earning potential of millions of African girls, according to a report released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Although Tanzania’s record is not shockingly high at the continental level it is a headache on the home front. Niger tops the list with 51 percent of women between 20 and 24 reporting a birth before the age of 18.

And of 20 countries with the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy, 18 are African, the report, “Motherhood in Childhood: Facing the challenge of adolescent pregnancy”, says. When a girl becomes pregnant or has a child, her health, education, earning potential and her entire future may be in jeopardy, trapping her in a lifetime of poverty, exclusion and powerlessness, the report says. “Adolescent pregnancy is intertwined with issues of human rights.

A pregnant girl who is pressured or forced to leave school, for example, is denied her right to education,” according to a UNFPA report. There are 580 million adolescent girls in the world. Four out of five of them live in developing countries including Tanzania.

Investing in them today will unleash their full potential to shape humanity’s future. The distorted transitioning of girls into womanhood as a result of early pregnancy ought to be seen as a significant economic loss.

As mentioned before, underage pregnancies are a headache especially in regions of Dodoma, Mara, Manyara, Kilimanjaro and Mbeya. Indeed, Tanzania must pursue policies that bridge the gender disparity between boys and girls in access to health care, education and other basic social services.
Leaders must also accelerate efforts towards universal primary education that gives particular focus to girls. Current statistics on underage pregnancies are hard to come by in Tanzania but the country has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the world.

In fact, thousands of girls in Tanzania have their educational pursuits cut short every year as a result of pregnancy. This diabolical situation, which is indeed, a communal and national headache, affects girls’ health, education, future employment and prevents victims from reaching their full potential in life.

Every year more than 8,000 girls drop out of school due to untimely pregnancies. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child says in Article 21 that: “States shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate harmful social and cultural practices affecting the welfare, dignity, normal growth and development of the child.”

The Charter also says that: “Child marriage shall be prohibited and effective action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify the minimum age of marriage to be 18 years and make registration of all marriages in an official registry compulsory.” Tanzania is a signatory to the charter.
In another development, a report by the Legal and human Rights Centre (LHRC) in 2010 said that teenage pregnancies are a major hindrance to the ability of girls to access adequate education.

According to the “Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania” for 2012, a total of 610 primary school girls dropped out of school due to pregnancy. In 2011, a total of 5,157 secondary school girls dropped out due to pregnancies. Underage marriage is another critical problem.

Thousands of underage brides are often married off to men in some parts of rural Tanzania. In some cases, the husbands turn out to be older than their own fathers. Early marriage is a serious social problem in this country.

Thousands of girls are married off before the statutory age of 16. Of course, the government, in league with NGOs and religious establishments, is now trying to eradicate this misguided practice. But even the statutory age of 16 is inappropriate.

This age should have been pegged at 18, the age of majority. It should be understood that a girl aged 16 years is not biologically ripe to make children. She may be tall and robust. She may even look heftier than her own mother.

But the reality is that she remains unripe for the task of managing a pregnancy, excruciating labour pains and delivery. Marrying off young girls to husbands is an old tradition that can be traced back to numerous generations. It remains persistent today.

The practice is one of the principal causes of the now numerous pregnancy complications in young mothers. Many such marriages fail to work. The practice also denies the unfortunate girls access to education, especially those who get married at tender age.

A girl aged 15 years is expected to be a Form Three student somewhere - not someone’s wife. Traditions are so powerful in many parts of Tanzania, especially among the Wamasai, Wakurya, and Wachagga in the north; the Wahehe and Wamakonde in the south; and the Wahaya in the west.
Traditions also die hard in central Tanzania mainly among the Wagogo and Wanyamwezi. Deeply entrenched traditional values here mean that the local practice is for girls to marry when they are very young.

Of particular concern to the government is the large number of pregnancy complications amongst young girls whose bodies are not yet ready to bear children. According to a report by the Women’s Dignity Project, obstetric fistulas are common complications. Women who have the fistula are often the young girls who are married early, before 15 for example, who are too poor to attend health services and try to deliver at home.

Apart from being poor, these young mothers are often ignorant about motherhood. Medical experts say an obstetric fistula can occur because the woman’s pelvis is too small; the baby’s head is too big, or the baby is badly positioned; the woman can be in labour for five days or more without expert medical help and other unfortunate reasons.

In most cases the baby dies. If the mother survives, she is left with extensive tissue damage to her birth canal that renders her incontinent - either of her bladder or bowel functions.
This is the beginning of a medically pathetic situation for the young mother. Medics say corrective surgery is possible as long as the fistula - or hole - is not too big. Without surgery, young women damaged by an early pregnancy remain physically and psychologically scarred.

This irreparable damage wrecks the life of the young woman. At the level of the family trouble for the woman starts at this juncture. The husband who took this unfortunate girl-bride in the first place will often turn his back on his wife, appalled at the smell and her inability to control her own motions.

Many such women grow old childless in a tribal setting where motherhood is the essence of a woman’s value. A childless woman among the Wakurya is seen as a social misfit or outcast. Women’s dignity activists insist that the best approach now is to stop girls getting pregnant.

It is imperative to insist here that underage marriages are abominable. Some of these unfortunate girls miss the prospect for education. Others drop out of school to get married. And there are those who marry immediately after accomplishing primary school education. Many get married off just before they comprehend the world around them. Throughout the world today there is a concern to recognise the constitutional rights of children.

‘Organic’ Afrobarometer findings match China-Africa historical wisdom

THERE are many conspiracy theories which are attempting to discredit the Monument of China-Africa Friendship. These theories are baseless given that they are based on conventional wisdom (that was discussed last week) which is boring holes on major achievements recorded by the Chinese people and their government in Africa.

I would like to correct this notion that the Chinese image has improved in recent years. It is unfortunate that some Eurocentric assumptions are based on conventional wisdom but not historical wisdom. Some of the interpretation of China-Africa friendship are based on conspiracy theories which have no ground whatsoever.

Instead, let people think independently about this bilateral cooperation between China and Africa. We learn from Chinese philosophers that we have a duty not only to draw on historical experience, but also learn from them.

Historical wisdom sounds better given that it remains reliant on the people, maintain close ties with them and never become isolated from them. We have learned from the TAZARA lessons that Chinese people sowed eternal seeds of friendship and brotherliness from the time of liberation struggle.

It is not true that China’s image has just improved in recent years. The report from Afrobarometer released recently is timely and a testimony that Africans see the Chinese influence as positive for Africa. We take this opportunity to commend efforts by one of Africa’s Think-Tanks Afrobarometer for being bold enough to conduct research on China-Africa ‘eternal’ friendship.

It is interesting that when the research is carried out in Africa there is a tendency by some Eurocentric scholars to question the results. But based on the research findings a person has only the right to dispute its outcome if there is evidence of flaws in research methodology. I, therefore, think that the Afrobarometer findings match the historical wisdom which is based on China-Africa historical achievements.

It is recorded in history that when TAZARA was conceived, the nation’s founding father Mwalimu Julius Nyerere had approached the West in an attempt to solicit support. But, unfortunately, it declined, claiming that the project was not economically viable. It was at the time Africa was in the shackles of colonialism and apartheid.

There was a dire need to liberate our brothers and sisters in Africa and only China had been willing to support the liberation railway. Perhaps for the sceptics who try to question the Afrobarometer report, they ought to go back to the history.

It is already documented that when the Chinese give a country help, the first thought in their mind is to make the support tangible and no conditions are attached to it. I can dare to say that the Chinese development model from the time of Chairman Mao to President Jinping has remained unique. It is based on adaptability which supports the local initiatives of the recipient countries.

I trust that the report from Afrobarometer which shows that Africans see the Chinese influence as positive for Africa is based on this historical evidence. What other development partners can learn from the Chinese is about humility.

The Chinese do not impose anything on Africans. In most cases they consult with the locals and look for a common ground to work together to achieve prosperity. That was exactly the TAZARA spirit during its construction which is still alive today.

Today the Chinese development model is based on win-win approach, something others can perhaps also emulate. It is upon this backdrop that the Tanzanian people have more positive image of Chinese influence.

My sincere advice is for the nations to apply historical wisdom so as to win hearts and minds of our partners which is the Chinese ‘magic bullet’. But I could be wrong!

About housing expensive estates and cement factories a la Bongo

I LOVE anything to do with money, for example how to earn and where to spend it. The way people have been earning money in this land of Serengeti National Park and Zanzibar isles has become a hot button issue.

Since president JPM took office, people in position to decide how public money is spent are no longer at ease. Contrary to popular belief in some anti-government circles, the anti-graft fight is no longer a one-man show.

Many national and provincial leaders have been taking action to expose thieves and those who have caused losses or misuse of public monies. Take the case of the pension fund company that prides itself on good performance in real estate investments.

In the last national audit, the comptroller and auditor general discovered some anomalies in some of the pension fund’s transactions. His report for the SSF was not very flattering. This time the public accounts committee of the national parliament got into the act.

They grilled top bosses of the public company. Why? It seems the corporation had entered into an agreement under questionable terms. Just consider the following. The proposal involved the development of 20,000 plots somewhere in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam, a project worth some 1.4 trillion shillings.

The fund would be a minority shareholder with 45% share while its business partner would hold 55%.The partner would cough up 35% of the value in cash and the 20% would come from the land value. Now it gets interesting.

The land was valued at 800 million shillings an acre. Who did the valuation is not clear. For that kind of money in Tanzania, you can buy a 7,000 square metre plot and build a palatial mansion on it. It gets even more interesting. The two partners decided to begin the project by developing 350 plots (1.7% of the total number).

Well, as you know, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step. Then came the clincher. In this first phase, the minor partner paid up 129 bn/- (79%) while the majority shareholder could only manage 11bn/- or 21%.

Where did the 45 and 35 percent cash sharing go? Question is, with such an interesting twist of affairs, how will the two partners make the project succeed when 98% of the 20,000 were plots yet to be funded, never mind developed? Was this project heading anywhere?

Anyway, president JPM’s government already took action by sacking/suspending directors and associates. Problem is, while the new management was not involved in the questionable deal, they are in the hot seat. The buck stops with them.
The new directors worked out that the plots were grossly overvalued and are only worth 25mln/- each. Phew. I know my arithmetic. Talk about overinflation.

From 800 million a pop to 25 million is a long way down in value. That is mind boggling. Do the math, 800 minus 25 times 20,000-350 (800-25 × 20,000-350) is the ghost value of the plots.

After all the sniffing and digging by PAC, the revenue authority and the anti-corruption chaps, it emerged that there was not enough land owned by the project to make all those twenty thousands of plots.

In Tanzania we are used to ghosts. Ghost workers who get regular salaries, ghost medical supplies that disappear en-route to hospitals, ghost trips that are paid for but not undertaken and even ghost degrees some people claim to have but never actually studied for.

Who would notice another ghost saga? At the rate we are going we will need to contract ghost busters to deal with the many episodes breaking at dawn and twilight disappearances of manpower, money, materials and means in our national soap opera. Hopefully there will be a hero walking off into the sunset at the end of the series’ last episode. That pension fund is a public company.

Meanwhile a private company is facing some challenges to its operating costs after government honchos apparently reneged on a promise to supply its cement factory with gas for running its turbines and ovens.

Can you imagine there being a shortage of gas in Mtwara? There is gas everywhere but apparently no cheap fuel for the Mtwara cement factory.

Apparently government prevented or banned the factory from importing South Africa coal, even as local coal of indeterminate quality and higher cost was available hundreds of kms away. Without the two cheap energy sources, the company is forced to burn the expensive and more polluting diesel.
I read somewhere that we have 54 trillion cubic gallons of natural gas which belongs not to an investor but to the people of Tanzania? What is the holdup in selling it to Dangote cement? Does the factory need a special permit? I could swear the Dar cement factory is already using Mtwara gas.
And the one company in Mtwara cannot get Mtwara gas? Interesting. The US $500 million cement plant in Mtwara has capacity to produce 3,000 tonnes of cement per day and has been operating at full throttle, producing 2,880 TPD.

The best the energy authorities can do is to give the management of Dangote cement full support and cooperation. The factory is already contributing to President Magufuli’s vision of industrialising Tanzania. We need plenty of cement for the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by the earthquake in Kagera.

Speaking of Kagera, it seems a substantial part of monies contributed have not been spent. Maybe it is time to start giving each family xx number of cement bags and roofing sheets and let families to figure out how to manage the rest.

Creative clutter is better than idle neatness

GREETINGS from the land of the Great Ganges, hope that you have all woken up to beautiful Sunday and are rested and ready to face the challenges and opportunities that Monday brings.

A couple of months I profiled a person that I consider a close acquaintance and friend, her name is Nasra Karl. I previously worked with her when she worked for a hotel in Dar es Salaam and she later decided to start her own business related to decluttering and arrangement of houses, homes and offices.

I know, I thought the same thing when she first told me about and after she explained it to me, I realized it was a much needed service and the whole idea was out of the box.

You may wonder what is so unique or special about decluttering. Well for starters, it has the advantage of enabling you to concentrate better. When there’s a bunch of junk on my desk, it is almost impossible to get anything done.

But if you take a second to remove the extra papers, and put everything at right angles (you know how that goes), then you find myself able to start typing away almost immediately. I don’t know about you but decluttering has a way of making you sleep a lot better.

According to Today.com, “A new sleep study has found that people who doze in cluttered rooms and are at high risk for developing hoarding disorder are more likely to have sleeping problems. This includes having trouble falling asleep at night and experiencing rest disturbances.” Decluttering also has the advantage of enabling one to forget their past.

This however depending on which side of the fence you are standing in. This is actually what I want to talk about today. A part of me is thankful that I am also able to learn so much about decluttering from Nasra but at the same time hoped that I had acquired the knowledge earlier because in one way or another, I would have got tips on how to preserve some memories that I didn’t want to completely get rid of.

I know it sounds confusing but you will get the idea before I pen off. While I buy the idea that decluttering is helpful to one’s health, I think it is equally important to know what ‘trash’ to throw away and what to learn. Let me give you a fine example. When I was in primary school I was a stamp collector and I had stamps from countries near and far.

I had stamps of countries I had never heard of but they gave me an idea of what the country was about. Thanks to the electronic age today, stamps have almost gone obsolete and to most people have no meaning.

I am sure if I was to give a stamp to my daughter; she would see as just another paper but if I showed it to my nephew, I would be bombarded with so many questions, might end up looking shallow minded.

Of late I have been thinking a lot about my stamp albums and my entire collection and blaming myself for not having been a forward looking person. If I had acquired the decluttering skills earlier, I would have known what to keep and what to throw.

If I was a forward thinking person who regarded everything to have a value in future, I would have ensured I kept the stamps safely away. I may not be talking for the whole of the population but I think a big chunk of our population are not forward looking people, for many of us, now is everything.

Sometime ago, one of my nephews found an audio tape in the house and he went up to his dad to find out what it was, for all he, it could have an explosive device. Anyway, his dad after losing a few hairs on his head managed to explain how the gadget worked and how it can ‘store’ music.

I think the fact that there are so few museums for certain themes is an indicator that we are forward looking by nature. I know for a fact in some countries they have all sorts of museums like modern art, war, locomotive and even museum of sex and toilets.

Tanzania as a country has so many unique things and many are vanishing, without preserving them, will be depriving future generations to learn something about their country.

Cheerio.

Private-run schools should learn from Tusiime

THE 2016 Class Seven National Examination results were announced four days ago and some private-run schools scooped the ten top positions including Tusiime located at Tabata Kinyerezi in Dar es Salaam.

Reasons for this lead are obvious - that they have better learning facilities than public schools, plus friendly learning environment like food and reliable transport for non-boarders.

The lead does not mean that all the private schools countrywide performed well in the exams. In fact, some of them performed so poorly that some parents have started tendering complaints as to why they spent millions of shillings that did not help their children excel.

If you sit down and do a quick evaluation of some schools you may end up questioning why they shouldn’t be deregistered because they lack the required education standards.

Should a school like that one in Lake zone whose teachers were caught providing answers to pupils be allowed to exist? I think such institutions are time bombs to our nation and should be sent packing as soon as possible.

I have keenly looked at this year’s results, and Tusiime primary school has impressed me, because it has kept the passing record for the past four years consecutively, and that gives confidence to parents see value of the money spent on their children’s education.

This year for example, Tusiime had 210 pupils who sat for their class seven national examination and all of them scored the average of ‘A’ in all the subjects. Strangely, some very famous private schools in Dar es Salaam did not reach that level.

The school scored first position at district level, second position at regional level, while it came fifth in the overall national class seven national examination results, kudos to the Director of the School Mr. Albert Katagira.

The excellence of Tusiime has made me investigate more about this school and the factors making this school do well in examinations. This school provides boundless opportunities for intellectual, creative and personal growth, and teaching is consistently good and teachers are always striving to improve, planning lessons that excite the pupils and there is a strong focus on investigative approaches to learning in all lessons.

Tusiime believes that highclass academics go far beyond the classroom, and the pupils and students are immersed in experiences that have consistently made it do extremely well for the past few years.

I was informed that Tusiime diverse community of faculty and staff supports pupils and students and shares their characteristics of dedication, motivation, passion, perseverance, creativity and intelligence.

Together they have what it takes to turn thoughts into concrete ideas, potential into genuine ability and goals into tangible results, eventually making the school do well in examinations.

Excellent teachers are an essential ingredient for Tusiime, and the school is fortunate to have the resources to recruit and retain first class teachers who can bring the best out of each and every child. The school invests heavily in the development of its staff and sets high professional expectations.

The school educates boys and girls from Nursery to High School on three separate sites, and children progress through three distinctive schools but benefit from being part of a larger institution with an integrated curriculum and pastoral care system and access to first class Education.

I have also discovered that Tusiime promotes better education through supply of learning and teaching materials of high quality including story books, illustration, laboratory equipment and all other required materials.

At Tusiime, pupils and their teachers have been in position to simplify and consolidate learning and teaching using required teaching and learning resources thus improving the academic performance.

Tusiime is said to be offering quality support services for pupils and students to make their life at school better. These include medical Services, transport, clean and safe water, balanced diet, enough classrooms with maximum capacity of 40 students each, good dormitories (accomodating around 2300 pupils and students), sports and games, electricity, laboratory, library, computer laboratory and dining hall.

Following government commitment to improve quality of education as advocated in new Education Policy of 2014, the school management has embarked on three projects which are geared towards improving quality of education.

This project is aimed at improving the teaching and learning of science subjects within the school and also ensuring the availability and effective use of teaching and learning resources.

This ensures that students acquire required knowledge, skills and attitudes to meet expectations of labour markets. This min project at Tusiime is aimed at improving teachers’ pedagogical competencies in all subjects to meet the requirements of learner centered teaching and learning.

The school also conducts in-house training, refresher courses in areas of lesson planning, teaching methods and techniques, classroom management, assessment and evaluation. The monitoring department within the school coordinates the implementation of this project.

However, the capacity of monitoring department to conduct these in service training is limited in terms of e-learning resources like computers, and over head projectors. Any support in area will be highly appreciated.

This project aims at improving the use of English language as a medium of instruction within our schools and the teaching of English subject in classrooms. The focus is on assisting our teachers to be able to teach well the four language skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening.

However, given that English is a third language to most Tanzanians and scarcity of resources and skills, this project requires extra support to make it successful, and that is one of the major priorities of Tusiime.

You will not believe what Lupita Nyong’o did before her big breakthrough in Hollywood

Lupita Nyong’o is currently one of the biggest actresses in the world. However, her journey to success has not been an easy one. She had to start small so as to get to her current position in the entertainment industry. Looking at her now, one would easily think that she was handed everything on a silver platter.

Lupita Nyongo and Mira Nair
Lupita recently revealed that she did a few odd jobs before her breakthrough. She was an intern at Mira Nair’s production Company and was given the task of serving Nair with her favorite cup of tea. She revealed this while accepting an honor at the recently concluded Elle women in Hollywood Awards.

“When I was an intern at Nair’s production company in 2001, I was tasked with serving her favorite cup of Tazo chai.“Then one day one day I was given the most significant assignment for the first-ever certificate of attendance for Mira’s film school.” She revealed
Lupita also recalls her first time to hand Mira Mira the draft certificate, she only took one look at it and she frowned but she decided to repeat the research on what the film school stands for and tried again.
“I decided to get bold with my take on an attendance certificate.” she mentioned

Do you have anything to add or comment about this article? Let us know below.

“I hate people who brag about their wealth and achievements”- Kanze Den

Citizen TV’s Kanze Dena is known to be a polite and quiet personality. The beautiful mother of one does not like exposing her private life unlike many other celebrities of her caliber. She has worked with her co-host Lulu Hassan as news anchors of Citizen TV for a while now and the two make the perfect pair. Their beauty and fluent Swahili normally steals away the whole program.

Apart from her outstanding anchoring skills, Kanze is also a God Fearing woman who often shares inspiring quotes to her fans through social media. She educates young people to remain pure and gives hope to people who are experience life stress like joblessness, abuse and even single parenthood. Kanze is a single mother to her cute 10 year old boy Amani.

It turns out that Kanze Dena dislikes people who like bragging with material possessions. She took to social media to express this.
“Nothing in life is worth fighting for. Your best clothes is someone’s rag, your account balance is someone’s donation at a function. Your girlfriend/boyfriend or fiance/fiancee’ is someone’s Ex. Every single prostitute you see in a hotel or on the street at night was at some point in time a virgin. So what is the squabble all about? “ She wrote in part

“Life is too small to feel bigger or better than anybody. “We’re all naked to death” says Steve Jobs. Nothing can save us from it. I hate to see people who brag about wealth, beauty, intelligence, level of education, fame and material possessions. There’s nothing you’ve achieved in life that no one else has never gotten. The office you occupy today was occupied by someone yesterday and will be occupied by another person tomorrow. You don’t know whom that person might be.
There’s only one thing that is worth bragging which is “LIFE IN GOD ALMIGHTY”. SO BE GOOD TO YOUR FELLOW MAN AND ALWAYS MAKE FRIENDS. Always remember that the people you trampled upon on your way up a ladder will be the same set of people you’re likely to pass on your way down, so cause no problem for others or make not life unbearable for other by virtue of your position, because if you do, they’ll become your very problem one day.
Finally, even banana stems will one day become dried leaves.”

Do you have anything to add or comment about this article? Let us know below.

Brazil boy regains smile after losing all his teeth

Six-year-old Ryan Coutinho wasn't used to smiling. He felt embarrassed after losing almost all his teeth at the age of three.

Now he does. And can't stop showing it.
But getting here wasn't easy, says dentist Amanda Mattos.

The boy lives in a rural area near Guajeru, a poor town in north-eastern Brazil. He had his teeth pulled out as a result of early cavities. Only a few on his lower arch remained.
Ms Mattos, 25, met Ryan for the first time two years ago, during a social project at the boy's school.

"I had never seen something like this," she told the BBC. Ryan's teacher told her that he avoided smiling and did not engage much with other students.

Ms Mattos offered to treat the boy after contacting the boy's mother through the teacher. But the mother refused, believing that her son would be reliving the drama of his operation.
"They are all very modest, live outside the town and didn't understand the procedures," the dentist said. "They were still shaken by the process that removed all his teeth."
Ryan's story could have ended here. But two years later, by coincidence, his mother got a job as a cleaner at the public clinic where Ms Mattos works.

20 boyfriends and 20 iPhones: How one Chinese woman bought a house

 

Buying a house is generally seen as one of most costly purchases one can make. It's especially true in China, where house prices continue to rise.

Given what a the challenge it can be to get on the property ladder in the country, it's probably no surprise that Chinese social media was buzzing with one particular property story last week.
It started when a blog was published on the popular blogging platform the Tian Ya Yi Du forum, by a person writing under the pseudonym 'Proud Qiaoba'.
Proud Qiaoba penned a tale that, if we hadn't been able to verify it ourselves, would seem like the plot of a pretty average airport romance novel.
The lead character in Proud Qiaoba's account is a colleague, whom Chinese media have dubbed 'Xiaoli' (not her real name).
Xiaoli, a woman from the city of Shenzhen in southern China, asked each of her 20 current boyfriends to buy her a newly launched iPhone 7. She then sold all of the phones to a mobile phone recycling site called Hui Shou Bao for 115,010 Chinese yuan (about £14,000), and used the money to put down a deposit on a house in the countryside.
Proud Qiaoba wrote in the blog post that when Xiaoli showed her new house to their group of friends, they were all very surprised when she revealed how she had managed to obtain the money for the deposit.
"Everyone in the office is talking about this now," wrote Proud Qiaoba, "Who knows what her boyfriends think now this news has become public."
Proud Qiaoba added that Xiaoli "is not from a wealthy family. Her mum is a housewife and her dad is a migrant worker, and she is the oldest daughter. Her parents are getting old and she might be under a lot pressure hoping to buy them a house... But it's still unbelievable that she could use this method!"
Many people on China's microblogging site Sina Weibo have been expressing their surprise at Xiaoli's enterprise and quick work in convincing her 20 lovers to each buy her the latest in Apple's mobile coterie - particularly since the iPhone 7 was only recently launched, on 16 September of this year,
A hashtag which translates as '20 mobiles for a house' quickly began to circulate on Weibo, and became the country's top trend. It has now been used in excess of 13 million times.
Many social media users, like 'small sand is growing', have expressed admiration for Xiaoli.
"I can't even find one boyfriend. She can actually find 20 boyfriends at the same time and even get them to buy her an iPhone 7. Just want to ask her to teach me such skills."
Another, 'TST' praised her enterprising nature, saying that she has "a bright future."
But others haven't been so complimentary.
'Little Bee' wrote that Xiaoli was "the most shameless person".
Others were suspicious and wondered if the whole story was an elaborate product placement for Hui Shou Bao, the mobile phone recycling business.
BBC Trending approached Hui Shou Bao and a company spokesperson confirmed that they had indeed purchased 20 iPhones from a female client at the beginning of October and paid 5,750 Chinese yuan (about £700) for each one.
We put in a request to interview Xiaoli through the company. They responded to our email saying that they had asked their client if she would like to speak to us, but she had declined.
"Her day-to-day life has been affected (from the local media attention) and she doesn't want the media to continue covering this story," they said, "so she has turned down your interview request."
Blog by Ruhua Xianyua

Dentists issue 'Halloween horror' warning

 

Armfuls of confectionery are a delicious, sugary reward for dressing up as devils and witches to scare the wits out of the neighbours.

But trick-or-treating will become a "Halloween horror" for children unless parents take steps to protect their teeth, warn dentists.
The Royal College of Surgeons has issued tips to ensure rotten smiles are just for Halloween.
Prof Nigel Hunt said: "We don't want to spoil the fun."
But the dean of the faculty of dental surgery said the state of children's teeth was a "national scandal" and added: "We want to help parents make sensible decisions about letting their children eat sweets at Halloween and all year round."
His tips include:

• If children are given sweets on Halloween they shouldn't eat them straightaway, but save them to have with a meal at home to reduce the impact on their teeth.
• If trick-or-treaters visit you over Halloween, consider giving out alternative treats to sweets such as stickers or balloons.
• Limit the number of sweets you give out to each child - think about only giving one or two rather than a whole bag.
• If the child is thirsty, make sure they do not have sugary drinks, water is better.
• Even though they may be tired, make sure children brush their teeth with fluoride toothpaste before going to bed.

Prof Hunt said: "Celebrating Halloween by trick-or-treating has become very popular in the UK in recent years.
"As a parent myself, I know the delight children take in donning fancy dress and visiting the neighbours to collect as many sweet treats as they can carry.
"Unfortunately, those sweet treats can be a Halloween horror for kids' teeth, sugar is one of the biggest culprits for nasty tooth decay."
Children under the age of 10 have more than 179,000 teeth extracted each year and around a quarter of three-to-five year olds have tooth decay.

The Amount Of Money President Uhuru Will Spend to Pay Dowry for His Son Revealed

 

Uhuru Kenyatta’s son Jomo married his longtime girlfriend, Fiona Achola in a private Kikuyu traditional wedding that was held in Karen this past weekend .News of the hush-hush high profile wedding attracted a mammoth of best wishes from various quotas on social media. The ceremony was held on Saturday, October 22 and was attended by close friends and family members only.

 

The country has been talking about the wedding the entire week with more details about the little known lucky girl emerging. Some well guarded details, like how much bride price the president is going to pay also found its way to the public domain .According to our highly placed sources, the president is required to give Achola’s family 99 goats in order for a bride price payment to be considered final, with regards to the Kikuyu norms.

Considering the fact that animals are rarely used as dowry nowadays, the president will have to part with cash money that equates to the number of goats he was initially supposed to give as dowry for his son. Now, if a one goat currently costs around Ksh 10, 000, then the Kenyatta family will have to part with a whooping Ksh 990,000 as dowry to the Achola’s family.

However, it should be noted that the amount of cash can be paid overtime and it is a standard figure that applies to everyone regardless of their wealth.

Do you have anything to add or comment about this article? Let us know below.

Popular Ugandan singer gets dumped by fiancé after he contacts a “strange disease”

 
A popular Ugandan Singer is currently distressed after she was unexpectedly dumped by the love of her life. Singer Grace Nakimera was in a serious relationship with King Oyo of Tooro Kingdom. Their relationship was brought to an end after elders of Tooro Kingdom held a meeting to discuss the king’s affair with the Singer.

 
Grace’s ex fiance King Oyo
According to Ugandan tabloids, the elders came to a decision that the King ought to find himself a new woman to marry because they want a serious woman who can be queen of the Kingdom. The tabloids also reveal that the elders accused the singer of infecting King Oyo with a strange disease and that is why they wanted him to leave her for an honest lover.

Singer Grace Nakimera

The singer’s lover was not pleased by this decision and has since buried himself in alcohol so as to forget about the singer. He has been spotted spending most of his time at Sky lounge Uganda.

Do you have anything to add or comment about this article? Let us know below.

Eight Things You Do not Have to Say During a Fight With Your Partner

 

 Relationship experts will tell you what matters in a relationship is not the frequency at which a couple fights but how they fight.

How you fight with your partner is what will determine whether or not your relationship will survive. Here is a look into some things that you should not say during fight if you want your relationship to thrive;

1. I don't care - This can be easily said out of anger but when said, it can undo an otherwise functioning relationship. When you say you don't care, your significant other interprets this to mean that you are no longer invested in the relationship.
2. I hate you - Most of the time, when someone says this, what they really mean to say is that you hurt me. Even if it were true, these are  very heavy words to say. Once out, they can not be taken back.
3. Maybe we should just break up - You shouldn't say this unless you actually intend to end the relationship. Threatening abandonment every time you and your significant other have a fight is unfair and it will kill your relationship.
4. If you loved me, you would... - This is manipulative. Do not tie in your partner's duties with how they feel for you. Just say what you need them to do in no uncertain terms.
5. Do whatever you want - To start with, this statement is untruthful. If you were okay with your partner doing whatever they please, you would not be having this argument to start with. Secondly, when you say it, it insinuates that you are giving up on the relationship.
6. Whatever - When said during a fight, this statement is very dismissive. Your significant other will take it to mean that you no longer care about them or the relationship.
7. That is ridiculous - When you say this, what your partner interprets it mean is that their perspective is not valid. It is a very  belittling statement.
8. You never/ you always - Speaking in such blanket term is also bad for your relationship. It is an indicator that all that your partner does right is lost on you.