Highlanders Football Club continue to fire blanks

Mpilo Hospital Gets United

Busisa Moyo,Sichelesile Ncube&Daniel McKenzie

“Some companies call it CSR, we call it Citizenship” these words were said by United Refineries Chief Executive Officer Mr Busisa Moyo and they really got me thinking, what if all the big companies in Bulawayo had this mindset, I sat there and imagined all the possibilities. the, but that is a story for another day. Tuesday the 6^th of November marked the beginning of something beautiful for the people of Bulawayo and Matebeleland.

 The handover of the renovated Children’s Oncology ward, this is for children living with cancer. The renovation done by United Refineries in partnership with Daniel McKenzie KidsCan Zimbabwe. Did you know that before this ward all the children that are living with cancer even from the small towns like Plumtree, Lupane who were referred to Mpilo had to travel as far as Harare to get treatment? Travelling costs, separation of families, these are some of the things that families had to deal with on top of having a sick child. Being a mum myself l sat there as this was relayed to us and you know l am a strong lady, but l had to fight back tears as all this sank in.

Some Of United Refineries Management staff

 I am not a fan of long speeches and thank God none of the speakers for the day was in the mood for talking, they all wanted to get down to the main reason why we were there. After being given a brief history of KidsCan by Daniel McKenzie and assuring us that they will be opening a branch in Bulawayo soon, we made our way into the ward. Ok l went there thinking ok United Refineries renovated the ward placed a flower here and one there, replaced broken windows, you know the basic renovations, well well was l in for a surprise there is nothing basic about the renovations. They went the whole nine yards, l am talking tiled floors, l am talking beautiful graphic designing skills on the walls, am talking cool and colourful blankets on the beds, did l mention the bathroom? tub, tiled walls,  dear Lord in heaven, they even drew super heroes on the walls and trust me these are no ordinary superheroes, we had a Fortified Unity Mealie Meal, Rugani Juice, and my personal favourite the Roil super heroe, that wall will be a favourite for many.

Super Heroes Wall

You know that lump you get in your throat before the waterfalls break loose? yep l felt it as l moved around and thought of the huge difference this place will make in a lot of people’s lives. As someone who has a soft spot for children this is exactly what Mpilo Hospital needed, home away from home for both the child and the mum. As if all this was not enough United Refineries will also cater for the tea that the mums will be drinking, you know when you have a sick child and already paying hospital bills the last thing you need is to stress about money for your own food.

 This Oncology ward which cost $12000 and took three months to finish will mean that the children living with cancer will be in the same ward and room, making life easier for the doctors and the families who had to travel to Harare for treatment since now Mpilo Hospital will be providing these services.

We then made our way downstairs again where thank yous were exchanged that saw Mr Mackenzie and the KidsCan team give United Refineries a certificate of appreciation and Sherine Taylor who before working for United Refineries also volunteered for KidsCan.

“Heroes come in all sizes” this is written on the wall and l could not agree more, in this case United Refineries is our giant hero.

To all the hands that worked tirelessly to make this renovation a success may the Lord bless you all.

God Is Love

Emma Nxumalo.

Marriage at Bulawayo Arts Awards Press Conference

Busisa Moyo&Saimon Mambazo

The biggest event in the Bulawayo calendar is only a month away and preparations are under way. Today I got to attend the Bulawayo Arts Awards press conference held at the Carne Casa Steakhouse which is being opened officially this Friday, but the owner opened it up for the press conference.

The event was scheduled for half past nine and to my delight it started exactly at that time. Mr Raisdon Baya opened with telling us that the nominations had increased and praising the artists on the improvement of their packaging of their works.

Roil Cooking Oil

The music category being the one with the most submissions, it shows how much of talent and need there is from our artists in Bulawayo Mr Baya stated. He then asked a man respected by many not only in Bulawayo only but in Zimbabwe as a whole Mr Busisa Moyo CEO of United Refineries. This is where it got interesting all of us thought he was closing the event but he asked everyone to go to the next room.

We then took sits and witnessed what in my eyes was a beautiful union between the Bulawayo Arts Awards and United Refineries. United Refineries being a company that has been around for the past eighty three years and being one of the few remaining players in the edible oils industry, they are the manufacturing of Roil Cooking Oil, Image soap, Roil Mayonnaise and the distributors of Rugani hundred percent juices.

Now we can add to that list that they are now sponsors of the event loved by many the Bulawayo Arts Awards, they will be sponsoring the event with twenty thousand dollars, talk about awesomeness. So if you thought the Bulawayo Arts Awards were cool last year then this year it is going to be insane. Like every marriage one of the parties has to change name in this case the Bulawayo Arts Awards are going to be called the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards #RBAAzw18 for all those on social media that is the new hashtag.

Roil Mayonnaise

Being a huge fan of Roil cooking oil myself I loved the goodie bag that were handed out by Nkue Nkala as the event ended, after being serenaded by the group Umdumo WeSizwe with a song that marked this beautiful union. The list of the nominees will be announced on the 27^th of April via all media platforms.

Umdumo Wesizwe choir

So 26 May 2018 it is a date, do not forget to do the right thing and buy locally manufactured goods Roil Cooking oil, Image Soap, Roil Mayonnaise at affordable prices.

God Is Love

Emma Nxumalo

Ingrams Lotion Range

Product Review

Personal Favorites

Growing up in a hot city like Bulawayo your skin is exposed to harsh weather conditions. But since from way back I remember at home my mother and grandmother always believed in Ingrams products like the Ingrams Camphor Cream you know the old ones that had a green and white containers,ok maybe only the old school crew will remember those.

I wasn’t a fan of those because when it rained and you get caught in the rain the camphor would start dripping down your face and God forbid some went into your eyes that was painful. Fast forward to 2017 when I heard that Ingrams has a new range of Lotions I was not too keen on trying them out, in my mind was still thinking of the old camphor creams and I was not the only one a lot of my friends and followers were not keen too.

Ingrams Glow

So I went and bought two of the new Ingrams Lotion and they come in different flavors  Cocoa Butter and Tissue Oil being my absolute favourites. Now if you have dry skin like myself I would suggest you go for the Tissue Oil one, this has added moist and so much flavour to my once dry skin. I was using some lotions that have tissue oil and you spend the whole day shiny, girl as much as we do not like being ashy but no lady wants to be over shiny. So when I realised that with the Ingrams tissue oil when you apply you feel that moist going into your skin but you do not become shiny I smiled and thought Emma this is a winner.

Must be that Ingrams

Cocoa Butter smells divine and for the oily skinned ones this is a breath of fresh air as it absorbs most of the oil, it is one of my favourites as I use it as my hand lotion nothing irritates me as oily hands so this one is a winner for my hands.

Some of you have asked where I buy them since they are not available in Zimbabwe ,well that is not triue we have Ingrams Lotions in Zimbabwe, guess you also did not know that there is Ingrams Zimbabwe? You can thank me later. I get mine from Pick and Pay Bradfield, SuperMed Pharmacy that is along Main Street in Bulawayo. Maybe you are wondering about the prices trust me they are very affordable and the containers are family friendly no spilling or a hard time getting your lotion because of your long nails.

Now go ahead and get to it everyone and tag me with your Ingrams to stand a chance to win yourself your favourite Ingrams Lotion favourite.

God Is Love

Emma

Fashion Friday: Tracksuit Trend

Emma

As a lover of fashion I live for the latest fashion trends, though I don’t always go for every trend

But lately I have been loving and rocking the tracksuit trend. This can be rocked up and down, to different events.

one of my favourite fashionistas

You can switch it up by adding high heels and down by wearing sneakers. I usually go for the high heels look as I am a lover of high heeled shoes. The trick is in knowing how to wear the tracksuit and not let it wear you. You cannot wear any tracksuit with high heels, if you going for this look you going to need to make sure that you Do Not wear a baggy tracksuit with heels, you can wear your baggy tracksuit with sneakers.

High heels go with the body hugging tracksuit, and at the ankles it must not be flared it has to be a tight fit. If your tracksuit is long like if it goes down to your ankles you can pull it up a little bit so as to show off your shoegame, but beware not to pull too much and end up having a camel toe. One last thing you need to know about the tracksuit with heels trend is that it goes with certain shoes too, it does not blend well with any type of high heel.

Then we come to the flared tracksuit or baggy I usually rock it with sneakers it goes well with sneakers as it covers the top of the sneakers. But flared or baggy does not mean it cannot be tight, you can have it tight at the right places like hips ,as I tend to think oversized clothes if not rocked correctly it can make you look too big and not flattering on certain parts of the body.

Gone is the era when you only wore tracksuit to the gym so go on ladies rock those tracks and slay

God Is Love

Emma

Fashion: Mary Chiwenga

Fashion: Mary Chiwenga

Ok so like everyone in Zimbabwe and the rest of the world I have been following our politics closely, it has been interesting times in our beloved country. It is also where I was introduced to the name Mary Chiwenga, she is married to our vice president.

A lot has been said about Mary Chiwenga but what seems to be people’ main fascination about her is her fashion sense. Before I go on let me say I am no fashion police or fashion expert but with the little knowledge that I possess this is what I have to say for all you social media trolls.

First of all fashion is different for all of us, what I like might not be what you like but does that mean you have to criticise someone because of their fashion choices? So in a world full of tall girls that have confidence issues when I saw Mary rocking high heels and walking tall with her head held high and neck very straight the first thing that came into my mind was all the young tall girls who were ridiculed and bullied because of their heights that they ended up slouching to try and appear short or not so tall.

I was pleased by the way she carried herself and height, she was saying to the world hey world this is Mary Chiwenga I am tall and I am not ashamed of it and yes Gina I am rocking these shoes that other tall girls like myself shy away from wearing.

Did I mention that these internet fashion police wannabes also came for her hairstyle? Well apparently when you have money or when you have made it in life rocking cornrows is a fashion Don’t!! well Mary was rocking those and I personally do not think it was because she cannot afford your Brazilians and other types of expensive hair but this is the hairdo that works for her and what she chose.

So to all the people who had plenty to say about how this lady dresses and what type of hairdo she rocks , like seriously of all the things you could have said or asked about her this is what you took time from your boring lives to talk about? Did you stop and think of all the little girls who are being bullied at schools because of their heights and because they choose not to have their hair ironed out?

What messages are we sending to our daughters when we judge someone based on their physical appearances and the way they do their hair? And let me just say I took time to look at some of the people who were mean commenting her photos and I will say this “Bye Felicia”

God Is Love

Emma  

Women Crush Wednesday

Once in a while you get to meet people who become a source of inspiration for you. It can be someone who makes you feel like you have to up your grind after seeing their tremendous work ethic that makes them stand head and shoulders above the rest, or it can be someone who simply makes you feel like taking a bath and putting on your Sunday best because of their immaculate dress sense.

Below is a trio of women that have left a lasting impression in the past few months and I felt I have to share their experiences with you and hopefully you will also be inspired.

First up is Nothando Nxumalo, a lady whose passion for eating healthily has led her to produce her own peanut butter that has zero preservatives. This young lady is one of the most hard working ladies I know. As we spoke and she told me about her Gesta’s peanut butter and peanuts she left me in awe, for a young woman like her she made me feel super proud to know that we have women that are so determined and focused on building a legacy for the future. 

Nothando's day starts at 3am with a prayer session - she is a girl after God’s heart and blessings. Then she starts sorting out her peanuts grinding them into the smooth peanut butter and this all ends around 9am after she has done packaging.

On top of that, she is a mum and proud wife so after sorting out her business part of the day she then starts on her widely and mother duties of which being a mum and wife too I know how draining this can be. It was the passion and the tone in her voice that captivated me the most when she spoke about her business and the plans and prayers she has for it. Many a times we feel sorry for ourselves and wallow in our miseries and how hard we are working and this has led to the lot of us deciding to work for someone else helping someone build their dreams while ours take a back seat.

The next lady I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to briefly is the beautiful and shy Gwen Chidoori of The Rack Boutique.  I went there to do a delivery and in the twenty minutes that I got to interact with her she left me feeling motivated and ready to do more and better in my own business. I am a firm believer in dressing to impress and was very happy when Gwen rocked up looking very immaculate that early in the morning.

She was busy on the phone confirming the availability of a certain item that the client wanted and at the same time helped me look  for my own outfit that I wanted to purchase. We then spoke about not giving up and going harder on the hustle and that gave me strength to continue with the hustle.

And finally Lorraine Maphala Phiri where do I even begin? She is one of the humblest and realest ladies in business I have had the pleasure of interacting with. She told me she wanted to buy vegetables from one of the many vegetables shops but she saw a Facebook post I had done and decided to place an order. This got me thinking how most of the time we use social media to show the world how much of slay queens we are instead of advertising our craft.

I have seen the power of social media as I get orders via the platform. Mrs Phiri told me to dream big and not be afraid to grow my business beyond the boot of my car, she says if I work hard and give it my all one day I could own my very own shop and I thought from your mouth to God’s ears my dear.

These are my three Women Crush Wednesday ladies who are working hard in their respective businesses and still raising their children with pride and soo much love. I hope my women crushes motivate you today to do better and be better.

Visit their pages Real Hair By Lorraine Studio, The Rack Boutique and Gesta’s peanut butter and be inspired.