Boko Haram- ''Western Education is forbidden''

A big hello to everyone :) :) 

I hope you all are doing great? 

It's been a good few days since I last posted. Today's post may seem a little bit solemn however its a topic that we should all be made aware about as its real and its so sad. 

Today's post will be about the Chibok school girls who got abducted 6 months ago precisely on the 14th of April 2014. I read an article last night on the BBC news page titled '

Escaping Boko Haram: How three Nigeria girls found safety'

Read the full article here

Upon reading this article it brought all sorts of emotions to mind about how these innocent girls are coping many of whom are currently as we speak being subjected to inhumane acts and being made to do things against their will. I have a 14 year old sister and you that may be reading this too may have younger siblings I actually can't imagine my little sister or your little sister being forced and held captive and being subjected to crazy things :( 

At the end of the article it was relieving to see that the 3 girls who had escaped had now found safety and are back at home. But what does this mean for the other girls who are still held captive and don't know their fate or if they will ever come out alive? :(

If you've never heard about the Chibok school girls here's a brief summary below. For those of you who are aware of the situation here's a reminder: 

• On the 14th April 2014 276 innocent schoolgirls were abducted by the Islamic Jihadist and terrorist organization based in North East Nigeria from the Government Secondary school from the town of Chibok in Borno state. 
• On the night of the 14th April a group of militants attacked the Government Girls secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria.
• They pretended to be guards telling the girls to get out of the school and to follow them, they were lead away and loaded onto trucks through the forest. Some have managed to escaped and have been able to detail some of the ordeals they were put through.
• Since the abduction most of these girls have been forced to convert to Islam and into marriage with members of Boko Haram paying a a menial ''bride price'' sum of  ₦2,000 each ($12.50/£7.50) to the families of these girls
• Many of the students were taken to neighbouring countries, Chad and Cameroon 
• Some of the villagers have seen some of the girls living in the Sambisa Forest. This forest has been reported to be a huge refuge for Boko Haram 
• On 5 May, a video in which Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility for the kidnappings  was released. He claimed that "Allah instructed me to sell them...I will carry out his instructions." and "Slavery is allowed in my religion, and I shall capture people and make them slaves." He said the girls should not have been in school and instead should have been married since girls as young as nine are suitable for marriage.
• It has been 6 months since the abduction. On the 17th October 2014 hopes were raised that the remaining 219 girls might soon be released after the Nigerian army announced a truce between Boko Haram and Government forces however this hasn't come into actualisation. 
• The extremist group is against the Westernisation of Nigeria to which they attribute the root cause of criminal behaviour in the country.
• Boko Haram has been known to kidnap girls as they believe they should not be educated but rather used to cook or be Sex slaves.

Plenty has been written about Boko Haram and the threat it poses. However there is very little known about the abuse endured by these women and girls in captivity such as:

• Forced labor
• Forced participation in military operations
• carrying ammunition or luring men into ambush
• Forced marriage to their captors
• Sexual abuse including rape
• Being coerced to cook, clean and perform other household chores 
• Some have served as porters and are still serving as porters
• Majority have been targeted for abduction because they were students, Christians or both. 

According to the Human rights watch publication report

''From June through August 2014, Human Rights Watch interviewed 30 individuals who were abducted by Boko Haram between April 2013 and April 2014, and 16 others who witnessed the abductions. The victims, including 12 students of the Chibok School who escaped from Boko Haram custody after they were abducted, provided further details of the abuses they endured. The women and girls described how they were abducted from their homes and villages while working on the farms, fetching water, or attending school. The victims were held in eight different Boko Haram camps that they believed to be in the 518-square-kilometer Sambisa Forest Reserve and around the Gwoza hills for periods ranging from two days to three months''. Read the full report here
Since the kidnap back in April there have been various campaigns all over the world to show support even from the First Lady Michelle Obama and many other celebrities. 

David Cameron 

First Lady Michelle Obama

P Diddy

                                                 

Big Sean- Rapper 

The Pain for the families of the abducted girls is still ongoing many of the girls still don't know when they will be reunited back with their families. Many have tried to escape and as a result of escaping have been killed along the way. Most of these innocent girls are still innocent and have had their innocence exploited.

We must continually pray for these young girls and hold them close to our hearts and pray that some sort of amicable solution will be reached to free these girls and the many more who we don't even know about.

Lets all say a little prayer for the Chibok girls. At least most of us can say we will be going home to our parents this evening but for them they may be going 'home' to perform wife duties at the age of 14.

''A 15-year-old girl who was held in a Boko Haram camp for four weeks in 2013 described being forced to marry a militant more than twice her age. “After we were declared married I was ordered to live in his cave but I always managed to avoid him. He soon began to threaten me with a knife to have sex with him, and when I still refused he brought out his gun, warning that he would kill me if I shouted. Then he began to rape me every night. He was a huge man in his mid-30s and I had never had sex before. It was very painful and I cried bitterly because I was bleeding afterwards.”

Pray for the chibok girls <3 xxxxxxx

My weekend summary....

Hello lovelies.... It's been a few days, but I hope you are all good?

I really like the song above heard it in the UK X factor advert break and have been listening to it ever since.. Feel free to click and listen whilst you hear about my weekend.

So this weekend my friend Harriet and I went to Milton Keynes shopping centre to explore it and I ended up grabbing a few bargains on the way....

I'm originally a London girl however have moved up to Milton Keynes to pursue a degree known as Media with communications and Journalism (MCJ)

I really needed some pumps... I don't seem to have many of those since I am a heel girl. However I'm quite tall so actually wouldn't mind getting more cute pumps so I don't look too tall when I'm out at an event...

Would you believe that for all 3 pumps I spent less than £30.00? :)

All 3 Pairs were purchased in Debenhams in their Blue Cross sale

I'm so excited to purchase this amazing NailsINC special effect nail varnish which costed £15.00.

I thought the cushioned nail shapers were a bargain as I got 2 in the packet for just £1.99.
I also bought nourishing nail polish remover as well for £1.39. And a nail clipper for £1.00! All from Superdrug.

A few days ago I ordered this book from Amazon via a recommendation by our lecturer.

The Book only costed £8.99! Once I have read it I will review it for you all! :)

Sunday.... I cooked some Salmon Stu which was very delicious....

• Salmon cut into pieces purchased from Waitrose at the fish counter
• Red peppers 
• Garlic cloves
• Scotch bonnet peppers
• Plenty of onions chopped up to give it flavouring
• Flat leaf Parsley 
• Sea Salt
• Rosemary
• Garlic Pepper
• Oregano
• Chicken Stock pot
• 2 tins of Plum tomato 

This is a video of all the ingredients simmering away after I had blended the tin tomatoes and then added it to the pot.

  

After all ingredients had boiled for a while I knew it was ready I turned it off. 

Tasted as good as it looked. I Chose to add some spinach leaves and cut a whole Avocado to add with the rice and stu.

Yummmyyyyyy!

Was a great weekend overall ... What did you guys get up too this weekend?

Stay tuned for my next blog post

xxx Zoe xxx

Good natural hair products

Hello everyone :) I hope you have all had a great week so far?

I saw this Michelle Obama video yesterday and thought how funny lol! She's such a cool and down to earth woman, I totally love her! <3 xx

She's all about healthy eating and looks great for her age. Check out the link here!

So this week I said I will be sharing some of my natural hair tips with you all...

So here goes....

My aunty who lives all the way in Nigeria recently shared her tip with me about how she nurtures her hair. She mentioned the items Ginger, Onion and Garlic and I was like WHAT?

She explained the process and what she does with each item and how she uses them as natural raw ingredients to condition her hair...

I'm about to explain the process for you all with pictures :)

My Beautiful aunty who is a mother of 3 and still looks this fab!

Like I mentioned above the key ingredients you need are Onions, Ginger, Garlic and Carrots.

These can be purchased in any local supermarket store and don't have to be organic.

After getting all my key ingredients together I peel two onions and cut them up and place it in the blender. I do this for the ginger too. I peel the skin off of the ginger and cut it up into manageable pieces and place it into my blender. With my garlic I pull them off from the clove, peel the skin and drop about 4-5 pieces into my blender.

Once all key ingredients have entered into the blender I need to blend it however it won't blend unless there is some form of liquid inside. I choose not to add water as that will dilute the strength of the ingredients. Honestly the first week I did this I added water and thought of another healthy liquid I could add into it that will help it blend yet still be beneficial to my hair.

I came up with the idea of using my Juicer to extract the juice out of some ginger and carrot and then poured that into the blender. So I did just that and then poured the juice into the existing contents inside the blender and as you can see the colour has changed.

BRAUN Juicer purchased from Argos for £70.00

Press blend on your blender and you will find that all the ingredients will nicely blend together and form a smooth texture such as this:

All ingredients blended together and poured into a plastic container ready to be applied directly onto scalp and hair. 

Close up of the contents 

Make sure your hair is clean so the nutrients in this mixture can be fully absorbed into your scalp. I like to use dr.Organic Bioactive Haircare and I have found all of their products to be really good.

I have to warn you though to be prepared for a very messy experience as some of the contents may trickle down into your eye and be found splattered all over your carpet or flooring. To avoid this I thought that it would be a good idea to place newspaper on the carpet to avoid the mess ruining the carpet.

 I advise you to stand on top of the newspaper hold the container of contents and then begin applying to your scalp and hair.

How long shall I leave the contents on my hair for? 

According to my aunty she said to leave it on your hair for as many hours as possible, She's even gone the extra mile and slept with it on for the whole night LOL! Err not for me....

I leave it on for like 6-8 hours!

When you have finished applying it all on your head and scalp use cling film to wrap your hair

It doesn't have to be a fancy cling film you can purchase it from either Sainsbury's, Tesco's, Waitrose or even the one pound store. Once you've wrapped your head round with the cling film use a big towel to wrap your head again. Once done sit down relax and get on with your day!

You can even eat popcorn whilst waiting which is what I did or get on with your assignment. If you are a Mum you can be doing the cooking :)        

                                                                                     

6-8 hours later.... 

Rinse your head till all of the contents come off. Once all of the contents have been rinsed off from your head you can now make a separate juice from carrot and ginger by either using your juicer or using a grater and mix both together and rub into your head as a leave in conditioner. I normally mix the ginger and carrot with either Shea Butter or Jamaican Black castor oil then blow-dry my hair. I bought mine here.

These products can be purchased on-line or any afro Caribbean stores. If you are reading this here from London and you are based in the South East area Peckham, Lewisham and Catford are key areas where these can be purchased. For the rest of us we can just enter the names of the product in the search engine and it will bring up plenty suggestions of where they can be purchased from.

After that apply the normal products you have onto your scalp so it doesn't remain dry and thirsty of oil. You can use anything from Shea Butter, Dr Miracle products, Coconut oil and even Argan oil to apply directly onto your scalp. 

Repeat this whole process once a week dependent on how damaged your hair is. I'm also doing this religiously every week specifically on Thursdays as that's when I am free for the whole day. Once it gets to week 5 I will do a video showing how my natural hair has progressed. 

For my front baby hairs I like to put Aloe Vera Gel as I've  noticed it softens it and helps it to grow...

Aloe Vera Gel has multiple benefits and I have found it very beneficial putting it directly onto my scalp. Click the link to read more about it here...

If you'd like to order some Aloe Vera gel please email me and I will hook you up billionairebriggs@outlook.com . 

I hope this post wasn't too much to take in and I hope every single suggestion here will be beneficial to you all. Please feel free to comment, suggest and share some of your natural hair products you use. 

I'd like to leave you with a video which reveals the harsh truth about hair relaxers. Watch and post your thoughts below....

Ladies let's nurture what God gave us!

Keep checking as I will be posting my next post soon......

Lots of Love

Zoe Briggs

xxxx

What does good skin mean to you? .... Are you comfortable in yours? x

Hello everyone,

I want to give you all a warm welcome to my lifestyle blog. This is my first post and I hope to share many more lifestyle secrets with you. This blog won't just be about diet and health but will be about anything that I feel is useful to living a content life. Please join me on this journey and feel free to comment and share ideas with me.... 
I'm quite obsessed with having good skin and looking good....

Few of my beauty secrets involve steaming my skin every single morning, drinking over 4 litres of water a day, consuming lots of vegetables and staying away from junk. The thing is most people say going to the gym is very important but the honest truth is that the last time I went to the gym was 2 years ago lol!....

If you eat well you will feel good in yourself and look good from the outside too :) x

Now back to steaming my face. You may ask me why I do it every morning but this is why.....

'Steaming the face opens and clears the pores which can be especially beneficial to those suffering with acne or oil prone skin. Blemishes are more likely to occur when pores have become blocked with oil, and so clearing the pores will have an impact on the clearness of the skin. In the case of severe acne however, care should be taken as it can sometimes make the problem worse. Your GP or dermatologist will be able to advise you if facial steaming can be undertaken if you have severe acne.' ( http://www.facialsteam.com/) 

The product above is an example of what I use every morning and I find that after I have had a good 30 minutes of steaming my skin looks fresher and cleaner. I then jump straight into the shower :) 

This product can be purchased from Argos which is where I bought mine from.

Some people think I'm really crazy drinking 4 litres of water every day but trust me there are multiple benefits of drinking water that go unnoticed by many people. 

• Clear skin
• Weight loss
• Good bowel movements
• Stops dehydration 
• Maintains the balance of body fluids
• Sometimes when you think you are hungry drink water and suddenly that hunger disappears.... 

I try to drink a 2 litre bottle first thing in the morning before I do anything else such as having my breakfast. This is something I discovered recently as being very beneficial 

Why Zoe? Because...  

• Hydrates me
• Gives my brain fuel 
• Flushes toxins out of my body therefore makes me have a bowel movement first thing in the morning... 
• Wakes me up 

Some people have said to me that they hate the taste of tap water and that it tastes too bland. I agree with that statement and that it has a funny taste. Therefore I have a water filter which is the best thing I have purchased as all I have to do is fill my water filter with tap water and then the filter cleans the water for me and leaves the best part in the bottom compartment of the filter for me to drink. The water ends up tasting like bottle water and doesn't in the slightest carry the weird taste of tap water :) 

The second picture next to the water filter are the cartridges which need to be purchased to change each time the filter notifies you on top of the cover by going down from 100% - 0. The filter reduces lime scale as well as impurities that ruin the taste such as the taste of chlorine. The cartridges even remove the traces of lead or copper that sometimes occur in domestic plumbing. I bought mine from Costco. 

It has been advised to eat 5 or more pieces of fruit and vegetable a day which to some people is an alarming amount as they think 'How can I fit this amount within my busy lifestyle?' Easy peasy. Just like you'd find the time to purchase a galaxy chocolate bar in the morning on your way to work or pick up a Kit Kat whilst waiting for the bus at your nearest corner shop lets plan ahead and put some bananas in our bags... Or even some apples ... Before you know you be clocking the 5 mark and feel more alert to face the day...

With my meals I always try to include greens with it no matter how small. The more you do it the more you get used to it.. .

For example with every meal I have I always have more than a large bowl of spinach to accompany it... 

Spinach goes with almost every meal and helps to make it healthy...

Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will be discussing good natural hair products....

I'd like to leave you with a favourite song of mine...

x Z.B x