Check out this behind the scenes video of a day in the shoot of "Yori Yori Babes", a Nollywood Nigerian movie being filmed in the United States.
"African film is the second largest (film) industry in the world. Can you imagine that?" -- Bella Nickole, actress in Yori Yori Babes.
"We have Nollywood USA now, which is when they come over here and they tell our stories, because our lifestyle here is different than the lifestyle of the typical Nigerian living in Nigeria"-- Estella Ogbonna, on set fashion designer.
"Somehow we try to chain it, to show people who are in this diaspora, and people who are on a journey from this place to another country. That is the whole thing." -- Sam Onwuka, one of the producers.
"It doesn't only involve beauty like all the other pageants that I see. It involves brains, too. So I said, ‘OK, this will be a real challenge. It won't just be Claret showing her pretty face.’" Claret Onukogu, Miss Nigeria in America.
Even diasporas have their beauty pageants.
The reigning Miss Nigeria in America, Claret Onukogu, wants to use her prestigious title, the strength of her American education and what she calls her Nigerian compassion to make a difference in her home country.
Onukogu especially wants to help at risk-women and children overcome the daunting obstacles of poverty and government neglect.
In this video, she seeks inspiration from a visit to an orphanage in the state of Maryland, and professional guidance from the Nigerian embassy in Washington, D.C..
Her guide along the way is a retired professor, Dr. Ignatius Ukpabi, who is widely regarded as the unofficial “mayor” of the Nigerian diaspora in Washington.
This is a story about the fortitude of a young woman trying to bridge two worlds.
“My dream is that one day African artists would be able to live from their music -- just like American people are doing right now -- and kind of create a new paradigm. I would like people to say there is an African dream too.” – Micky Badinga, beatmaker and MBA student in the southeastern state of Virginia.
Beatmaker Micky Badinga produces hip-hop music with samples, beats, singing, rapping, keyboards, and a computer.
Badinga started making music to fit his dance style as a teenager. His strongest musical influences have been his Gabonese heritage and the time he spent as a youth in France, where multi-cultural music reigns on airwaves. Now, while studying for his Master’s degree in Business Administration – an MBA -- he dreams of becoming an African Puff Daddy or Dr. Dre, two African-American rappers who went on to very lucrative and successful careers as music producers.
He believes his artistic talents, background and academic studies will help him succeed at the business of music in Africa.
Badinga says musicians trying to make a living from their music in Africa suffer badly from copyright violations. And only a small percentage can earn real money as musicians because there are so few avenues available to help them turn their talents into income -- mainly concert tours, and recording contracts they sign outside the continent.
After he graduates, Badinga hopes to go back to Africa to open his own recording studio. Eventually, he’d like to start his own recording company label to help African artists earn a better living from their music.
Until then, Badinga says, he’ll be working on his dream in the United States, making sure he succeeds in getting his MBA degree first, and learning what he can of the ins and outs of the fast-changing recording industry.
"One thing that has really resonated with Liberians is that they have not forgotten their homeland. So, you have various organizations, which are seeking ways to rebuild the country. We are aware that government cannot do it all." -- Danlette Norris, Liberian professor.
This fifth and final installment in my series about the Liberian diaspora shows how members of this unique expatriate community raise money to fund education and health projects back in the war-devastated country they fled.
Even one dollar can make a difference in heavily-damaged areas like Maryland County, Liberia, which is on the southeastern border with Ivory Coast. That’s where Norris and some of the other members of the Rhode Island Liberian community come from. As an evening fundraiser stretched into the early-morning hours, hundreds of dollars filled tin-foil receptacles.
Part 1 of this series was about why so many Liberians are in the small state of Rhode Island.
Part 2 was about Liberian immigrants helping each other out, especially young and old.
Part 3 was about setting up shop and the challenges of getting papers in order.
Part 4 was about the most important issue of raising the children of the diaspora.
"We are demanding that the United States stop arming and aiding Israel. We are in fact calling for a cut-off of all aid to Israel." -- Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the Answer Coalition. "There have been too many meetings with politicians in backrooms and not enough conversations in people's living rooms and at their kitchen tables. That is what it's really going to take." -- Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, President Israel Project
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most divisive issues in the world today.
In the United States, activists line up on both sides of this complex impasse, which has sparked decades of violence.
This report looks into some of these activists’ arguments and counter-arguments, their strategies and their views on U.S. government policy.
A related audio-video report by Cindy Saine and Leta Hong Fincher shows how President Barack Obama is pressing Israel's new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a two-state solution.
Another audio-video report by Mohamed Elshinnawi describes how experts differ on whether President Obama can succeed in bringing peace to the Middle East.
As a multi-media reporter for VOA News, Nico lets people tell American stories unscripted. Write me on ncolomb (at) voanews (dot) com. Thanks for watching!
