We Painted Kenya Pink
How does it feel to be on the second half of 2019? If I am being entirely honest, its a little nerve wrecking to see how fast the months have flown considering we were recently talking about new years’ resolutions. That being said, I hope your first half has been kind to you and if hasn’t, take heart and try to look at adversity as an opportunity for growth.
In my previous newsletter titled ‘No Monday Blues’, you got exclusive details regarding the 8th Annual Global Wellness Day Celebrations which took place for the first time in Kenya on June 8th at Trademark Hotel. The event was a huge success and we had over 150 people coming in to participate in the wellness activities of the day. We kicked off with wellness checks that were running throughout the event where participants got free assessments of both their physical and mental health.
There was free group yoga which had almost 30 people filling up the class but I could count only one or two men in the entire class. Although I would have loved to see more men rolling up their yoga mats, it was great to see women of all ages taking part and majority were doing it for their first time.
The icing on the cake was being able to moderate two wellness panels where all the amazing speakers shared great insight into both physical health and inner health. The first panel focused on how fitness can unlock our potential and why what we eat matters. The speakers were Anne-Marie Burugu, Samuel Oliech, Shiv Simani, Yvonne Okwara, Sinaida Aura, Phillip Guya, Edmund Mujumba and Faith Kamiri.
(From L to R) Edmund Mujumba, Sammy Oliech, Philip Guya, Shiv Simani
(From L to R) Sinaida Aura, Yvonne Okwara, Faith Kamiri
On the second panel which was discussing inner health, we talked about how to reclaim our happiness. Inner health has a significant impact on our well-being; we can work out and eat healthy all year round but if we’re not taking steps to optimize how we feel mentally, emotionally and spiritually, we continue to remain at a loss. The speakers on this panel were Chiki Onukwe, Sapna Chandaria, Tommy Olango, Eugene Mweri, Taaka Odera and Agolla Aloo.
(From L to R) Chiki Onukwe, Sapna Chandaria, Taaka Odera, Tommy Olango, Eugene Mweri, Taaka Odera
This session was powerful and therapeutic; all the speakers were transparent with their stories and I could see the audience relating to the issues we discussed. Both panels had great engagement and participants felt safe enough to any kind of of questions.
Tatiana Karanja was awarded with the 'Crevit Mulier Wellness Award' due to her significant impact in inspiring others to take time to invest in their health. If you are a keen subscriber, I am sure you already know about her fitness journey but in case you missed it, click here for the full feature.
Tatiana Karanja, Baby Olive & Marley and Sylvia Amino (President of Crevit Mulier)
We concluded the celebrations with zumba where the class had even twice the number of those who attended yoga! There were almost 50 people who actually came specifically to get their sweat on with afrobeat music and choreography that got everyone dancing. It was a first for many including myself and I have to admit, zumba is not a joke because we were all drenched and endorphins were oozing at the end of the class!
Through a partnership with Trademark Hotel, The Wellness Project Africa, Ignite Fitness, Crevit Mulier and Baddest Ting Entertainment, we were able to successfully bring hundreds together to ask ourselves how we can live a healthier and happy life.
Nrupali Dave, Assistant Marketing Manager- Trademark Hotel
Clara Masinde, Co-founder- The Wellness Project Africa (Right)
(From L to R) Mwox, Sylvia Amino, Jolie Ouko (Founder, Crevit Mulier), Kafi (Founder, Baddest Ting Entertainment)
Since GWD is an annual event, the date for next year has been confirmed for June 13th 2020. Trust me, you will want to save the date for a celebration that could change your life because it definitely changed mine!
The second milestone was the Bake Awards where Tizi was nominated for ‘Best New Blog’ and ‘Kenyan Blog of the Year’. The gala took place at Utalii Hotel where I got a chance to meet other talented bloggers and learn about other blogs. Although I didn’t win, I must say, seeing my passion project in categories with other content creators who I truly admire was surreal! I will forever be humbled and grateful to all those who voted.
In case you missed out on Global Wellness Day, we got you covered. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for Part 2 of this feature.
8th Annual Global Wellness Day Celebrations (Part 1)
Yours in Wellness
@tizitalks
Credits
Photographer: Brayan Taty, Desmond Njenga, Job (Bake Awards)
Videographer: Desmond Njenga
Location: Trademark Hotel (Global Wellness Day); Utalii Hotel (Bake Awards 2019)
