Author: Maridadi Life

ADVERTISE WITH US !

Maridadi Life

 

Being a premier online magazine that provides engaging and informative  content for our audience,we would like to partner with advertisers and brands  that  are passionate about Africa .

We are experiencing dramatic changes across the continent,great inventions in technology  are coming from Africa’s young people,we are making great strides in  sports (look at the African teams that represented their countries at the Winter Olympics) ,African fashion trends are  getting world attention and international investors now  know an investment on the continent will definitely bring great returns.

We would like to be part of the great changes that are taking part in the continent and  we are looking for global as well as well established brands on the continent that share our values , love for the continent and its people to advertise with us.

If you think your brand is bold,believes in Africa and  seeks to make a difference ,talk to us,we would love to partner with you.

AFRICA IS AT THE WINTER OLYMPICS !

Maridadi Life
Sabrina Simader during the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang ,South Korea. Photo credits:AFP-JIJI

The Winter Olympics got off to a colorful start in Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province of South Korea.

This year  marks the 94th year since the first Winter Olympic games  in 1924 in Chamonix ,France.

The Winter Olympics are held the second year after the more popular Summer Olympic are held and attract a select group of countries whose weather conditions favour winter sports.Africa did not have any country representing the continent until 1960 when South Africa made its debut at the games with an all-white team, we have had  at least one African country taking part in the games since then.

This year is special as  there will be 13 African athletes flying their countries flags , most of the athletes participating in the Winter Olympic games   have been born or trained outside the continent .A major reason for the small number  of African athletes at the Winter Games is the fact that the  tropical climate on the continent does not provide the conditions that would make  conducive training grounds for the type of sports  at the Winter Olympics.

The African countries taking part in the Winter Olympics are Kenya,Nigeria,Eritrea,Morocco,Ghana,Madagascar,Togo and South Africa.

Sabrina Wanjiku Simader, is representing Kenya and she is the first alpine skier to ever represent the country  and   her debut at the Winter Olympics is an exciting opportunity  for her as well as for the country.The 19 year old whose father is Austrian was all smiles  as she carried the Kenyan flag high during the opening ceremony .

A team you will also  want to keep your eyes on as they are also making their debut is Nigeria,which has a bob sled team and a skeleton athlete as well as being all-female.The team’s journey to Pyeongchang started last year in February when they launched a Gofundme campaign to raise funds for what would be Nigeria’s maiden debut at the Winter Olympics.The bob sled team is made up of athletes Akuoma Omeoga, Ngozi Onwumere and Seun Adigun and  the skeleton athlete Simidele Adeagbo.

Hopefully after whis year,we will see an even higher number of African athletes at the Winter Olympics in Beijing,China 2022 and that African governments will see to it that they support these athletes.

Watch the teams on the  Ellen DeGeneres show ,the games are available on satellite Television provider DSTV on SS12,13 and 14 and on Kwese TV the games are live on Olympics HD channel 306.

At Maridadi Lifestyle we would like to send  the African athletes the best of wishes  as they represent the continent.

 

 

FIRE, FURY & THE DANGER OF ZERO SUM POLITICS

Maridadi Life
Photo Credits:Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

 

“Media is personal.It is a series of blood scores .The media in its often collective mind decides who is going to rise and who is going to fall,who lives and who dies.If you stay around long enough in the media eye,your fate,like that of a banana republic despot ,is often an unkind one -a law Hilary Clinton was not able to circumvent.The media has the last word.”

-Michael Wolff

This post should have been  a book review.

When I started reading this book it was to get insight into the Trump Presidency and to get all the juicy details about exactly what could be happening on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,Washington DC,like everyone else I was curious to get into the inner sanctums of the Trump White House.Midway through the book I realized the book was not about that,it was a book about what American politics had become,the politics of self interest.Michael Wolff indeed  had given us a peek into the  Trump White House ,yet if he had changed the characters and location of  this story ,it could be any Presidency somewhere in the world.

It was a revelation of the  world political stage as it is right now,  the role of the media and  our role ,the not so helpless and hapless  minions of  a system we have been caught up in-a zero sum political game of thrones.

In all the discussions I watched on CNN of what was termed as an explosive  book ,the role of the media was never discussed or  talked about.The power of media and how it makes us believe  we are making choices when in fact the choices have already been made for us is something no one touched.Yet,we know media in the USA and in my country has played a role,a big one in the way the politics in these two countries has panned out.

The months before the American elections , if you watched  international news channels,especially CNN,President Donald Trump received a lot of coverage not all of it favorable,actually most of it  negative formed a recurring narrative on most news channels and discussion panels.There was enough time and information to be able to make the choice between President Trump , Hilary or  Bernie Sanders,they chose a former TV Reality Show star (there is nothing wrong with reality TV stars).

Michael Wolff for all the backlash he has received over the book,did say something that pretty much describes how President Trump would like to run the white house when he wrote,“Curiously for a man who seemed to have led a movement based in anger and retribution,Trump was very much(or he believed he was very much a politician of the old stripe-a lets -work-it out-guy.You scratch my back,I’ll scratch yours .He was in his mind,the ultimate tactician,always knowing what the other guy wanted.”

That knowing what the other guy wants is how he was able to get the GOP  nomination and beat Hilary at the polls.He knew and was speaking a language the average American understood,Americans wanted someone who was going to save them,their country and the values they thought their country stood for.Trump’s supporters wanted someone who could make America great again and Trump was speaking a language they were familiar with and could relate to.

He was the ultimate salesman.

The book is not just about Trump’s White House,it is a story about what is happening the world over,politically,it is a battle between “good’ and “evil” .Wolff provides what I consider a perfect description of politics today when he writes,“Politics had seemed to become,even well before the age of Trump,a mortal affair.It was now zero-sum:When one side profited,another lost.One side’s victory was another’s death.The old notion that politics was a traders game,an understanding that somebody else had something you wanted-a vote,goodwill,old-fashioned patronage-and that in the end the only issue was cost,had gone out of fashion.Now,it was a battle between good and evil.” 

That up there describes politics today,zero-sum.

And that is why America ,my country Kenya and many others   the world over are in the mess they are today.

When politics becomes a zero sum  game no one wins.Absolutely no one will ever win if we continue playing politics the way we are doing right now  where our wins are pegged on another person’s or groups loss.We fell into the zero sum trap when we started creating societies where everyone was placed into a particular social,ethnic,tribal or racial group and we aligned our political interests along those groups.

Read this fantastic article in the Washington post by llya Somin on Identity politics and the dangers of Zero-Sum Thinking.

This book is about that kind of politics, it reveals ,to borrow Wolff’s words that politics has become “a discrete business of insular,inbred,incestuous interests.”

Something will have to give if we go on like this and it will not be pretty.

Read the book.

DANS LE NOIR EXPERIENCE

Maridadi Life

 

It is some minutes to 7 pm on Thursday and I am walking towards Soi Restaurant at dusitD2 Nairobi, excited for what I  am sure will be a thrilling and fun evening .It is the  launch of their dining in the dark experience,part of the #dusitD2moments.

The first dining in the dark experience was held in Paris,France in 1997 and over the years the idea has been taken up by many other restaurants around the world  in order to deliver  a novel  and multi sensory experience to their diners.

The French call it “dans le noir” which in English translates to in the dark.

As the hostess at Soi was walking me to my table ,the questions swirling in my mind were :

What do I expect from my first dining in the dark experience ?

What really happens at a dining in the dark experience ?

What  happens when you cannot see what is on your plate , does it really  heighten  your enjoyment of food ?

Seated  with me at Soi the Thai  Restaurant   are other food bloggers like Susan Wong Editor at Capital Lifestyle,Kaluhi of Kaluhi’s Kitchen,Katy Fentress of Yummy Magazine  and Ravneet Sehmi of The Asian Weekly ,we are on our second course , and we are trying to guess what it is  on our plates and sharing it with Karim the F & B Director.

We are clearly getting something right guessing from the encouraging response we get from him who though he does not tell us exactly what is on our plates is keenly following the progress of our meal and making sure we are comfortable,that we know exactly where our plates are placed,ensuring we have our drinks  and his cheerful banter keep us engaged and relaxed  throughout the course of the meal.

Karim has such a delightful and engaging personality , has worked in a number of countries and has a genuine love for great food an  interview with him is something I am looking forward to doing.

On our second course  I am chewing on something really delicious  – a vegetable wrap  with  a filling of what tastes like pork or is it chicken I cannot tell as clearly  I am in the dark (pun intended).

Later after the plates for this course have been cleared, we find out that it was  a salad of spicy grilled pork with Tom Yum paste made by the chef whom Karim introduces as   Supa Chai .

All food at dining in the dark experiences is served in bite sized pieces ,has no bones and you can use your hands (we got hot towels before this course) . I  used my fingers to finish my  prawns and egg fried rice with a thick red curry and relished every bite of it.

 This course  was pretty hilarious  because around me I kept hearing prawns being mentioned , I had not yet started on  mine and I kept thinking..what are these guys talking about…where are my prawns?!

The dining in the dark experience at dusitD2  will be happening on the 1st Thursday of every month, officially it begins with the first dining in the dark experience on the 8th of this month (be sure to make your reservations early).

We had a connoisseur of Asian food on our table   and she got the third course which was  chicken  wonton soup right on the first few seconds of this course .Wontons are little squares of dough  and can be filled with chicken ,pork,shrimp or vegetables  the edges are  brushed with some water and  crimped to seal in the fillings ,they are boiled and served with soup.This course was  delightfully delicious and got rave reviews from everyone at the table and  I   remember getting surprised then disappointed  when I started scraping the bottom of the bowl with the soup spoon and finding that the delightfully delicious  soup was over!

Wontons can  also be served  deep-fried or baked with a sauce.

Would I do it again ?

A definite yes , the dusitD2 will be offering a new menu for each dining in the dark experience in the coming months and with 2 new chefs ,diners will be getting some really great  things on the menu.

My suggestion  when you are making your reservations would be to go for the experience as a group ,either as a family,a group of friends or with  your colleagues from work ,that way you get to share your experience through out the course of the meal.

Overall ,it was a great experience and I would definitely go back.

It had me paying more attention to my food,I remember trying to use my sense of smell to try to guess what was on my plate every time we got a new course and deliberately taking longer to chew my food and getting thrilled with the burst of flavors on my palate through out and I realized  how powerful our senses are and  how little  use we make of our other senses when enjoying  food.

Bon appetit!

 

Walkway from the parking that leads through 14 Riverside Drive to the Soi Restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE POP ART GALLERY AT dusitD2:A SPACE FOR KENYAN ARTISTS

Maridadi Life

 

Katanu Kay (right) and Santina Nyagah CEO -Maridadi Life (left )

“Art when used well is a powerful , creative force that can change how we see ourselves,the world around us and how we respond to the challenges life throws at us.”

Art has been with us for millenia,for as long as we have had human beings on earth ,we have had art and an appreciation of art is a skill that is as a result of exposure.

The art  scene in Nairobi has become very vibrant and this activity   is what is attracting global attention to the city’s art scene.This vibrancy has been fuelled by a  burgeoning and  educated middle class as well as the high number of expatriates who live in the city who have beome very appreciative of the talent that  resides in the city and its environs.

With no distinct  home-grown art event ,the pop up trend has created an opportunity for artists to showcase their work to an appreciative local and international audience .

dusitD2 has filled this lack of a home-grown art event with the  pop art gallery exhibition  held at its upmarket location on 14,Riverside Drive.

The art exhibition  held every last Saturday of the month  has    a children’s  corner which runs concurrently with the exhibition and is  a partnership with Capital Kids club and  offers  an opportunity for children to get art lessons while  parents  enjoy the art work  from  very talented artists.

Kenyans are not avid consumers of art and through this  collaboration with Google Kenya ,dusitD2 is offering Kenyan artists the space to exhibit and sell their  art as well as   promoting  an  appreciation of art which offers an opportuity  for  artists to  earn a living through the sale of their  work.

On this particular Saturday the artists whose works were on display were:

  • Ssegujja Godfrey
  • Victor Binge
  • Katanu Kay
  • Ronnie Tindi
  • Jak Katarikawe
  • Sam Githui
  • Louis Chvetsova

 

I was very taken by the work of Katanu Kay which incorporated Kitenge fabric ,of particular interest to me was her work Euphoria 2 . We stood in front of that painting  talking about art , what inspires her and in that half hour I forgot she was just 1 month shy of her 20th birthday and that she  had  been exhibiting for just 2 years and  a month . Thanks to the exhibition,which  attended last year for the first time,  her work had found its way to   art collectors  in South Arica,Nigeria,the US and Australia.

 

Euphoria 2 is as a result of  a meeting with a lady who after seeing her work on Euphoria 1 asked for an exact copy of that particular piece.Katanu ,however does not do replicas of her work  and asked if  she could do something different ,the client agreed and the result is Euphoria 2.The two pieces ,Euphoria 1 & 2 are  inspired by the same thing ,a celebration of Katana’s African heritage and culture. It is her desire  that through her work  people take every   opportunity to  embrace being African and to  celebrate it.

She is a graduate   of the  BTEC Art and Design program at Brook House school and is headed to SCAD where she will be pursuing  her   studies in  Fine Art & Interior Design which she wants to pursue up to   PhD  level.

Art for Katanu  is a channel that  she uses to express herself , her ideas and it is a platform to share these ideas with the world.She would love that through her art people are able to ask questions,explore ideas and think outside the box of what society terms as the norm and that through this we develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other.

It is why she took the very unusual route of incorporating African fabric in her art work – which I thought was such a  great   conversation starter  on her work and what inspires her.

Read:African fabric making its presence on global runways.

When it was time for me to leave ,I found myself on the terrace of the Soko restaurant   thinking about what an amazing point in time it was to be alive,to hear artists like Katana talk about her   hope to have her work exhibited at the New York Art Gallery .

Thanks to dusitD2, this is not the last we have heard of this young lady and all the other equally talented artists who have found a  space to exhibit their art  work as well given an opportunity for Nairobi residents to enjoy local art.Before leaving,I  made a quick trip back to the exhibition to have one last look and some pieces had already been marked as sold and set aside  which only goes to  emphasise the quality of the work on display.

 

Look out for the next edition of the Pop Art Gallery on the last Saturday of this coming month of February and get ready to sample  great art and food .

See you there!

 

KONNICHIWA,HAVE YOU BEEN TO MINISO ?

Maridadi Life

 

These bags would be perfect for carrying make-up.

Konnichiwa (hello or good day in Japanese said with a deep bow from the waist)

Last year on May 16,2017 Kenya and Japan signed a cooperation agreement that would see Miniso a fashion brand from Japan make forays into the Kenyan market.Seven months later on December 22nd , Miniso would open its first retail store at the upmarket Village Market shopping  complex  and barely a month later they would open their second store at the Thika Road Mall .

The two  Kenyan  Miniso stores all located in Nairobi city  join a growing list of the over 2,600 outlets it has globally with its presence in Africa being in South Africa,Morocco,Nigeria,Egypt and Madagascar.Kenyans love the brand already as the few times I have been there the aisles have been busy and the staff are always very courteous and helpful.

Whenever I think of Japan it is the  vivid memories of cherry tree blossom season, the geta(the very fashionable wooden sandals) and kimonos that come to mind and sushi,how could i forget how the Japanese gave us Sushi!

Japanese culture intrigues me ,it is so prim and proper ,steeped in tradition yet  as a country is so technologically advanced it is mind boggling.  Tradition and technological advancement  can co- exist we just have to find the balance and African countries are coming into themselves and we have  seen an ever increasing appreciation of African culture globally over the last decade.

Miniso brand specializes in lifestyle products and the range of items in their stores range from play dough , nail polish to kitchen saucepan and mobile phone accessories .I found their products favorably priced and I would dare say they will disrupt the lifestyle retail sector with their high quality but well priced items.

 

As a brand Miniso gives the best of what we appreciate about the Japanese culture,their precision to detail,courtesy(we had an attendant follow us and bring a shopping cart) and a whole new way of doing business .

Konnichiwa(deep bow)

HOW EMOJI’S ARE CHANGING HOW WE COMMUNICATE

Maridadi Life

How many of you use emoji’s when communicating with family or friends ?

I know I do all most of the time.

Did you know there is world Emoji day marked on July 17th?

Emoji’s are described by the Oxford Dictionary as a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion.

There are 2,666 emoji characters available as of June of last year,more than there are letters of the alphabet….!

Thanks to technology and the rising use of social media we have seen an increase in the use of emoji’s even  by big brands and millennials are quite adept at using them, Goldman Sachs after research on millennials  condensed their findings into  a 22  emoji character Tweet.

To be honest the first time I watched the video last year  I had no idea who had done it .

A music video made up of entirely emoji’s..who does that?

Well Sauti Sol does.

The Kenyan music group remains one of my favorites and I have followed their music over the years .I like the boldness with which they bring to each of their music projects  their  Afro-pop sound and as they have become more daring over the years , won awards that no other Kenyan group has they  continue to ruffle the very smooth moral feathers of Kenyan society or not.

Whether you think their music videos  raunchy or simply great works of art,music for them as a form of art offers  a reflection of  society as it is.

The Friendzone music video was a first in terms of emoji use,  as you might expect …has a raunchy subtext.But it did say something about how we have moved from text to visual messaging and  how we have adopted them as a  fun way to express our thoughts and ideas.

An Emoji sentiment analysis done between 2015 and 2017 among 6 billion users show emoji use is higher among women.

The analysis ran by Brandwatch also analysed some of the most popular emojis among men and women .

Last year Facebook adopted use of emoji reactions where users who were previously limited to “liking” posts  now have multiple options to choose from that range from “love”,”sad”,”angry”,”wow” or ‘haha.”

Emojis are changing the way we express ourselves which must say something about how we communicate with each other.In a world where we  are more connected than we have ever been in human history,why have we resorted to use of emojis?

Have we exchanged real conversations for  over reliance on technology  and do emojis muddy the waters of communication or make them clearer ?

What does this say about how we will communicate with each other in a few years and what does that mean for relationships today and in the future ?

It will be interesting to see where we are headed and how things change but just incase you want to keep up with all things emoji related,then use this resource tool for all things emoji related- Emojipedia .

 

 

FASHION IN 2018:WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT ?

Maridadi Life
Photo:www.i.guim.co.uk

“Fashion tells a story about us and the world around us and what is happening to us,do not ignore it.

Santina Nyagah-Chief Editor  at Maridadi Living

The Big 4 fashion capitals  of the Fashion world are London,Milan,New York and Paris.

Why I watch the trends coming off the runway from the Fashion weeks set in these fashion  capitals is because the designers at these events have their fingers on  the pulse of what is  driving  the world around us.

Having watched what is coming off the runway in the past few months,you quickly realize that the world is becoming a much more integrated place and fashion is reflecting this by fusing different cultural elements together.

African print is making its presence felt on the runway felt,the vibrant colors that are a hall mark of the continent are increasingly finding  their way on the runways in these fashion capitals.

Stella McCartney a British fashion designer last year used Ankara fabric in her Spring/Summer 2018 collection ,Ankara  is a wax print whose origins can be traced to West Africa in her collection  and is  a fabric very popular across the continent.It can make everything from clothes for every day wear to show stoppers for formal functions.

Photos:www.i.guim.co.uk

Louis Vuitton in their Spring/Summer 2012 men’s wear collection  featured hats,shirts and scarves made from fabric very similar to the Maasai shuka- a traditional chequered blanket available in a variety of colors popular among the Maasai communities of Kenya and Tanzania.

Photo:AFP/Getty Images

Last year designer Andrew GN in his 2017 Fall collection had the models on his show have their hair braided in a manner that mimics   the way African women wear their hair.A closer look at the colors and prints through out his collection, with its animal print,earthy colors and chunky accessories was a celebration of the fusion of cultures and a celebration of globalization.

Check out the rest of Andrew GN Fall collection.

Andrew GN RTW Fall 2017

That we can have the fashion industry celebrating cultures from all the 4 corners of the world,where designers are influenced by cultures not their own , is indeed a testament to how far we have come and to how far we still have to go.We still need more African models on the runways sporting African designs and we need more designers from Africa celebrating the continents diverse cultures and talents.

2018 will be an interesting year in the fashion industry,watching 2017 shows,we are seeing a modesty and simplicity slipping through to the runway,a love for pastels and influence from different cultures is clearly being recognized and celebrated.Models are also becoming more diverse and there are more African ,Asian faces than before ,and more cities are getting noticed as they seek to join the Big 4 of the fashion industry. We have  Dubai  becoming  a place to watch as it hosts the Arab Fashion Week in late April ,with its ready to wear apparel heavily influenced by Arab culture it has quickly become a favorite among fashion houses that are looking further than Europe,Asia and America for business.

If you want to keep abreast with what is coming off the runway you may want to see the dates of the fashion weeks in the Big 4 capitals of fashion London,Milan,New York and Paris ,use this calendar. 

A good reason to watch what happens in fashion is because we do not just wear clothes,our clothes express who we are,our aspirations,values and by watching what comes off the runway you will have a pretty good idea about the things that are driving the world around us.Through the clothes you see on the runway,those are stories being told,by designers,about us and the world around us.

Happy New Year and have  a truly inspiring 2018!

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS POST SERIES:BEST GIFTS COST YOU NOTHING

Maridadi Life

 

My friend Wambui and I are on an errand around Toi in Kibera and as she is parking her car,she notices someone she thinks she knows,but he looks different she says.I turn to take a second look at  the  young man she is referring to who is now directing us to a parking spot.You could easily pass him,ignore him or shudder when you look at him.

He is in torn jeans,a grey t shirt that has seen better days , open pair of battered brown  shoes and in his hands a faded grey towel.See those towels that they sell in traffic jams in Nairobi that end up somewhere in your car until you need it and can’t remember where you placed the last one one you bought and you tell yourself you have to buy another one.And when you buy a new one you find the old one and now you have a couple of towels that you really do not need.

Yes,those towels.

That is what he is holding in his hand,a small grey,damp  towel.

He comes to stand next to the drivers side of the car,unconsciously wiping the car as he talks to us,he works at a car wash.

But that is not what you notice when you first see him,you will first see the sores on his lips,sores that have turned his lips pink,an unnatural shade of pink with  red sores that look like blisters,the pink spots on his skin seem to be spreading because he also has a patch of pink with a smattering of his natural skin color on the  tip of his nose.

Wambui makes small talk with him and promises to be back in a few minutes,sadly I  do not think much about that young man all I ask myself is what happened to him and quickly start calculating how much time we will have to spend in traffic to get home.

When we get back to the car,I strap myself in and then Wambui does not drive off,she starts a conversation with him.

His name is Amigo,he is 35 and this skin condition he has…one day he was fine,all dark brown melanin color, then one day he wakes up and his skin color has started to change  and he cannot explain it.He struggles to explain what changed,how his skin changed and I can tell he does not know what to say as he keeps shaking his head .He works at a car wash nowadays as he cannot find a job,lives with his mother and has a 6 year old son that calls him dad that he has to take care of. Wambui talks and I listen and thinking to myself of how many other people  have been helped by Amigo to park their cars and once they had done so,they locked  their cars , went off to their business,shopping for stuff at Toi or Adams and when they were done,they came got into their cars and drove off.Did not even look back.

Those people could be me.

Amigo talked and as he talked of how he had been to Kenyatta and Mbagathi hospitals hoping to get medication for his skin condition,but nothing seems to change even after these visits and medication.

Amigo talked and we listened and later as we drove back home we talked about him and we felt our hearts break,listening to him.We promised to back and we prayed for him.

I hope we can do something for Amigo,maybe get him someone that could diagonize his skin condition or give him a job

If you are ever in Toi during this Christmas season and you see that young man,say hallo to him,encourage him because sometimes we meet people on the street they look fine to us but they are fighting giants within themselves,they are fighting battles we know nothing about and carrying loads of care and worry that would crash us.

As we celebrate Christmas this year,spare a thought and your time for the people you would normally never talk to or listen to and just give them your time,it costs nothing.

My encounter with Amigo made me think of the help I have received from people over the years and sometimes that help was not even monetary,it was a listening ear,encouragement,prayers,best of wishes as I worked on an idea and I realized that the best help we can give to anyone is our time.

It also challenged me to give time to people who sometimes are in the periphery of my life,people I would not normally talk to because I was afraid that there is nothing I could say to them that would change their circumstances or be of help .We all can be an answer to someones prayer and sometimes their prayer is that someone sees them,sees them and listens to them because when we listen,it shows we care.

The value of time is so precious,that time you give to a friend looking for someone to listen to the challenges they are going through at work,with life or as they grow their business is invaluable.If you spare some time to listen to someone,maybe that is all they need to know that someone cares enough to give them their time may give that person the strength to live another day.

.This Christmas,give more of yourself,of your time to someone you would  normally not give your time to,listen to them and really hear what they are saying.It is the best thing you can do to yourself and to someone who needs you.

The best Christ Christmas gifts cost you nothing.