KENYAN LANDS A DEAL ON Mnet

One of the funniest, sexy and fabulous Kenya Big Brother star for 2011 Nic Wang;ondo, has landed a deal to host the new upcoming series from Mnet by the name of “MASHIRIKI MIX”. The 26 years old television producer from Nairobi will be the first to invite musicians and models to television divas and business icons from all over East Africa in the 30 minute weekly lifestyle series. Nic and

the series producers will be on the lookout for the freshest trends, hottest stars coolest accessories, hippest place, VIP parties and much more. Modern, urban and glossy, the series which checks out everything from leading fashion brands and state-of-the-art tech gadgetry to trendy hotspots and dynamic lifestyles from Dar es salaam , Kampala and Nairobi.

M-Net Africa Managing Director Biola Alabi says the show will be hosted on M-Net on Thursdays (18.30 CAT) the English language version and Kiswahili version on AfricaMagic Swahili on Sundays (16.30 CAT).

$300,000 FOR 2012 WINNER OF BIG BROTHER AFRICA

The mega-hit reality-TV Big Brother Africa which is also M-Net’s sensational series is out to get your attention this year! This season 7 rather than bringing just two people from the same country, participants are expected to bring a partner to enter biggie’s house as a pair. So whether you enter with your best friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, dad, brother, sister, boss, husband, wife, neighbour, hairdresser, whomever…you must just make sure that you enter as a pair for you to get a chance to scoop the $300,000 cash bounty up for grabs. Big Brother Africa is also welcoming two new countries Liberia and Sierra Leone to the Big Brother house for the first time ever, while this time round, Ethiopia bows out of the game and Mozambique will take on a new role that will be announced at a later stage.If you want to enter Big Brother Africa you can do so if you and your partner are citizens from one of the following participating countries: Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Both partners must come from the same country, must be 21 years or older, must be fluent in English and must have a valid passport. Interested persons can collect an entry form from the nearest MultiChoice office in their country or go to online www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother anytime from February 5 and the deadline entry is on 27 February.

NOLLYWOOD STAR TALKS CHARITY ON Mnet

For the past few years, Stephanie Okereke has quietly been doing great work with her campaign to educate and raise funds  for surgery to treat Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF). Cases of VVF are especially prevalent in Northern Nigeria where due to certain traditions, poverty or family pressure which forces hundreds of girls get married and have children in their early teens before their pelvis is well developed and ready to handle childbirth.

According to the Fistula Foundation, A fistula is a hole. An obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in many developing countries is a hole between a woman’s birth passage and one or more of her internal organs. This hole develops over many days of obstructed labor, when the pressure of the baby’s head against the mother’s pelvis cuts off blood supply to delicate tissues in the region. The dead tissue falls away and the woman is left with a hole between her vagina and her bladder (called a vesicovaginal fistula or VVF) and sometimes between her vagina and rectum (rectovaginal fistula, RVF). This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces. A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their inability to have children and their foul smell. Traumatic fistula is the result of sexual violence. The injury can occur through rape or women being butchered from the inside with bayonets, wood or even rifles. The aim is to destroy the women and the community within which the sufferer lives. Once committed the survivor, her husband, children and extended family become traumatized and humiliated. For the past few years, Stephanie Okereke has been quietly doing great work with her campaign to educate and raise funds surgery to treat Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF).

Stephanie has been working with first ladies of Northern states in Nigeria on various awareness and treatment campaigns. This week on MNet’s Jara, Stephanie is interviewed by co-host Helen Paul and she shares the story behind her passion for the cause and also the positive results the campaign has yielded so far.

 2011 is set to be a monumental year for Stephanie Okereke, in addition to her VVF charity work, she is currently planning her wedding to her beau, Linus Idahosa and has major North American feature editorials lined up.