THESE GENES DAY

Allo people!

And i am back!
This time, to talk about one thing only-
THESE GENES; the Sickle Cell Project

Just in case you do not know yet, These Genes is a Project that seeks to create awareness about sickle-cell, and basically, get people talking about the disorder!!!
We like for people living with sickle cell to be able to talk about the disorder, and what living with it means for them, and we love for those with family members, friends or loved ones living with the disorder to also talk about what that entails, and to understand the physical and psychological implications of the disorder, a little more!

Apart from TEENAGE GENES which is our monthly workshop with teenagers on the disorder, we also have a website, and of course, a book in the works!
But, what we also love to do best at THESE GENES, is just get people talking in their usual, and natural environs!!!
So...
We like the month of October, and we zeroed in on a date- OCTOBER 31ST
We then cornered this day and decided to make it ours, and so OCT 31ST is now THESE GENES DAY!
This year, it is the RED AND BLUE DAY!!!

What happens on october 31st?
What happens on These Genes Day?
What happens on Red and Blue Day?
SIMPLE!!!

EVERYONE (we mean everyone that cares about us, that supports us, that lives with sickle-cell, or that knows someone who lives with sicklecell), has to wear RED and / or BLUE to work, school or play, on OCTOBER 31st!
It could be your shirt, or your shoes, or your hat, or your pants, or your hair!!! But you have to wear something red and / or something blue!

If you have a THESE GENES tshirt, wristband, or other merchandise, then you have to wear that as well!!!

And the last thing you need to do?
You need to talk to at least FIVE people, about THESE GENES, or SICKLE-CELL.
Be as brief or detailed as you please, research on the internet if you like, send it as a message if you so desire. But whatever you do, let five other people become more aware of sickle-cell, cos of YOU!!!

So that is three simple things to do with These Genes, on OCTOBER 31ST

Remember,
- Wear Red and / or Blue on Friday OCTOBER 31st.
You can wear it to work or school, and also if you are going out partying or just for drinks!
- Wear a THESE GENES wristband or tshirt if you have one
- Talk to FIVE people about sickle-cell!!!

It is going to be a lot of fun guys, and i can't wait!
Take pictures, blog about it, put it up on facebook, write about it in the papers or magazines, talk about it on your show, post a video on youtube....

Let's keep the awareness going cos we might only live once, but if we live well, then once is enough!!!

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jeansfor genes

Pictures from the event

JEANS FOR GENES!

I have to admit, February and March might have been the busiest two months of my life.

I have been working on the Apprentice Africa, and it turned out to be a pretty intensive day-to-day kind of job so planning a Fashion Exhibition, even for charity, was not an easy job oh!

First it started with an idea; let's have a fashion show!

People like fashion, and would love the opportunity to buy clothes. If we made it a fashion show where the designers worked with denim as a medium, then it would be beautifully tied to the cause!

JEANS FOR GENES Fashion Exhibition was born!

Date?

We wanted it to be around Easter, and i also selfishly thought of a date with a personal attachment - my dad's birthday.

We had no venue, no money and no media.

But hey, we had God so it would all be fine wouldn't it?

The first thing i did was to make it my status update for a week - TOSYN NEEDS SUPPORT FOR HER FASHION EXHIBITION COMING UP IN MARCH.

The responses were quiet and slow at first, and then they started pouring in!

People offered to model, some asked to show their designs, and others still asked if they could volunteer on the day!

But without a venue, all that planning is gist oh, so imagine how blessed we felt when SWE BAR came on board!

SWE BAR is a lovely, intimate and beautiful looking bar at City Mall which appeals to guys, girls, people looking for a quiet lunch, or people looking to let their hair down and DANCE!

But a Fashion show in a bar?

Err... why not change it to an EXHIBITION then?

The pressure is reduced, and you still get that intimate feeling we wanted to acheive with the fashion show.

Venue

Check.

The first designer approached was BEAMPEH, who creates wearable art. Then BYGE (run by Obijie), and MY Q run by the beautiful Yeside Mohammed. Their mission? Create a line using denim as a medium!

But we wanted to be able to sell other things so we got in touch with the very talented TONI PAYNE to make specially designed tshirts for THESE GENES. It was enough to see the lovely line she created for 'Gongon Aso'.

She worked out a design, we gave her the inscription and we shook hands on facebook.

We also ordered Wristbands, and tshirts by a design outfit known as ENERGY. We had seen their stuff exhibited at WAPi at the British Council and we simply fell in love.

Fashion

Check

But what about entertainment?

And this is where we were blown away!

All it took to be honest was to ask politely. Once it was seen that this was for a charitable course, artistes confirmed their attendance and soon, we had a program!

As the weeks wound down and the date got closer, we began to panic a bit. You know how it goes.

Labelle's Touch and Face Factor came on board to help with the models' make up on the day, and the lovely Jibola Olubiyi of AYANA also came on board to help out with accessories.

OUCH! ties then got on board so that there would be more things for the boys as well. But little did he know that the ladies had a plan!

290308 was the passcode and it was strictly by invitation, the invites to be delivered on request.

For the last week leading to the event, the media went to town with the story and this led to more interest.

With that came pressure

You do not invite people to a show, and not have something to show!!! So everything had to be on point!

290308 status updates read

Everyone spoke about the event, and people changed their profile pictures to reflect what was happening on the day.

People began ordering their TONI PAYNE tshirts which were absolutely fabulous, and the stage was set..almost literally!

For more on how the show went, then please read

http://www.speechgirlbucknor.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, what can we say?

We need to say THANK YOU to every single person who thought about us, prayed for us, cared about us, or even yapped us.

yes oh, we turn every stumbling block into stepping stones!

But we need to thank some people and so, please bear with us.

- Toyin Adesola has been living with Sickle-Cell for 40 years and she came to share her amazing story with us. Author of 'STILL STANDING', she kicked the show of with a reading from her book.

- Lanre the Comedian

- Toks D Don

- Chiedu Ifeozo (for his simple but poignant poetry)

- Li'l Flow (he is only 11, but if i were a rapper, i would be watching my back at this moment!)

- Bez Idakula

- M.I (we were delighted to have the winner of the Hip Hop World Award for Rap Single of the Year with us)

- Jesse Jags (all the way from JTown!)

- Sage Has.son (the wonderful spoken word maestro blessed our stage with more words that became pictures)

- Jedi ( even though he had a wedding on that day, Jedidiah took time out to come share his unique brand of humour with us)

- Etcetera ( Not only did Etcetera perform and turn the house quiet with his specially delivered slow rock, but he also donated c.d's to the cause so buy Etcetera c.ds people!)

- Aysia (also all the way from JTown!)

- Divine Brothers (acappella baby!)

Our lovely Designers were

- BEAMPEH

- BYGE (08076870383)

- MY Q

- OUCH! ties and a unique female line ( 08023102110)

Accessories by

- AYANA

and our models, hosts and err... some random people who snuck backstage (lol) were glammed up by

- LABELLE'S TOUCH (08027664062)

- FACE FACTOR (08027352560)

We had some professional (read as 'we had to pay' models in the house and we thank them for coming on short notice, but we need to thank those who modelled for us JUST BECAUSE!)

- Jasmine Kofo-Adebayo (she is a nominee for VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR). She came for all meetings, and took time out from work and play, to make the event a success!

- Seun Oyeleye(also a super trooper)

- Akin Michael (a stand up guy totally!)

- Joke Ladoja (pretty and intelligent!)

- Segun (came on board on short notice but all for the cause!)

We also want to say thank you to all the wonderful support we received from kind individuals and companies

- SWE BAR (we feel totally happy to have worked with them)

- Victoria Ola Adigun

- Chocolate City

- Sage

- Gbagychild Entertainment

- X3M Music

- Events Aloud

- Divine Brothers

- BYGE

- Beampeh

- Labelle's Touch

- MY Q

- Face Factor

- Toni Payne

- Energy

- QuikLinx

- Ayana

- UNRULY INC

- and ZAPPHAIRE EVENTS / ZAPPHAIRE PR

We also need to give Special Recognition to individuals and who have contributed immensely to this project

- 'Subi Mabogunje (for all our designs and branding, from the invites, to the logo, to the backdrop and programme)

- Bolaji Salami ( for single-handedly coordinating the models and the designers; not an easy feat oh!)

- Osagie Osarenkhoe (she had to coordinate all the performances and direct the program basically. And all this at short notice! Excellent work Osagy!)

- Jibola Olubiyi (for being Jibola)

- Ebuka Obi-Uchendu (a fantastic host. All the girls were swooning, and all the guys were in awe.)

- Shade Ladipo (beautiful hostess, and enjoyed she changed outfits! LOL)

- Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi (for strutting her stuff on the runway)

- Lola Talabi ( for also strutting her stuff on the runway)

- Yele and Kunle Balogun (for becoming impromptu models and also bouncers. Lol!)

- Jokotade (she volunteered to be my P.A for the day. Not easy seeing as i jump up and down A LOT)

- Debola Lewis ( for the stage, back stage, and for being a general good guy!)

- Moments with Mo ( for giving us something invaluable)

- TEE-A (for his presence and support)

- Toni Payne (for the lovely tshirts. All proceeds go into the project and there are still male tshirts on sale!)

- QuikLinx (for the volunteer tshirts, and bulk sms')

- Steve Babaeko (just because we can!)

- UNRULY INC (they should know our p)

and we would of course like to get on our knees and say a special thank you to:

: ALL MEDIA HOUSES FOR GIVING JEANS FOR GENES EXTENSIVE MEDIA COVERAGE PRE- AND POST-EVENT

CELEBRITY AUCTION

So,i had been trying to drum attention for this event for so long and i must tell u,i thought it cd flop at about 3.40pm when it didnt seem anyone was going to come and some people were cancelling on me, but by 5pm, it was obvious this was going to end a fun evening!#

The CELEB AUCTION is one of the fundraisers to support THESE GENES; the Sickle Cell Project. It will go on for the duration of the project so from now till whenever, you can actually bid on ANY CELEB you might want to hang out with

Yeah,ANY!

The media launch was held at WAKA RESTUARANT which is on Karimu Kotun (where L'UOMO is). Kunle KB Bello and Shade Ladipo (facebook addicts), started the show by welcoming the guests! Then ROOFTOP MC's got on stage to perform 'La Gi Mo' which you guys need to hear live to undertsand how great that song is! I also got on stage to tell people what sickle cell is; seeing as i live with the disorder, one would think i would know what it was, but i had to do some little research so it would sound professional but not boring.

In my CLOTHSENSE dress, i looked adorable though.LOL

After that, Wole Oguntokun, of the THEATRE @ TERRA fame, got on stage as the auction master and explained the bidding procedure. (err.. highest bidder wins? Yeah)

So, we sold FUNKE BUCKNOR-OBRUTHE, ASHIONYE, GIDEON, LAMIDE AKINTOBI, and EBUKA off!Yup! Ebuka's was tough oh! I might have tried to bid, i dont remember. (selective amnesia)

But, you can still get in on the fun! You can bid on RUGGEDMAN, DENRELE, WILDCHILD, BIMBO AKINTOLA, FELA DUROTOYE, FUNMI IYANDA, MO ABUDU, BANTU, and so many other celebrities, by texting your bids!

text

'GENES + CELEB = AMT BIDDED + YOUR NAME'

to 33056

for eg, 'GENES EBUKA 100,000 TOSYN BUCKNOR'

to 33056

(please try it now. thanks)

Oh, i forgot to mention that i was 'sold' as well

Ha Ha Ha!

Anyways, it was a beautiful and classy event with everyone looking casual glam and i have to say thank you to:

WILFRED, Waka Bar

HENRY, +234 Mag

FUNKE AWOBOKUN, Cocktails In and Out (who provided all those cocktails FREE, and they were beyond delicious)

Zapphaire Events,

ALL THE CELEBS THAT CAME,

CARL RACCAH,

KUNLE BELLO,

SHADE LADIPO,

WOLE OGUNTOKUN,

ROOFTOP MC'S,

and so many other people whose names i am sure i have forgotten now, but which, thankfully, i could add, as i go along

Enjoy LAMIDE's pictures from the event, and support the sickle cell project!

THESE GENES; Sickle Cell Update

Hello

THESE GENES; the Sickle Cell Project would like to say thank you to all the people who have stayed interested in this project, and all the people who pray for us, and contribute in their own way to the Project

Here is a quick update, kind of like what is happening now, and what is next!

THESE GENES kicked off with a CELEB AUCTION on JAn 19th at Waka Bar

It was a simple but beautiful evening and the pictures prove it

EBUKA, GIDEON, ASHIONYE, DENRELE, WILDCHILD, FUNKE BUCKNOR-OBRUTHE, LAMIDE AKINTOBI, KWEEN, ROOFTOP MC'S, BANTU, CARL RACCAH, STEVE BABAEKO, NOBLE IGWE, and GBEMI OLATERU-OLAGBEGI, and many more were at the event which succeeded in raising money for the Sickle-Cell Project!

BIDDING continues

Text

'GENES + NAME OF CELEB + AMOUNT YOU ARE BIDDING + YOUR NAME'

to 33056

eg, 'GENES BINKY N10,000 TOSYN'

to 33056Do us a favour, try it now

Texts cost N50

Bid on ANY celebrity

Powered by MTECH

There are still more fundraisers to come, but in the meantime, the Project proper kicks off with COMESHAREWITHME; expressions on these genes

This is the COLLECTION OF NOTES,SHORT STORIES, POEMS and PICTURES which express peoples feelings and experiences on sickle cell

Basically, we are asking for expressions on WHAT THESE GENES MEAN TO YOU

THESE GENES would like to appreciate its PARTNERS,

Zapphaire Events and s.h.a.r.e

SUPPORT

DO SUMTHING POSITIVE

COCKTAILS IN 'N' OUT

INTILLEX COMPANY

KAINOS MEDIA

SUBI MABOGUNJE

and ACKNOWLEDGE

Ebuka, Gideon, Ashionye, Ruggedman, Denrele, Wildchild, Lamide Akintobi, Bimbo Akintola, Fela Durotoye, Funmi Iyanda, Mo ABudu, Kunle KB Bello, Shade Ladipo, ROOFTOP MCS, Rogba, Osagie Osarenkhoe, Akinyemi, Redstrat, Noble igwe, Waka Bar, Muiyiwa Osindero @ CLOTHSENSE, BOBBY TAYLOR, Seyi Funmi, Eniola Olorunnimbe, Debola Lewis (for the beautiful decor at the event)

This is by no means, an exhaustive list and we realise that as we go on, more names will be added(HINT HINT)

More updates will follow

In the meantime, check out

http://www.thesegenes.com/

or call 08023066252

CELEB AUCTION

THESE GENES; the Sickle Cell Project Presents

CELEB AUCTION

Imagine spending time with any celebrity you admire?

From RUGGEDMAN, to WILDCHILD, to FELA DUROTOYE,from FUNMI IYANDA, to ASHIONYE, to BIMBO AKINTOLA...and MORE

here is your chance to BID ON YOUR FAVOURITE CELEBRITY, and SUPPORT THE SICKLE-CELL PROJECT!

to bid, text

GENES + NAME OF CELEB + AMOUNT BID + YOUR NAME

to 33056

All bids are valid, Texts cost N50All proceeds go to the Sickle Cell Project

http://www.thesegenes.com/

thesegenes@gmail.com

THESE GENES HAS A MOMENT WITH MO

Tosyn Bucknor represented 'THESE GENES' today on the chat show, 'Moments with Mo' where she spoke about what growing up as a sickler was like, and also what THESE GENES aims to acheive

It was a pre-recorded show so it won't air till about Mid-Feb but it was a great platform for the project and we hope that by the time it is aired, we would have more support, and more room in the press

Other guests included Prof akinyanju from the Sickle Cell Foundation, and in the audience was 'Rare Gem' who believes sicklers are Rare Gems

All in all, great show

www.momentswithmo.tv