Snapshots: Portraits By Fify Loewen

Written By: Jamelia Mmari—Gaborone based photographer Fify Loewen "love[s] anything to do with photography." She adds: "I’m all about family and cherishing important moments in life. Time moves very fast, therefore I help freeze some of the moments. I’m also all about providing good service to my clients. They deserve it. Lastly I’m all about celebrating every individual’s uniqueness, that’s why I make sure that every session is different." Take a look at some of her gorgeous photos below.

To see more work from Fify, visit her official website (www.FifyLoewen.com) as well as her blog (www.FifyLoewen.WordPress.com).

(Photo Credits: © Fify Lowen)

Making A Difference: The Film "Walk The Talk" Captures Botswana's First Mr HIV Positive Living Beauty Pageant

Written By: Jamelia Mmari—An estimated 300,000 people were living with HIV, almost one-in-four adults, are believed to be living with HIV in Botswana; that is the second highest prevalence of HIV in the world. Convention dictated that women rather then men, be at the forefront of fighting HIV as they were seen as the face of the disease. But that was challenged in 2006 when the first Mr HIV Positive Living Beauty Pageant was held in Gaborone. The pageant was designed to reduce the country's accelerating rate of HIV infection by encouraging all men to test for their HIV status and to promote lifestyle changes needed to stop the spread of the disease. The film, Walk The Talk (sponsored by the University of Sydney) captured this event; watch the movie below.

Walk The Talk from e+b media on Vimeo.

MIMI Related Links: Better Sex Education Needed For African Adolescents; Healthy Sexual Lives For People Living With HIV; Making A Difference: Leaders With New Dimensions; Shuga, An MTV Staying Alive Drama Set In Nairobi, Kenya

Fashioning The Continent: Koketso Chiepe

Written By: MIM!—Koketso Chiepe's Africa Fashion Week Collection.

(Photo Credits: Simon Deiner / SDR Photo)

The No. 1 Motswana: Shombi Ellis

Written By: Mimi Tsiane—If I were to tell a story about my people, this is one of the stories I would tell. A story about a strong Motswana woman who navigates her personal and professional life with dignity, humor and botho: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Boasting an all star cast including Jill Scott playing the coveted role of Mma Ramotswe, the series has also put local Batswana stars such as Shombi Ellis on the road to stardom. Playing the role of Nurse Kgmotso, Ellis sheds light on the series that has put Botswana on the map. The No. 1 Motswana shares her story with MIMI.

(Photo Credits: Airside)

Ghana, Botswana, South Africa, Tunisia And Egypt Among Top 100 Countries In The World

Written By: Jamelia Mmari—Newsweek conducted a study evaluating economy, politics, health, and quality of life, to determine the world's best 100 countries. Eighteen African countries made the cut.

Here are the African countries that ranked in the top 100, as well as their relative rankings (for purposes of comparison, Finland ranked as number 1, while Canada ranked as number 7, the US number 11, and the UK number 14):

65. Tunisia

67. Morocco

74. Egypt

80. Botswana

82. South Africa

85. Algeria

86. Ghana

87. Kenya

90. Madagascar

91. Senegal

93. Tanzania

94. Ethiopia

95. Mozambique

96. Uganda

97. Zambia

98. Cameroon

99. Nigeria

100. Burkina Faso

Explore the world's best countries by visiting www.Newsweek.com.

(Photo Credits: © Dreamstime / Milosluz)

Africa Is In Style: Jewels Of The Kalahari

Written By: Nani Hapa—

Name: Jewels Of The Kalahari

Head Designers: Anna Haber, global director of marketing for emerald producer Gemfields, and jeweler, Sabine Roemer in collaboration with Bushmen women in Ghanzi, Botswana.

Style Notes: ingenuity, ostrich eggshell, handmade.

Background: For generations the Bushmen of the Kalahari have created one–of-a-kind intricate pieces of jewelry using wild seeds, sticks, bone, tortoiseshell, and most importantly of all, beads painstakingly hand made from shards of ostrich eggshell. Anna Haber and Sabine Roemer collaborated with the largely isolated Bushmen of the Kalahari to create a unique 19-piece collection of jewelry comprised of necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Why You Should Know Jewels Of The Kalahari: Beyond creating beautiful jewelry, the Jewels of the Kalahari collaboration is aimed at creating awareness of the Bushmen’s plight, who are among the are among the poorest and most disenfranchised in southern Africa. Jewelry making is an important source of income, particularly for the women, and the collaboration seeks to create a sustainable business for the Bushmen.

Online Stockist: brownsfashion.com

More Information: onefinethread.blogspot.com

(Photo Credits: Boo George)

MIMI Muse: Fikile Moeti

Written By: MIM!—Fikile Moeti, aka "Fix", made MTV history in 2006 by becoming the the first female VJ on the networks’ African music television channel, MTV Base. At the time, Fikile was a student at Cape Town University, who applied among thousands of other applicants to be on MTV. Since winning the competition, Fikile has firmly established herself as an MTV presenter and now travels all over Africa representing the channel—a natural fit for Fikile, who traveled around the world with her parents when she was younger. She explains, "My mother being Xhosa and my father being Motswana (Botswana). I have been privileged to travel around the world at a young age ... there is no kind of money that can buy experience!"

Passionate about everything she does, whether it's music, art ... or water polo (Fikile is a former South African water polo champion), Fikile does it all in her own unique, non-conforming style. Keep up with Fikile by following her on Twitter @fixsacious. In addition to watching Fikile on MTV Base, you can also listen to her on South African radio station 5FM.

MIMI Related Links: She Has Her MTV: Fikile Moeti; Breaking All The Rules: Siphiwe Olivia Nkosi

(Photo Credits: MTV Base)

MIMI Magazine Spring 2010 Issue: Live Your Life

Written By: MIM!—We have been busy working on our Spring 2010 issue, which is slated for release next month, and are excited to finally unveil the cover of that issue featuring professional photographer Ruzika (pronounced Roo-zhe-tsa) Puskas-Ragontse. Associate Editor Mimi Tsiane interviewed Ruzika (whose mother is from Botswana and whose father is from Croatia) shortly after she won the Brides Choice Award for 2010 (the award recognizes the top 5 percent of wedding professionals in the Weddingwire network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism). We'll have some of her beautiful work to share with you in the Spring 2010 issue, but for now, here's a bit about her work: "I started Red Rose Photography after working for an amazing photographer here in Baltimore. However, my interest and love for photography began many years ago, watching my father develop his rolls and rolls of film in our garage. I would watch with such fascination and wonder, and grew to appreciate the mystery of capturing an image for eternity. For me, it is always an honor to be asked to shoot a wedding, a portrait,a baby. How lucky am I to be doing something I absolutely love! My work can be considered lifestyle photojournalism, capturing the moment as if I were shooting for a magazine spread." Learn more about Red Rose Photography by visiting www.redrose-photography.com, and watch this space for an official announcement about the release of our Spring 2010 issue.

(Photo Credits: Michelle Aristocrat)