The Divine Mercy Family Foundation will host an African-Hawaiian World Festival Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Hilo Bayfront Park near the Kamehameha Canoe Club hale.
The Divine Mercy Family Foundation will host an African-Hawaiian World Festival Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Hilo Bayfront Park near the Kamehameha Canoe Club hale.
Coordinators Susan Margaret Bozgoz and Francisca Emefiene Pinkney said they are determined “to help make the lives of persons victimized by circumstance shine like diamonds in the rough.”
Their foundation has partnered with E2 Wounded Warrior Innovative Initiatives to organize the first-ever such festival. The day’s events will begin with a 5K run/walk and include a variety of performances by local musicians and entertainers.
Registration begins at 7 a.m. Registration fee is $25. The run will begin at 8 a.m., with the walk to follow. A 100-yard “Fashion Dash” will be staged at about 11 a.m.
A featured event of the day will be the 100-yard “Run in her Boots Fashion Dash.” In this event women and girls (divided into age categories) compete in a 100-yard dash race wearing combat boots or high heels.
The winners of each category will be mentored by experienced fashion models and participate in a fashion show the following day. Additionally, there will be displays of African and Hawaiian crafts, along with music. Visit www.divinemercyfamilyfoundation.org for details.
Divine Mercy Family Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity, whose main mission is to develop a support home in Nigeria, West Africa that cares for homeless children and teenage girls who are pregnant or have small children.
They offer these statistics:
— Women and teens in Nigeria who become pregnant have a 1 in 23 chance of not surviving the pregnancy as compared to 1 in 2,100 for women and teens in the United States;
— 138 women die each day as a result of being pregnant;
— 80 percent (110 per day) or more of maternal deaths in Nigeria are preventable with increased availability and accessibility to skilled medical care, and
— $2,000 ($300,000 Naira) will pay for all antenatal care and skilled medical delivery for one pregnant woman, including complications, if any.