00:00Can you tell us a little bit about what happened in your life to inspire you to launch African
00:07Health Now? Yeah so in 2006 I was at work putting together a photo shoot and I got a call that my
00:15father had had a heart attack in Ghana and at that very moment it was like what what did you say?
00:21And and kept listening and I was like well who's the doctor where is he what hospital and no one
00:27had any answers and I was like oh wait he's not here in America he is okay let's regroup and think
00:34it through and so as I started to regroup and try to figure out you know who the doctor was and I was
00:38getting no answers a friend of mine just happened to IM me and was like hey I'm in Accra and I was
00:43like my father just had a heart attack go find him and he found him in the hallway hadn't seen a
00:49doctor yet and he sorted him out like he got him in a hospital room wow he talked to the doctor he
00:55talked to the nurse he made sure that he had care and at that very moment is when I realized I was
01:01lucky I had been giving a gift right if I didn't have that friend I don't know how the story would
01:06have ended for me and so afterwards I just started thinking about it was like what happens to those
01:11people and the people that you know in our community where my dad lived were really instrumental in his
01:17recovery and so the first health fair was literally just that a gift thank you for helping me get my
01:24dad back together so I just went in the hallways at Essence I remember just being like hey I'm doing
01:30a health fair and they were like what do you need and I remember sending out an email and people would
01:35walk over to my desk but oh I went to the dollar store this weekend toothbrushes toothpaste so the
01:40health fair was you reaching out to friends in your network in my network just getting materials just
01:44getting materials and then I reached out to friends who were going to Ghana who were doctors lawyers the
01:48whole gamut was like if you're gonna be there give me one day and let's see what we can do how we can
01:53affect change and first day 25 volunteers wow 350 participants showed up no advertising in Ghana no
02:02advertising was in Pokwasit the town where my dad lives there was no like no flyer no radio no
02:08advertising literally told one person and I was like oh she'll tell somebody right somebody else
02:13show up they'll know and when we got there in 350 they were just already waiting eight o'clock in the
02:18morning ready to move ready to take action they were just let's go and that's when we realized that's
02:21when I realized specifically how important a day with a doctor an opportunity to see a doctor get my
02:28teeth checked for the first time wow was so important it's something I had taken for granted my whole life
02:33because I lived here and it's accessible and knowing how to give a breast a self breast examination talking
02:40to women who had no idea what I was talking about that they themselves could check their own breasts and
02:45they were like why would I do it so when did you make the trend when did you say okay I'm gonna leave my
02:49world of fashion and beauty and I'm gonna I'm leaving this life you know it's I don't want to
02:55say comfortable is but it's one that you're familiar what I was familiar with and and then
02:58you have a support system around right right right right and to say okay I'm jumping into the world of
03:02nonprofit um that took a while that didn't I I continue to do African health now all the while
03:08working at Essence every year they knew when Nana was going to Ghana for Christmas they just knew don't
03:13book a photo shoot it's your problem you're gonna be by yourself no craft services no nothing no food no
03:19and so um it wasn't until about 2008 2009 when I started to realize okay this is really what you
03:26want to do and let's find a way to do it and so then I just made the transition that you know
03:31opportunity came and I was like well this is a great opportunity for me to do something different
03:35and I'm gonna just take it and it was scary and I had no idea how to do it but you know that leap I
03:41just took the leap and been figuring it out ever since I heard that now Cory how are you involved
03:46with African health now cuz of Nana she went to your office and made you do it I know I don't know
03:51what I contributed like December she of her many annual trips to Ghana but you know but quite
03:59seriously you know I have my daughter's father's Haitian so I've been to Haiti and seen you know the
04:05devastation of the earthquake and people live in poverty I had been to Ghana that's another
04:11story you know Nana and I saw and you know I've been I've been to some very poverty stricken areas
04:20I don't like to use the word third world right I've seen some things as a black American I realized
04:26what little just a little contribution could make a big impact I never forget Nana coming back and
04:32saying like she basically was giving breast exams just based on her own like annual checkup she was like
04:39well let me show you and she said you know this woman was like oh I didn't even know I could do it
04:43I could do it on my own so just that little thing you know I knew that uh any little bit can make a
04:49difference and I have seen where just a $200 donation can have a big impact and go a lot more yes yes and
04:58how does essence support or work with African health now well you know we're going to be partnering with
05:03uh Nana on her cocktail benefit that's happening next Tuesday October 20th tickets are available at
05:09www.africanhealthnow.org forward slash events and I want to point out it's not Africa health now it's
05:17Africa can health now for those of you out there who are going to search and want to get involved and
05:22so we're partnering with the you know helping uh supply volunteers you know contributing to the gift
05:28bag I am one of the host committee members host committee um but also you know we there is love
05:36for Nana of course you know what I mean in this business you know it's all about our relationships
05:40and this is a relationship that Nana has nurtured even after not being here I mean when she comes in
05:45the office we're like where's the baby I know where you know what I'm like how's baby girl doing
05:49where's she at my name is Nana and I am more than my daughter hi Nana yeah
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