Loving Yourself - My Story
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"I heard such great feedback from people. One of the members said, if she had given that talk live at AAUW she would have seen members standing on their chairs clapping. They really enjoyed the video, seeing the countryside and children."
—DeDe Scanlon, Program Committee, Minneapolis Branch, American Association of University Women
"Loving Yourself" is for....
High Schools:
These tough times are especially hard for young people. How can I survive? What is my source of resilience? How can I get through this time in my life?
Maria Nhambu is an expert on survival. Left at an orphanage only days old, she grew up subject to harsh discipline, bullying, discrimination and even hopelessness. But she discovered within herself the key to creating her own greatness.
In Maria Nhambu’s video talk, “Loving Yourself – My Life Story,” she talks honestly about the harsh realities that formed her. Filmed in Tanzania, East Africa, where she grew up in an orphanage for biracial children, her talk includes scenes from her life in Africa and America. Her story is one of self-discovery, hope and overcoming devastating life challenges. Her memorable story touches hearts and minds and will energize young people to be their best selves by finding their source of greatness within.
After her talk, Maria Nhambu can also be available to answer questions via Zoom. The award-winning author of the Dancing Soul Trilogy memoir, Maria Nhambu is also the creator of Aerobics With Soul® — the African dance-based fitness program taught internationally.
Colleges:
So much is facing young people today as they navigate a new phase of their lives, work toward their futures but also deal with local, national and global challenges. Many students wonder what is in store for their lives and how to get through what is happening around them as they deal with the challenges life throws at them now.
Hearing from someone who has faced and surmounted enormous challenges can be a source of inspiration and hope. “Loving Yourself — My Life Story” is a deeply engaging video talk by Maria Nhambu. Filmed in Tanzania at the African Cultural Heritage Center, the powerful talk reflects her energy, humor, and strength in dealing with what life brings and as well as what it offers. Edited to include scenes from her life in Africa at an orphanage for biracial children and in America, the video invites viewers to confront their own lives and draw strength and wisdom from her story.
Maria Nhambu’s story about growing up in an orphanage, longing for an education, being sustained by dance, and becoming an educator and fitness program creator in America brings an encouraging new perspective to overcoming obstacles and finding success.
After her talk, Maria Nhambu can also be available via Zoom to answer questions. The award-winning author of the Dancing Soul Trilogy memoir, Maria Nhambu is also the creator of Aerobics With Soul® — the African dance-based fitness program taught internationally.
Organizations/Non-profits:
Taking care of people is more important than ever these days. But how to do that in a respectful, energizing and hopeful way is the challenge. Maria Nhambu’s video talk brings her resilient spirit to listeners as she shares her life lessons in “Loving Yourself — My Life Story.”
Despite being left as an infant at an orphanage for biracial children in East Africa, she learned early on that she had to love herself in order to survive and thrive. We all benefit from being reminded of this, especially people who work with and for others.
Filmed in Tanzania at the African Cultural Heritage Center, Maria Nhambu’s powerful talk captures her energy, humor, and strength. Edited to include scenes from her life in Africa and America, the video offers viewers to opportunity to look at their own lives while they draw strength and inspiration from her story.
At the conclusion of her talk, Maria Nhambu can also be available via Zoom to answer questions. The award-winning author of the Dancing Soul Trilogy memoir, Maria Nhambu is also the creator of Aerobics With Soul® — the African dance-based fitness program taught internationally.
Corporations:
What do people need today? Connection? Meaningful connection with others? Meaning? The expert in this is Maria Nhambu, author, educator, creator of an African dance-based fitness program, and super survivor.
Left at an orphanage as a newborn, she grew up dealing with enormous challenges and daunting setbacks. Who was she? Who cared? These questions haunted her. But she found within herself meaning to her life. She discovered a way to validate and value her own being. And she became someone who made and fostered connections across cultures, countries and generations.
Maria Nhambu begins her story at the orphanage for biracial children in Tanzania, East Africa, where she grew up. She recounts how she came to America through the efforts of an American teacher who fulfilled both the longing for an education and a mother. In this culture, totally new to her, Maria Nhambu had to learn about the American brand of racism as part of her education. She reached out to countless people to share her love of Africa and dance by creating Aerobics With Soul®.
Filmed in Tanzania at the African Cultural Heritage Center, Maria Nhambu’s powerful talk, “Loving Yourself — My Life Story,” captures her energy, humor, and strength, and includes scenes from her life in Africa and America. After the video, she is available for questions via Zoom.
An award-winning author of the Dancing Soul Trilogy memoir series (Africa’s Child, America’s Daughter, and Drum Beats, Heart beats) Maria Nhambu is also the creator of Aerobics With Soul® — the African dance-based fitness program taught internationally.
Nhambu is sharing her inspiring story through book presentations and talks around the United States. Maria Nhambu has two adult children and three grandchildren. She lives in Delray each, Florida, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Photo by Daphney Antoine
About Maria Nhambu
Creator of a popular workout based on African dance (Aerobics with Soul®), Maria Nhambu has made sharing her love of Africa and its culture and rhythms the focus of her life. Her memoir, Africa’s Child, tells her dramatic story from birth to her departure from her homeland. Drum Beats, Heart Beats is the final book of the Dancing Soul Trilogy. In it the mysteries of Nhambu’s origins are unraveled as she continues sharing her powerful story.
She was raised by German nuns at an orphanage for mixed race children in Tanzania, East Africa, and had no knowledge of her origins. Throughout the hardship and mixed blessings of her childhood, Nhambu (as she is called) sustained her spirit through dance. In the US she shared her love of dance through presentations with Young Audiences and by creating, a fitness program based on African dance.
Nhambu is sharing her inspiring story through book presentations and talks around the United States. Maria Nhambu has two adult children and three grandchildren. She lives in Delray each, Florida, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.