Love Your Body Day 2013 - October 16th

Today is...

Love Your Body Day

Tell us why you love your body

What do you love about your body? What makes you beautiful?

Taking care of your body is loving your body

A sound mind makes a healthy individual, and does the body good!

Just do it!

Note to self

DO it for YOU!

Preserve the HEALTHY YOU

Define your beauty

Say these words to yourself, EVERY DAY!

Find BCBM on: Facebook and Twitter

Beautiful: You're Looking At Her

"Do you want to meet the love of your life? Look in the mirror" 

- Byron Katie

BELIEVHER: Sonia Pratt Staples-Williams

Name: Sonia

Age: 34

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Eyes, Lips, and Stomach.

Raising Awareness in October 2012

Body Confident, Beautiful Me: A Love Your Body Campaign

Breast Cancer

Domestic Violence

LET’S TALK: MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE THREE-OUNCE TUBE

Name: Aisha Koroma
Age: 26
The three body parts that I love are my EYES, LIPS, and definitely my SKIN TONE


Four years ago, I experienced stubborn acne breakouts. After months of experimenting with various beauty products, the bumps were gone, but the scars remained. Frustrated with the tiny dots on my face, I went hunting for a miracle product. Tried different things but nothing worked until a friend introduced me to a tiny little three-ounce tube. With no questions asked, I started using the product in the tube. Two weeks later I noticed the fading of my scars. Filled with excitement, I purchased another tube. Months later, not only did the scars disappear, my entire face was smooth and bright.


Loved what I saw so I was like “ummm, face is bright but the rest of my body isn't … How about using the “tube” on the rest o f my body.” A few weeks went by and saw minimal results. Then I upgraded to a “cocktail” of tubes and soap bars. With these cocktails came a ritual. Every morning and night, I glazed my body with a cloud of soap mixture followed by a polish tube twirl. A year later I went from being a 60% Hershey dark chocolate to a caramel milk chocolate.

I’ll admit, for a while, I fell in love with the “new me.” Then I took a closer look in the mirror one day and realized that I was still the same person but with a lighter/brighter complexion. Asked myself, “who is this ‘new girl?’ Is she any better than Aisha with the darker skin tone?” Answer, I was the same person with the same amount of melanin production. The only thing different was the increase levels of chemicals/toxins in my skin.


Had a moment and I said “STOP!!!” The color of my skin at that moment didn't make me any better of a person than I was nor did it bring me inner satisfaction. Difference: my skin was lighter. Bleaching my skin had no positive contribution to my personal well-being so I stopped intoxicating my beautiful dark skin with chemicals. Unlike others, I didn't just wake up one day and decided to become “yellow bone.” It was a process … Not a justified process, but something led to my encounter with the three-ounce tube.


As we try to educate others, it is necessary for us to trace and understand all roads that lead to a certain destination. Sometimes we fail to educate ourselves before educating others. When this occurs, you’ve intentionally displaced the significance of schooling. Ask, analyze, and understand before you teach/preach … Let’s get REAL … Bleaching your skin may change your perspective of what defines beauty, but it won’t change WHO you are … If there is a dissonance between what you see and what really exist, I urge you to dig deeper for a MERGE.

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Want to share your story? E-mail us at WYBFoundation@gmail.com or fill out this survey

Spring 2012 Graduation Season

CONGRATULATIONS, Spring 2012 Graduates!!!

When You Believe Foundation, Inc. wishes you...

Excellence and nothing less in your next path!

Reach for the stars, the sky is your limit!

When you believe...

When you believe in yourself, the world will believe in you. Be You Always!

BElieve in YOUrself

The first word!

You know who's beautiful? Read the first word again!

Happy New Year

Happy 2012. Be beautiful, strong, and remain empowered.

BCBM Tour (2)

Speaking to students in the Global Feminisms class on November 10, 2011.



Thank you to:

Dr. Minjeong Kim

Dept. of Women's and Gender Studies

Virginia Tech

BELIEVHER: Anne Ancheril

Name: Anne

Age: 20

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Hair, Eyes, and Smile.

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"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within" Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.

BELIEVHER: Bintu Musa

Name: Bintu

Age: 23

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Stomach, Legs, and Thighs.

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"The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don’t be too thin! It is always better to have a little meat on your bones" Heidi Klum.

BELIEVHER: Christina Dyal

Name: Christina

Age: 21

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Hair, Eyes, and Waist.

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Phenomenal Woman by Dr. Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

BELIEVHER: Doris Tawiah

Name: Doris

Age: 21

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Smile, Lips, Breasts, and Hips.

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"Step Away from the Mean Girls… and say bye-bye to feeling bad about your looks. Are you ready to stop colluding with a culture that makes so many of us feel physically inadequate? Say goodbye to your inner critic, and take this pledge to be kinder to yourself and others. This is a call to arms. A call to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be generous with yourself. The next time you look into the mirror, try to let go of the story line that says you're too fat or too sallow, too ashy or too old, your eyes are too small or your nose too big; just look into the mirror and see your face. When the criticism drops away, what you will see then is just you, without judgment, and that is the first step toward transforming your experience of the world" Oprah Winfrey.

BELIEVHER: Josephine Kenfack

Name: Josephine

Age: 22

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Skin Tone, Eyes, and Lips.

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Always remember that your happiness depends on you, and you have the power to be happy or let others make you unhappy. Self-esteem comes from within, and must not be developed from what other people say about you. Maintaining self-esteem comes along with her sisters, which are self-love and self-worth.

BELIEVHER: Ruby B. Johnson

Name: Ruby

Age: 21

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Breasts, Stomach, and Buttocks.

"Even though there is a day designated in the year called “Love Your Body Day,” I believe that we (girls and women) must celebrate our bodies every day. Due to societal pressures and gender socialization, insecurity about our bodies will cross our paths, but we do not need to conform to society’s demands. We must love each and every part of our bodies and always acknowledge the uniqueness in our bodies and how blessed we are to be in our own skin. Loving our bodies is essential, but it is also important for us to let other girls and women know how beautiful they are. You never how much of a positive impact it can make on another, especially if you do not know their personal struggles."

BELIEVHER: Sifat Siddique

Name: Sifi

Age: 21

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Hair, Eyebrows, and Eyes.

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"Girls and women, we need to be fully conscious about what is good and bad for our bodies. We must never put ourselves or remain in circumstances that causes abuse or any form of harm to our bodies, whether verbally, emotionally, physically, or psychologically. Also, we must know when things are right and wrong about our bodies at all times in order to be body confident; therefore, we must take necessary steps such as having a mammogram, visiting our gynecologists, doing physical check-ups, etc. Our health is not only our strength but our wealth. Additionally, we do so much for our family, community, and friends, but now we need to start thinking about ourselves and living each day happily and stress-free in our beautiful bodies and remain empowered" Ruby B. Johnson.

BELIEVHER: Zara Davies

Name: Zara

Age: 22

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?

Answer: Eyes, Lips, and Skin Complexion.

"I think my eyes, lips and skin complexion makes me beautiful. They are my best features and I love them very much" Zara Davies.

BELIEVHER: Johari Ganda

Name: Johari

Age: 11

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that maes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Forehead, Nose, and Lips.

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Eating well is one of the best ways a girl/woman can take care of her beautiful body that she loves. Good nutrition starts with the basics: a well-rounded diet consisting of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and lean sources of protein. These kinds of foods provide girls/women with plenty of energy, the means for healthy weight, and the key ingredients for looking and feeling great at any age.

SOURCE

BELIEVHER: Allegra

Name: Allegra

Age: 18

What three physical features do you love most about yourself that makes you feel beautiful?
Answer: Eyes, Lips, and Fingertips.

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"Pressures created by their multiple roles, gender discrimination and associated factors of poverty, hunger, malnutrition, overwork, domestic violence and sexual abuse, combine to account for women's poor mental health ... 3 main factors which are highly protective against the development of mental problems especially depression are: having sufficient autonomy to exercise some control in response to severe events; access to material resources that allow the possibility of making choices in the face of severe events; and psychological support from family, friends, or health providers is powerfully protective."

SOURCE