Ariana Oluwole
Ariana Oluwole is an executive coach, holistic educator, and Multipotentialite Entrepreneur. Her flagship coaching program 'Live and Lead Your Best Life' provides holistic strategies for Africans, the diaspora, and professionals navigating multiple cultures and teams. When she is not Empowering People, Teams & Systems to Thrive. Queen A can be found speaking to plants with a nice cup of tea.
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Crowned in Purpose: How Miss World Sierra Leone 2026 Mariyam Konneh Is Rewriting the Rules
She did not come to Miss World 2026 to be liked. She came to be remembered. Mariyam Lorbah Konneh is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, final-year Banking and Finance student at IPAM, and founder of Sierra Leone’s first 24-hour salon. She has turned a global stage into a platform for purpose. With the grand finale set for September 5 in Nha Trang, Vietnam, her journey is not just about beauty. It is about leadership, resilience, and what it means to carry a nation’s hopes without losing your own voice. Not the Favourite, But the Force Let us be clear. Mariyam was not the favourite. Some whispered about family connections. Others hinted at…
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Dolly Parton’s Rhinestone Leadership: What Courage, Vulnerability and Authenticity Can Teach Us
You do not have to become less complicated, less visible or more acceptable to lead well. I was never especially invested in Dolly Parton’s music. There. I have said it. I knew the songs, of course. I knew the voice, the wigs, the rhinestones, the jokes and the cultural shorthand. I knew Dolly as the woman who could make a double entendre sound wholesome enough for Sunday school and sharp enough for a boardroom. But I was not what anyone would call a devoted fan. What drew me to her was not the playlist. It was the persona and, more importantly, the person she appeared determined to remain beneath it.…
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The Great Digital Lie: Why Your Favourite Influencer’s “Perfect Life” May Be Costing You Peace
There is a quiet kind of exhaustion many people carry now. It does not always come from work, parenting, grief, money worries, or the endless demands of family life. Sometimes, it comes from opening a phone. One minute, you are checking WhatsApp. The next, you are watching someone announce a new car, a destination wedding, flawless skin, a six-figure business, a peaceful marriage, a spiritually elevated morning routine (I am so guilty of this), and a body that apparently has never met cassava leaf, jollof rice, or late-night stress. Then you look around your own life and wonder: Am I behind? That question is one of social media’s most profitable tricks.…
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Freetown : A Short Guide To Getting It Right
“So, You’ve Landed in Freetown…” A Smooth, Witty Survival GuideClear, calm, and just self-aware enough to keep you prepared 1. Arrival at the Airport There is a Security Fee on arrival. Pay online before traveling at https://securipass.sl/ or via mobile money when you land. It is also advisable to secure your entry visa in advance at https://www.evisa.sl/ (especially for U.S. citizens and Green Card holders). All travellers MUST fill the Health Declaration Form. It MUST be filled not more than 72 hours before the intended date of travel.https://poep.npha.gov.sl/ Cash tips may go a long way in ensuring a smoother experience. Keep your Yellow Fever Card ready; it is required,…
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Best TED Talks on Gratitude for Thanksgiving 2025: An Expert Review
Every Thanksgiving, I return to a question I ask my coaching clients, the teams that I work with, and occasionally myself on challenging days:“What beauty are you rushing past?” As a holistic educator and an executive coach, gratitude is one of the most powerful tools I teach: not because it is trendy, but because it transforms. It rewires patterns, softens defensiveness, strengthens assertiveness, and helps us reclaim the present moment from the loud urgencies of life. This year, I revisited some of the best TED Talks on gratitude: the ones I often assign to clients when they say things like, “Ariana, I know I should be grateful, but right now…
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Our Time, Our Power: Samesther Hannah Kargbo and the Movement Redefining Girls’ Leadership in Sierra Leone
In October 2023, Ariana Diaries featured Samesther Hannah Kargbo as a passionate changemaker igniting the movement for girls’ leadership in Sierra Leone. Two years later, that spark has grown into a transformative flame. A structured, youth-driven movement reshaping how girls see themselves and how the world sees them. From advocacy to implementation, from voice to impact, Samesther’s work through the Girls Advocacy Development Network (GADNet-SL) has evolved into a powerful ecosystem of leadership, mentorship, and solidarity. The 2025 National Girls’ Summit (NGS), themed “Our Time, Our Power: Building the Future We Deserve,” held in Makeni(October 2025), stands as a bold testament to that progress. A New Era of Leadership: By…
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Treasure Our Chests: When Art Becomes Advocacy and Healing
At the heart of creative expression lies the potential not only to delight the senses, but to spark awareness, facilitate healing and drive social change. October is internationally recognised as Breast cancer Awareness Month and Kompin Artists, in collaboration with the Orange Foundation Sierra Leone, transformed their ‘Treasure Our Chests art exhibition’ into a powerful platform for education and support. Held at the Orange Foundation’s venue in Hill Station, Freetown, the exhibition enlisted colour, texture and story to elevate the conversation about breast cancer in Sierra Leone. Why Breast Cancer? October’s alignment with global breast-cancer awareness made the timing ideal for committing the exhibition to a cause. For the Kompin…
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EMPOWERING POSSIBILITIES: CHANGING LIVES OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN SIERRA LEONE
Over the past several weeks, we have journeyed through the heart of World Hope International’s work in Sierra Leone, meeting the people behind the mission and witnessing the extraordinary impact of their commitment to dignity, opportunity, and sustainable change. As we close this special feature series, we spotlight one of WHI’s most transformative programs: Enable the Children (ETC);a pioneering initiative that is redefining what’s possible for children living with disabilities in Sierra Leone. Through therapy, education, advocacy, and compassion, ETC is not just changing lives; it’s reshaping mindsets and communities. We hope that you are inspired as you read! World Hope International (WHI) has stood as a pillar of hope…
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The Quiet Grief at Work: How Pregnancy Loss Is Reshaping the Modern Workplace
When the email came in marked “urgent,” Maya was already back at her desk, two weeks after losing her pregnancy. The office hummed as usual. Her body ached, her mind floated in and out of focus, but she told no one. “I didn’t want to be the woman who could not cope,” she says. Stories like Maya’s are common, and they rarely appear in annual reports or staff newsletters. Yet pregnancy loss ,miscarriage, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy, or failed surrogacy touches nearly one in four pregnancies, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. It is an invisible crisis in modern work culture, one that quietly drains productivity, fractures team cohesion,…
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5 Scalable Business Ideas for 2025: How Africans at Home and Abroad Can Build the Future
In a world where innovation and opportunity are intertwined, 2025 presents Africa’s young minds with a rare advantage the chance to build scalable, future-ready businesses that solve real problems and create wealth across borders. The good news? You do not need to be a Silicon Valley genius or have millions in funding to start. What you do need is clarity, creativity, and courage. Whether you are in Freetown or Atlanta, Lagos or London, these five scalable business ideas are practical, profitable, and rooted in Africa’s realities and global trends. 1. Digital Skills Hubs & Talent Export Platforms Africa’s youth bulge is both a challenge and an opportunity. The global demand…
