New Winnipeg-based magazine wants to share beauty of Africa with readers, editor-in-chief says

The team behind a new magazine based in Winnipeg hope to give readers a piece of Africa.

Kara Magazine, which launched in Winnipeg last week, gets its name from a popular type of fabric in Nigeria called ankara, according to the magazine's editor-in-chief, Abiodun Adetu.

The publication includes a variety of materials, including recipes, book and film reviews, personal stories and fashion ideas, Adetu says.

It was put together by young Africans, ranging from in their mid-20s to as young as five years old, she said. While the majority of contributors in the first issue live in Manitoba, others are from across the globe, including Africa, the United States and from across Canada.

"In every edition that we produce, we just want to talk about the beauty of the continent, the beauty of the people, the beauty of African-Canadians right here at home," she told CBC on Sunday.

"We want the whole of Manitoba to embrace this because this is a local Winnipeg innovation and want to take it all over the world."

Ayotanreti Omotoso, a 14-year-old Nigerian who came to Canada nearly five years ago, helped design and put together some of the materials in the first issue. She says it made her happy to incorporate Nigerian fashion in the magazine.

"As a teenager myself, it's very hard for me to represent my culture, especially my cultural clothing, because it's not something you commonly see around Canada," she said.

"So this gave me an opportunity to show how younger people could style it [in] maybe a more fashionable way."

Omotoso says the magazine can be a big deal for new Canadians arriving from Africa.

"If I saw this when I [came] to Canada, I'd be very happy knowing there's other people here like me."

Adetu says many Africans experience a culture shock when they first come to Canada, and the magazine can offer them advice on how to manage money or connect with people in their new environment.

"Some people are depressed," she said. "It's a different world for them."

ButKara is more than a magazine and it's not just for Africans, Adetu says, as it can also be used as an educational tool.

"I don't know so much about the Indigenous culture, but every opportunity I see, I want to learn about it," she said. "So same thing with maybe the African culture. This just helps them to know a little bit more about us."

Her hope is to have the magazine available in major places throughout Manitoba.

"One of our goals is to be able to have them in schools, in libraries, and I'm still working to see how that would be possible."