By Nehru Odeh
Though born Kafayat Oluwatoyin Shafau, the name that has stuck is the one she later gave herself: Kaffy. And she has made huge social and economic capital from it, as a dancer, fitness coach, choreographer and dance instructor. She shot into limelight in 2006 when she broke the Guinness World Record for “Longest Dance Party” at the Nokia Silverbird Danceathon. In that competition she and her dance group danced for 55 hours and 40 minutes to break the record. And since then she has gone on to do other marvelous things.
Great feat? Certainly. However, Kay has broken another record, not in dancing this time but in service to humanity. In spite of the lockdown various governments have declared in their countries across the globe, she has taken it upon herself not only to distribute free food to the poor, needy and vulnerable as part of efforts to alleviate the suffering occasioned by the stay- at- home order, she is also making sure individuals keep fit during this period of lockdown.
In a telephone interview with presenters of YourView an all-female chat show on TVC on Wednesday 14 April, 2020, the multiple award-winning fitness coach and dancer recommended things individuals can do to keep fit during his period of lockdown. According to her, while trying to keep fit, individuals must be disciplined and adhere to their fitness and dieting regime.
“When it comes to fitness awareness, it is mental and also psychological as well. If you look at it from the angle of ‘I am bored I have to eat something,’ you are actually going to overeat. You have to handle it the same way you will do it: real lockdown. If it is only one snack you have a day, keep it at one snack a day. It’s like the case of a pregnant woman that says ‘I am eating for two.’ You are not eating for two, you are eating for you. You don’t have to say it. Whatever you eat you must make sure that it is nutritious and have the right nutrients for your body,” she said.
Kaffy also said while it is good to snack on fruits, everything has to be done in moderation. “You can snack on fruits all day. You cannot overeat everything. You cannot overeat fruits. Everything has to be done in moderation no matter how healthy it sounds. So you eat bananas. But do you want to eat 100 bananas a day? No. You are going to be sick,” she maintained.
Asked what exercises one can recommend during this period, she said: “There are actually hundred and one exercises they can do at home. One of the fastest way you can actually engage yourself at home, especially for people who are not professional enough to come up with exercises by themselves, YouTube is your friend. This is your best time to make use of your internet access. If you are on Instalgram or Whatsapp, instead of wasting data on broadcasts spend your data on life- nourishing things like learning something online or even understanding some fitness protocols you can do at home. So just go online and look at ‘fitness at home’. You are going to see ten thousands of videos you can use,” she said.
Asked again why she is distributing free food to the poor and needy during this period of lockdown, Kaffy averred: “For me this is something I have always been doing in my own little way before this thing became a pandemic. And I am really concerned because I have been in that situation sometime in my life before when there was really nothing to eat. And I lived on daily allowance. So I can now imagine. I know how it feels. I have had a first-hand experience. And I just couldn’t bear it. I think it is just God’s grace that allows me to have the opportunity to use my platform.”