Old Students Association

Africa & World Facts

Miss Africa USA 2010-2011

Date: August 20, 2014 Author: busari Categories: Africa & World Facts

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The Miss Africa USA Management team proudly presents the African Queen in America Miss Fatoumata (Fifi) Souma who will reign as Miss Africa USA 2010 – 2011. Miss Fifi was crowned at the beautiful Montgomery College Performing Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Saturday July 24 2010.

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Fifi Souma is from the Republic of Guinea Conakry, 21 yrs old, speaks fluent French and English, Full time student at Montgomery College with a major in Communication. Fifi’s platform is to raise awareness and fight against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), promote Education of the Girl Child in Guinea and to continue as
a Goodwill Ambassador volunteering for America by teaming up
with charitable organizations across the United States to serve needy communities. According to the Judges, Fifi had a lot of poise and gleamed with confidence on stage, looked comfortable, is very talented and stood out overall.

The Pageant weekend kicked off with an elaborate VIP banquet at the University of Maryland Marriott Conference Center while the pageant show took place at Montgomery College Performing Arts Center in Silver Spring, MD. Both events were successful and sold out beyond capacity and we do apologize to those who were turned away because the PAC had no more room for anymore attendees.

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A glimpse at the audience as the National Anthem of the United States of America was being played via audio CD at the Grand finals. Miss Chinwe Enu from Nigeria followed with the African Anthem ” Nkosi Sikelele Africa”and she wowed the audience with her amazing operatic voice.

In attendance at the Miss Africa events, were African Ambassadors to the United States,
local Elected officials, University Professors, sponsors, special guests, friends and family and the 32 finalists who made it to the grand finals this year, representing different African countries in the United States of America.

The event was chaired by Valerie Ervin, Vice President of Montgomery County Council who presented a proclamation to the Miss Africa USA Pageant and the African Women’s Development Foundation, declaring July 22 -25-2010 as Miss Africa USA Pageant days in Montgomery County, she was present with her Aide Mr. Joseph Eyong who also played a very supportive role in this pageant and directed protocol very well to ensure all dignitaries were taken care of. Mr. Eyong was also instrumental in showcasing Montgomery County to the delegates and their family and friends which is what the pageant also aims to attain by highlighting the host county to the rest of the world. Montgomery County was certainly very welcoming to over 1000 guests who visited from other states, from Africa and Canada as well.
It was also great to have in the house representatives from the Federal Reserves, thanks to Mr. Wayne Pacine, Senior Inter-agency Project Analyst from the office of Staff Director, Governor of Federal Reserve System in Washington DC.

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Vice President of Montgomery County Council Valerie Ervin and her Aide Mr. Eyong present the Proclamation to the leadership of the pageant: Lady Kate Njeuma, Founder and Executive Producer, Miss Linda Arrey, Pageant Coordinator.

Also in attendance were the Pageant Patrons all the way from Clayton County Georgia, Honorable Mike Glanton and his beautiful wife Pearla Glanton who have relentlessly supported the pageant over the years. Mrs Glanton presented special gift baskets for all finalists and volunteers.

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From left to right: Mr. Lionel Blamir from Western Union, Hon. Mike Glanton and Mrs Pearla Glanton, Dr. Aretha Makia the host and Mr. Joseph Eyong, personal Aide to Council Woman Valerie Ervin, on stage for the coronation.

The pageant this year was hosted by Dr. Aretha Makia, a former beauty Queen from Cameroon who also received the Woman of Valor Award for being an inspiration to young women. She was supported by the following MCs Dr. Emma Osong from Cameroon and Miss Nunu Wako from Ethiopia.

The pageant this year was judged by some of the most respectable leaders and role models in the community and we are grateful for their time and commitment and for giving us a new Queen. They all agreed it was a tough pageant to judge this year and out of the 32 brilliant young ladies, only one had to go home with the Crown.

The top 4 winners following the Queen are as follows:

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Miss Natasha Beckley from Sierra Leone, Natasha’s goal is to continue working with women in her Sisters for Sisters Campaign.
She aims to continue volunteering with organizations in the US and spreading her humanitarian efforts in Africa and internationally as well. It has also been reported that Miss Beckley will represent Sierra Leone at the upcoming Miss World Contest in China.
Natasha will also serve as the Queen’s Deputy as needed.

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Miss Priscilla Boateng comes in 3rd place as the 2nd Princess. Priscilla hails from Ghana, she is a graduate, returning to school for a Masters degree in Marketing. Priscilla has adopted a school in her home town in Ghana where she hopes to encourage students to gain knowledge and skills in information technology. She will equip the computer lab and promote interest in IT among students in Ghana. Congratulations Miss Boateng!!!!! !!

The Judges:

Mr. Jerrod Mustaf: President and CEO of Street Basketball Assoc. Former NBA star.

Her Excellency Neneh M Gaye: Former Ambassador of Gambia to the United States of America, a journalist and diplomat by profession and an activist for women’s rights and empowerment.

Mrs Sarian Bouma: Commissioner with the Governor of Maryland African Affairs Commission, Author of the book ‘From Welfare to Millionaire’ and entrepreneur with branded
products in the market.

Mrs Astrid Tasong: Director of Vikings Unlimited, including the Vikings Center, Vikings Floral and Vikings Event Planning based in MD.

Mr. Bertini: Actor and Model based in New York.

Mr. Peter Wairegi: Editor in Chief of African-American Lifestyle Mag
and Motivational Speaker.

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Coming in at 4th Place is Miss Coretha Antchouey representing the Republic of Gabon. Coretha is a medical student with an interest in women’s health. She hopes to become an OB/GYN specialist in the future which is why her platform is based on women’s health. She has launched a campaign to raise awareness on the risk of Cervical Cancer through education and screening for all women in Gabon. She has met the first Lady of Gabon and is supported by the Embassy of Gabon in the USA and she is a voice for women in Gabon. Coretha plans to continue working on her platform as a Goodwill Ambassador. Congratulations Coretha.

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Miss Nigeria, Roseline Amusu comes in at 5th place. Roseline is not new to pageantry, she had represented Nigeria in the Miss Universe pageant 2005. Roseline has launched an amazing project highlighting her platform to fight against child trafficking and child slavery in Africa and the world. She is a victim of this crime and is doing everything to save children from being trafficked or to rescue those who are already child slaves. She plans to continue her work with the Break Free Foundation which she launched this summer in New York City, to do just that. We congratulate Miss Amusu.
The Pageant Management remains forever grateful to all the sponsors this year without whom this event would not have been possible.

We continue to thank

Western Union as the Presenting Sponsor of Miss Africa USA 2010
and for winning the Long term Sponsor Award. Western Union has sponsored the pageant for 4years in a row and they are not backing down. So Western Union we say big thank you. Western Union is the biggest and fastest and most affordable way to send money to Africa, we are happy that Western Union supports community programs such as the Miss Africa USA pageant. Western Union Representatives were on location to hand a big check of $3000 to the Queen and also sponsors the Cash for tuition for the First and Second runner up, a further $2000 a total of $5000. Representatives also gave out gift items to attendees as they arrived for the show. So thank you Western Union. We had a marvelous show, thanks for your support.

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Thanks also to Afrotainment TV, the entire crew was at the event to cover for broadcast, from the Managing Director Yves Bolanga to Eric Noue to the camera men, we say thank you and it has been a pleasure working with Afrotainment TV. Afrotainment TV will broadcast this event on Sat July 31, channel 751 on Dish network. If you are not subscribed to Dish Network please do so and request Afrotainment TV.

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The cultural showcase was amazing. All finalists went the extra length to really bring out their traditions and cultures in the various segments of the competition. Pictured above is the display of Kenyan culture by Miss Angela Wambui and Hilda Mauya both depicting the Masai culture. Well Afrotainment TV will be screening this pageant July 31 2010 so get subscribed on dishnetwork.
The video will be out at a later date.

We fell in love with the Viking Center, a spacious, beautiful and elegant venue for all your special events. We are proud to say the Vikings Center was a sponsor of the 2010 Miss Africa USA Pageant. The Vikings Unlimited also sponsored the Queen’s Floral Bouquet. We say thank you to the Viking Center Maryland. We enjoyed all rehearsal sessions at the Vikings Center.

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Miss Amanda Sibeso Wamunyima from Zambia residing in Florida, was crowned the People’s African Princess. She won the online voting which went on for months on the website. Amanda will continue advocating for better healthcare for the people of Zambia as her platform. She also volunteers with organizations in the State of Florida.
Thanks to Mr. Kenny Lama from the Global American barter for the generous sponsorships including hotel rooms for staff, Limousine service and gift baskets. We appreciate your support for the pageant and support for all the designers who flew in from Africa for this event: Mr. Frank Osodi from Lagos Nigeria, Vera Vee Ochia from Kenya, Stella Atal from Uganda and California based designer Akouavi. We say thank you.

Special thanks to the Glanton Family, Mrs Pearla Glanton for all the hard work she put into those beautiful gift baskets, just what any pageant girl would want to take care of those last minute needs. Thank you Mrs Pearla Glanton.

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Check out this head dress by Miss Namibia, Twama Nambili. I know Africans have all kinds of head wraps and head pieces and accessories but this one is new to me. Very beautiful but one has to be careful not to poke someone else with it…LOL. You can see that African Culture is very diverse.

Special thanks to a special person, Mr. Peter Wairegi, Editor in Chief of African-American Lifestyle Magazine for the generous sponsorship package for the Queen. We are grateful for your offer and sponsorship. We look forward to working with you and thanks for serving as a judge and sponsor.

To our great friends and sponsors from New York City: 2C Africa, the best travel agency for all your international travel needs. We thank you for the generous offers of luxury vacation for the Queen and her Deputy – 1st Princess. I am sure they will be grateful for the relaxation package in Las Vegas this year. We say thank you.

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Lady Kate Njeuma on pageant night giving shout outs, kudos and thanks to all!!!

To our great friends and Media sponsor all the way from the beautiful State of California, CNE TV we say thank you for making out here in Maryland for the show with your entire crew. It was great working with you and we say thank you.

It was also a great pleasure to work with Access Montgomery TV: AMTV 21 and AMTV19, the crew was present at the pageant finale to capture the moments. We say thank you.

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Appreciation also goes to the following: Ms Sylvie Bello for stepping in at the last minute to offer support, Fregan Motion Pictures for all the help with audio visuals, Msheel.com for sponsoring the shoes for the winners, Mrs Diane Kadji Nkengfac for offering to take care of the Queen’s hair and make up through out her reign, Erika Mitchell from Uvae Make Up and hair on location. Erika was there with her team from Atlanta Georgia to take care of the finalists make up. Thanks to all promoters who supported us, Mr Gbenga from Party Addicts, thanks to Miss Estella of Estella Couture for great networking opportunities, thanks to Mr. Ronnie Mayanja, Gloria Darko for the support.

Special thanks to the Miss Africa USA management team, the staff and volunteers for going the extra mile to make this event a success.

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The A-Team: left to right: Erika Mitchell Director of Make up was present with a team of make up artists from Atlanta Ga, DJ fly, an international DJ based in Atlanta Georgia, handled all the technical and sound needs of the delegates, Harold Greaves from Harold Greaves Photography, a multi-tasker, was on hand and ready to do anything to ensure the event flowed smoothly, Miss Jessica Emeh is from Nigeria, serving as Assistant Production manager, she choreographed the opening numbers and worked hand in hand with the production manager Kyle Haggerty, Miss Linda Arrey Mbi, pageant coordinator worked hard to ensure all the finalists were ready for the pageant.
Thanks to Mrs Constance Nkwantah from Boston serving as the Communications Director, our able volunteers Williams, Judith from Boston and Lauretta, thanks to the volunteer chauffeur Mr. Panel Hegngi for his professionalism and charisma with the girls. Thanks to our photographers: Harold Greaves Photography, Sagat Studios and George Christopher Photography. We will eventually release professional shots of the event in the days ahead. We had a great production again this year thanks to the expertise of Mr Kyle Haggerty of Haggerty Associates who has been producing this African pageant (as he calls it) for 4 years now.

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Delegates on the LIMO ride to Zanzibar in Washington DC, sponsored by Fredericksburg Limousines and Global American Barter.

Thanks to all the media houses represented, thanks to our vendors Niani Jewelry and the African Games. We say thank you to all artists who performed at the show, Miss Chinwe Enu, Emmanuella Tamfu, Kanja the African King and the Ngonju Dance group.
The above list is by no means exhaustive, we will continue to blog on this event because there is so much to say and so much to share for those who did not make it to the show in Maryland. We thank you for your support of the finalists and of the Miss Africa USA Pageant.

We will continue to bring you updates but for now, please join us in CONGRATULATING MISS FIFI SOUMA, Miss Africa USA 2010 -2011. Fifi is an amazing young lady and a lucky winner. She had just dropped the Miss Guinea USA Crown the week before as Miss Guinea USA 2009, in the same Performing Arts Center witnessed by the Ambassador of the Republic of Guinea. Fifi was crowned at the same department where she attends classes. This is all a coincidence and she certainly felt comfortable in her own environment. Congratulations Miss Fifi. I am sure Montgomery College is also very proud of you.

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Miss Fifi Souma was crowned by former Miss Africa USA Teizue Gayflor and she was assisted by former Miss Cameroon USA Danielle Frankie Forchive. The Queen’s Floral Bouquet was sponsored by Vikings Florals. We also thank Ma Edwan Fon for sponsoring flowers as well.

To all the beautiful and ambitious young women who made it to the finals this year, we congratulate each and everyone of you because you all won. You represented in an extra-ordinary fashion, it was a tough contest and at the end of the day your humanitarian missions which you embarked on makes you a woman of substance with a heart of gold. Go forth and continue your projects and we are all here to support you via the African Women’s Development Foundation Inc.

Thanks to all our American and non-African friends who attended this event, we hope you enjoyed a little bit of the African culture. We hope that you learned something about Africa and African culture, this in turn will help promote diversity, understanding and cultural awareness because the world today is a global village and we all need to understand and get along with each other.

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Rehearsals at the Viking Center, Burtonsville, MD.

We certainly will continue blogging on this event, we will continue the kudos, the thank yous and more and also update the Miss Africa USA website. You may continue to follow reports on this event on facebook, twitter and all our social networks.

We invite fashion, cultural and international magazines to contact us for official photos of the event. Africa was certainly alive in Maryland this past weekend.

Please subscribe to our mailing list via the website to receive updates and more.

Please click on the following links to read more:

UNAA TIMES OF UGANDA

FARAI TODAY REPORTS ON THE PAGEANT

READ GUGU BANDA’S EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE PAGEANT

Apply for 2011 Miss Africa USA Pageant via the website www.missafricaunite dstates.com

From the entire team, we say thank you and Congratulations to the Queen Fatoumata (Fifi) Souma, Miss Africa USA 2010.

Yours respectfully

Lady Kate Njeuma
Founder and Executive Producer
Miss Africa USA Scholarship Pageant.

7883 North Main Street
Jonesboro, Georgia 30236
678 663 5892, 678 886 5950
www.missafricaunite dstates.com