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First
Ever Ms. Africa International Pageant Draws
Thousands The Nation's
Capitol Becomes Center Stage as Eighteen African
Countries Celebrate History and
Culture A panel of six
celebrities including Rockmond Dunbar (who plays
Kenny Chadway in the popular Showtime series Soul
Food) judged women from Liberia,Nigeria, Eritrea,
Angola, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Gambia, Ghana,
Senegal, Guinea, DRC Congo, Rwanda, Burundi,
Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone in a colorful
display of cultural heritage. Nigerian candidate
Adenike Taiwo Ariyo was crowned Miss Africa
International 2004 after a stiff competition.
Each contestant
introduced herself stating an issue confronting
Africa that she would be advocating. Miss
Democratic Republic of Congo International stole
the hearts of her listeners as she told of her
parents dying of HIV/AIDS when she was only
thirteen. Unlikely to escape attention was the
absence of swimsuits, a traditional essential in
other pageants, setting Miss Africa International
apart from other pageants around the world.
Instead, the contestants performed a unity dance
wearing halters and sarongs of rich, colorful
fabrics hand woven in Africa. Pageant organizers
and contestants were advised by elders. Outstanding
contestants received awards such as the Maya
Angelou Congeniality Award and the Mamadi Diane
Industrial Award. The honorary chairlady of the
event, Her Excellency Mme Aude Ndayizeye, First
Lady of Burundi, was unable to attend the
pageant. During
her reign as
Miss Africa International, Ariyo will serve as
international spokesperson for hunger and HIV/AIDS
in Africa. The other queens will also promote
issues relevant to Africa. Dunbar expressed
her hope that the pageant, to be held annually,
will inspire a renewed interest in a continent
greatly affected by war, hunger, disease and
poverty, problems wreaking havoc in many of the
countries represented(Miss Democratic Republic of
Congo lost both parents to HIV/AIDS at age 13; Miss
Rwanda International is an orphan of the Rwandan
genocide; Liberia has been in turmoil for over a
decade.) Produced by Mokoli
Productions, Inc., the Miss Africa International
Pageant is a springboard for the Miss Africa
Diaspora Pageant, open to all women of African
ancestry regardless of citizenship. The Miss Africa
International Organization sponsors charity
organizations that benefit Africa. The next Miss
Africa International Pageant will be held on
November 13, 2004. For more information visit
www.missafricainternational.com or contact:
Busola Grillo
240-603-6720 Toutou Abraha 202-415-2641 Ellen Dunbar
240-462-4645 or 301-603-9262 |
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WASHINGTON,
D.C: Thousands cheered as women from eighteen
African countries showcased their talents, brains,
beauty and culture in the inaugural Miss Africa
International Pageant on November 1, 2003 at the
Washington Convention Center in D.C. Pageant
founder and executive producer Ellen Dunbar
declared the program a success, stating that the
pageant's purpose of promoting the African culture
had been served.