Though still two months away from coronation night and the Mr/Miss Guyana African Roots week of activities, rehearsals are in full swing and contestants have been working tirelessly to ensure that they are ready for the big night.
Recently The Scene introduced some of the male teen competitors and this week features some of the female teen competitors.
Readers would recall that each contestant has been tasked with choosing an African name to represent an African country.
To start of this week batch of teen girls is Shania Chapman. Her African name is Adebo Dayo and she represents Botswana. This 18-year-old beauty says she chose this country as it appealed to her with its animals, landscape and people. The Sagittarius is aspiring to become a business manager. “I find that
competing in pageants is not so much about the competition but on improving who you are as a person and the way you can best contribute to society,” Shania said. This calm, kind, loving and sensitive young woman as she describes herself, says should she win, she will focus on improving the way teens see themselves and will try to empower them by helping them to value themselves and telling them that they should not try to be a copy of anyone, but to love themselves for who they are and understand that they are unique in every way. She enjoys swimming, reading adventure and romance novels and dancing (HipHop, Gospel and Dancehall).
Fifteen-year-old Alliyah Norville is representing Uganda. This aspiring daycare teacher currently attends Freeburg Secondary. “I love children and love being around them,” she said. Born under the zodiac sign of Capricorn, Alliyah considers herself an intelligent and bold young woman of integrity who loves meeting new people. She believes not much emphasis is placed on the African culture. “A lot of us youths don’t know about our African culture and we’re judged by others regarding our hair and colour. If I should win, I’ll see to it we have programmes set up in schools to educate all on the African culture.”
Tonia ‘Annayah Agusatho’ Harris is 19 years old. She represents Kenya and says that she chose that country because of its rich history. This young Cancer born is no stranger to pageantry having competed in the Miss Region Three Culture 2017 pageant (she was 3rd runner-up), the Miss Secondary Teen 2015 (she was 2nd runner-up) and the Miss West Bank Emancipation 2015 pageant where she copped the crown. Though she will be highlighting the country of Kenya as her platform, she will be adding to this by highlighting child abuse, an issue prevalent in Guyana. Currently Tonia is a Marketing Coordinator for the Aracari Resort and during her free time she enjoys dancing (Interpretive and African Instrumental) and spending time with her younger sister and friends.
Abigail ‘Ezebuwah’ Alves is representing Mozambique. The 18-year-old New Guyana School Physical Education teacher is a big believer of staying fit and hopes to pursue her dream job of becoming a paediatrician. Abigail describes herself as one who is adventurous, inquisitive but yet simple. “If I become the next queen, I’ll put more focus on getting the Guyana African Roots pageant out there as not many persons know about it. I’ll also use my reign to talk to teens about teenage pregnancy and premarital sex,” she stressed. A Libra born, Abigail loves dancing, reading, swimming and eating anything cheesy. Her favourite colour is blue.
Fourteen-year-old Charlestown Secondary School student Shania ‘Nkecih Best’ Magloire is the youngest contestant. She is hails from Agricola and is representing Ghana. Shania also goes by the nickname ‘Queenie’ owing to her winning the St Ann’s Primary School Pageant in 2004. She also competed in Miss Youth Ambassador Pageant last year where she placed third. She enjoys dancing, singing and reading fairytales. Her favourite colours are: pink, sky blue and white. “If I become the queen I will see to it that my village is improved by having a cleanup campaign and by starting a programme that provide meals for persons in poverty especially single-parent families,” the Taurus-born stunner said.
The gorgeous Jamila ‘Ayeshe Onye Wub’ Whittaker is representing Rwanda. The 17-year- old Scorpio is an aspiring journalist who is currently a CAPE student at the Bishops’ High School. Outgoing, free-spirited, fun, dedicated, determined, hardworking and confident best describe her, she said. “I think the whole concept of the pageant is to spread awareness of the importance and beauty of the African Culture and I’ll do my utmost to promote the same.” Jamila loves doing makeup in her free time and she loves the colour black.
In our next follow up, we will be introducing the remaining Mr and Miss Guyana African Roots teen contestants.
