As she takes on the mandate to represent Guyana on the international stage, US-based Malika Manelva Blount is on a second journey to improve and develop the country’s health sector through her pageantry platform and the non-profit organisation she founded in 2018.
Although the 29-year-old Blount was not born in Guyana, she has become a dual citizen due to both of her parents being Guyanese who migrated overseas and given her marriage to a Guyanese.
The reigning Mrs Guyana International who will participate in the Mrs International Pageant 2023, Blount has focused her platform on health with the main objective of teaching the youths of Guyana to utilise technology in order improve patient outcomes and how to reduce healthcare disparities.
In a recent interview, she explained that she had initially launched Blueprint Foundation in 2018 and the Blueprint Academy late in January as a result of her pageantry platform. However, both entities are focused on educating and equipping young people with the necessary skills and tools through technology and to improve Guyana’s health system and also other ways of development.
“During the initial stage of the pageant we had the option to choose our platform and being a registered nurse in the US and someone who’s passionate about health, I chose that platform,” she said.
Another reason why she chose health as her platform, is the current state of Guyana’s health system which needs improvement. Blount said she also has a sentimental memory of a visit to the Linden Hospital with her mother at a tender age during an outreach, where her little act of kindness had brightened a child’s face.
She said she has seen the differences and inefficiencies of Guyana’s health sector compared to the US, since she has been exposed to both, and as such, she wishes to see certain things change.
“For example, if I am being treated at a certain hospital and given certain prescriptions then when I visit another hospital, you cannot diagnose me with something different, you cannot give any other different prescription. And so that’s something that needs to remain the same which it isn’t,” she said.
As a result, she has since created another initiative under the Blueprint Academy known as the Healthcare Technology Initiative, which focuses on providing digital literacy education and resources to healthcare providers. Through this initiative, weekly workshops are being held for healthcare professionals so that they can improve their technological skills and enhance the way in which they care for their patients.
Moreover, as it relates to her overall Blueprint Foundation, she has also implemented the Digital Minds Initiative where additional workshops in coding, web design, and technology training are also held in order to provide the skills in digital literacy education and resources, which also help to teach young people to make money online, “an important skill in today’s world,” she noted.
According to Blount, the Blueprint Foundation workshops are only being held in Region Ten with 15 students for now, but she hopes to expand to all regions in the country. The classes are held virtually and as such lecturers from the US, including Blount are the ones who manage the courses online.
Meanwhile, asked what her advice and encouragement to other nurses would be, Blount said, “I see you. I hear you. I know what you guys are going through and although many… may not see what you are doing, I appreciate you and I encourage you to keep on going because it’s a rewarding job.”
Blount, who visits Guyana frequently, said that she hopes to garner the support of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and our very own international movie actress, Letitia Wright.
“This platform is not just a platform for me or for the country, but it’s a life changing one that will educate our young people about this modern world and bridge that digital divide between us and other developed countries,” she said. “We haven’t reached this far as yet, but imagine diagnosing or curing certain diseases right from the comfort of your home with just technology? And so with the government support and other influential persons I know we can do this.”
As she gets ready to grace the stage from July 21 – 22 in Kingsport, Tennessee, in the United States, Blount is asking for all the support from her fellow Guyanese.
“I’m not well known in Guyana but as I take on this journey I’m asking my fellow Guyanese to help support me by following my journey, maybe online… Their support is all that matters to me,” she said.
Her pageantry journey and also the journey of developing the country’s healthcare can be followed on her Instagram @malikamanelva and the Blueprint Foundation and Blueprint Academy on Facebook.
