Aletta Shikololo
WINDHOEK – The Miss Okahao pageant that took place last week attracted many beautiful contestants from across the country. However, it was Tuundja Ujava who was crowned as the 2019 winner.
The first princess was Yvonne Tjongarero and Julia Kandjimbi was crowned as the second princess. During her reign, Ujava will be an ambassador of the town and engage in projects that will help the community alleviate social challenges such as unemployment as well as the overall development of the town.
“As the face and the ambassador of Okahao town, I would like to represent the town effectively, market it wherever I go and be the spokesperson of the youth. One of the things that I would like to change in the next beauty pageant is to enforce the participation of models from Okahao because most of the models that took part are from outside the town. It’s more appropriate when someone from the area is representing her hometown than an outsider,” explained Ujava, who is an education student at the International University of Management.
During her reign, Ujava is planning to conduct workshops to encourage models from the town to participate in local beauty pageants, as she believes that many young people have potential to participate in pageants but lack self-confidence. “I always tell myself that I can do something and I will do it and that’s what keeps me going,” she said, urging young people to embrace self-confidence.
The event which was aimed to motivate, enhance self- confidence in young women and create initiatives that will contribute to the development of the town, was hosted by the Okahao Town Council as part of the first Ehao Cultural Expo, which was about promoting the rich cultural heritage of Okahao.
“I can testify that this year’s beauty pageant was a success compared to previous pageants because it was hosted with the Ehao Cultural Expo, which was one of its kind. The response from the board was positive, the turn up was high and the ladies were fully committed to the projects ,” explained the Local Economic Development and Tourism Officer, Victoria Haimbondi.