By Pinehas Nakaziko
WINDHOEK-The 22-year-old Jackson Peuyelenga Mwetufena, popularly known as Da Silva, has been appointed the National Director of Miss Tourism Africa (MTA) 2015 in Namibia.
Da Silva was appointed by the Zimbabwean Sipiti Media to be the National Director of MTA 2015 in Namibia, a new international beauty pageant established in Zimbabwe by the pageants media and events company, the Sipiti Media. MTA is a beauty pageant focussing on promoting continental tourism, cultural exchange and environmental conservation through beauty pageantry and advocacy. Da Silva says that he joined MTA as a franchise holder at a national level tasked with selecting four contestants or queens, a journalist, photographer, make-up artist, a choreographer, local musician, a fashion designer and a chaperon. “As the National Director of MTA, I am tasked to select all these delegates and make up one team that will participate and represent Namibia, and as well as carrying forward MTA objectives in Namibia at MTA to be hosted in Zimbabwe in August this year,” he says.
Da Silva appreciates such as a great honour for him to represent his country abroad as a proud Namibian youth promising that the team that he will be selecting before in March is going to make Namibia proud. “We will come back from Zimbabwe waiving Namibian flag high,” vows Da Silva. He says MTA is a different pageant and believes that they need to join hands and have a holistic approach towards the promotion of tourism through beauty pageants.
Da Silva started his school at Epako Primary school in Gobabis where he has been staying with her caring mother. After that, he moved to the northern parts of Namibia at Okatope in Ohangwena region where he used to stay with his late grandmother, Tresia Nghishimono, starting school at the Omandume Pimary School in Ohangwena. “In 2007, I moved to Eenyika Village, five kilometres away from Eenhana where I went to continue my studies at Omutwewondjaba Combined School from Grade 7-10. After completing Grade 10, I went to continue my Grade 11-12 at Ponhofi Senior Secondary School where my passion for modelling started. I love modelling since I was a young boy and I participated in Mr NAPPA 2009 where I was crowned 1st Prince and Mr Personality at Eenhana. In 2011 I was crowned Mr Ponhofi Secondary School and my passion for modelling has been growing,” says Da Silva. After completing his Grade 12 in 2012, he started his modelling academy known as Da Silva Modeling Foundation were he used to train girls on how to model and catwalk. “I have registered 75 models under my Foundation,” he says.
“Due to my passion for modelling, I have been organising beauty pageants in the northern parts of Namibia with the aim of supporting my fellow Namibian youth and help them make use of their modelling talents and take Namibia to the top of the world. My aim with modelling was to represent Namibia abroad one day a dream which came true,” says Da Silva. He appeals to the Namibian nation to support him in any way possible by sponsoring him financially with return tickets to the MTA pageant.