Vanessa Namazzi
Uganda’s Vanessa Namazzi is one of the 10 contestants in the Miss AfriCanada beauty pageant taking place in Toronto tomorrow. In an interview, the 22-year-old Namazzi said she was very excited to be showcasing Uganda’s rich culture, talent and beauty.
Miss AfriCanada has been held for the past 15 years with the aim of empowering young women and encouraged giving back to their communities in Africa and Canada. Namazzi has taken part in fashions shows in her high school, Sacred Heart Catholic High School in Newmarket, as well as through university in cultural nights in Hamilton.
Namazzi hopes to use her limelight to promote education of children in line with their skills. “In Uganda this is not a common practice (as parents tend to almost dictate what one takes in university).”
Having attended Uganda Martyrs Secondary School Namugongo, she was always asked what she wanted to be in future. “To please parents I usually said doctor, lawyer, businesswoman, etc and yet I did not know what I wanted to do. I did not even know what strengths I had as I had taken them for granted; not realising that they could play into my career.
But as I learnt more about myself, my interests, and how I could combine the two and get a career out of it, coupled with my love to help people, I decided that this was a perfect place to start and learn how to be an ambassador for social and developmental change. I would love nothing more than seeing our people achieve more and do it smarter.”