14 Apr 2024

Lauren Traore of Burkina Faso has clinched the Queen Esther International Beauty Pageant 2024 crown on Saturday.

Mo Hong from Vietman and Dasebu Kafui of Ghana followed as first and second runners-up in a highly contested event, which was held virtually.

The event attracted young females from Botswana, Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, Zambia, Namibia, Vietnam, Cape Verde, Burkina Faso but the Burkina Faso queen stood out after excelling in her project and questions among others.

The pageant provided a platform for born-again Christian young women to showcase their beauty upholding godly values and at the same time impacting positively on their generations.

Initially, the pageant was held locally but this time around, the executive coordinator of Queen Esther, Vehae Tjiriange decided to spread wings and engage the international audience.

The pageantry is cultivated from the story of Queen Esther in the Book of Esther in the Bible.  

Different speakers, who graced the occasion, hailed the coordinator for taking the pageant to the international space in order to reach out to and empower more girls and young women who could positively impact the world.

They appreciated that the programme focused on training leadership and life skills including political, governance and stewardship leadership skills.

“This is an incredible initiative, which has achieved a lot since its inception in 2010, moulding young women to make informed decision, excel in all aspects of life and speak for the voiceless,” said Taboka Rotsi, Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (NCONGO) chairperson.

The pageant, she said had grown in leaps and bounds hence she reached out to the international community to empower more girls and young women.

She appreciated that the pageant offered contestants an opportunity to engage in beauty with a purpose projects aimed to impact positively in the society.

Rotsi said Ngamiland region was marred with issues of child marriages, defilement and molestation especially in hard to reach areas.

Rotsi stressed the need for stakeholders to support such initiatives saying they offered immense benefits to the girl child.

Pastor Melody Banda said the pageantry empowered girls and young women to have a vision in their lives and become more powerful and claim their freedom.

She said the pageantry had developed young women into change agents, to embrace godly values and live better lives.

In some cases, she said it was worrisome as some parents failed to provide basic necessities for their children, therefore becoming vulnerable and getting exposed to intimate relationships for the sake of putting bread on the table.

Pastor Banda appreciated that the pageantry will teach the girl child to be independent and avoid becoming liability to anyone even men.

Tjiriange said taking the pageantry to the international stage was a dream come true.  

Tjiriange said the initiative was to unearth the most inwardly beautiful and talented young women, with outstanding characters to become role models for all generations.

Through the pageantry, Tjiriange offered a training tailored to transform the delegates into influential young women and change agents.

She acknowledged that the pageantry had so far borne fruits saying most of their previous queens were excelling in life amongst them, Miss World Africa, Lesego Chombo.

“My journey in this pageantry has become a testament to the power of determination, purpose and the ability to make a positive impact in the world.

I have groomed powerful women who had rose to the occasion to bring solutions to challenges as well as promote stability and peace in societies,” she said. ENDS