For Natasha, this is a dream come true.
“This has been a childhood dream of mine, so besides being excited, I am in awe of my dreams actualising,” she told the Weekend Mail in an interview. “So it is an honour, and my goal is to market our country, as a people, our culture, food, music, livelihoods, values and norms, and I just hope to make Zambians proud overall, because I won’t be going as Natasha but as Miss Zambia.”
The pageant in the UAE will be the 71st edition of the Miss World pageant.
“I am delighted to announce the 71st Miss World Festival will be held in… the UAE,” Julia Morley, chairman of Miss World Limited, announced last week.
The Miss World pageant is an international competition that has been held annually since 1951.
The event seeks to find the most beautiful woman in the world, and its participants come from countries around the globe.
Contestants are judged on their talents, intelligence, and their answers to questions on current events and social issues.
The current holder of the title of Miss World is Polish model and television presenter, Karolina Bielawska will crown her successor as Miss World 2023 at the end of the pageant.
According to her biography on the Miss World website, Bielawska is currently studying for a Master’s Degree in Management and would like to continue her studies with a PhD.
Natasha, the 26-year old international relations student and development analyst was crowned Miss Zambia in June last year - seven years after missing out on the crown in 2014.
“My journey so far has been good,” she said. “The most fulfilling part for me is my social cause which is ending period poverty through an NGO that I work with called ‘Human Street Health Aid Zambia’ (HSHAZ).
“We donate menstrual cups to young girls especially in rural areas. This is so to enable them to still access education even when they are on their monthly period without any hindrance or discomfort, also to allow them to take part in extracurricular activities like the boys.”
Natasha says preparations for the global event has since started and going on smoothly.
“The glitz and glam of attending events is nice and fun too, but my whole essence as Miss Zambia is driven by my social cause,” she said.
Note that this article was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper on Sunday, February 19, 2023.
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