Miss Majestic Worldwide Wins Speech Competition
Miss Majestic Worldwide, Ushel Tanumafili Okesene
Photo: Eyespy Radio
The Samoa Fa'afafine Association (S.F.A) held its Fa'afafine Pageant Speech Competition at the Edge Marina in Matautu on Tuesday with the 7 contestants each receiving a topic ranging from mental health awareness, discussing S.T.Is (Sexually Transmitted Infections), roles of fa'afafines in the community, as well as other topics which impact the daily lives of fa'afafine.
The upcoming pageant which will be held this Friday 9th December is centred on the theme of "Weaving a Resilient Samoa" and celebrates the various ways in which fa'afafines and fa'afatama contribute to their families, villages and communities.
The contestants after delivering their speeches were questioned by a panel of judges regarding their given topics. The winner of the Speech Competition for this year is Miss Majestic Worldwide, Ushel Tanumafili Okesene from the village of Vaoala, with her topic of "Business and Entrepreneurship".
The 33-year-old owns and runs a hair-salon business and is a qualified cosmetologist conveyed during an interview with Eyespy Radio that she has faced a lot of difficulties and challenges before she was able to put up her business in October of last year.
"Not only the wealthy can run and operate a business, anyone can do it if they have the right mindset. I was able to complete my training as a cosmetologist in Fiji back in 2009, but I didn't want to actually start my business until I was confident enough in my own talents given to me by God. So as I've said before, it all depends on your mindset and your belief in yourself," she said.
Ushel added that vying in this year's pageant is a different experience, saying "The pageant has changed in the past few years," she said. "In the past the pageant was seen as a laughingstock and as a means of entertainment for the public, but now it's been taken more seriously and is seen as a platform for us to voice some of the issues against fa'afafines which need to be addressed."
She also encouraged the younger generation of fa'afafines that want to join the pageant in the future to follow their dreams and to disregard all the negativities projected by others towards them.
"If you want to join the pageant in the future then you should definitely give it a go because your voice will be heard if you get to voice it on this platform," she stated.