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Beauty pageant for the disabled

By Bampia James Bundu

The first beauty pageant for disabled people in Sierra Leone is set to take place in Freetown in April.

Pageant organiser Mayeni Sesay, who is the founder and CEO of Malisha Da Queen Charity Foundation told a news conference in Freetown: "the pageant will demonstrate to the world that disability is not inability, and raise funds for the disabled to enable them carry out certain projects in future".

Sesay said, “I want to show the world that disability is not something individuals have" adding, "what they have is impairment."

She encouraged disabled young people to "move off the streets and do something constructive and at the same time have some fun". She promised to help disabled people learn more new skills to build their confidence to enhance their capacity to compete with people with no physical disability in the job market.

Sesay called on other Sierra Leoneans to join her in organising the pageant so the disabled themselves can boast of having "Mr. and Miss Salone" and that contestants from 13 districts across the country would participate and the judges would come from Europe.

Ramatu Kargbo, a disabled woman from Grafton, just outside Freetown said they were happy to be included in the pageant and praised the pageant organiser for her support and called on the government to make the pageant an annual event.

Mayeni Sesay who was born in Port Loko district in northern Sierra Leone travelled to Europe in February 2000 as a result of the civil war. She said she started her fashion career in The Netherland where "I was able to organise the first Sierra Leonean Cultural Dance Group” .

She said she started working with persons with disability in Sierra Leone in 2005 and had donated to them wheelchairs, clothes and consumable items among others for which the National Commission for Persons with Disability appointed her as Ambassador for Persons with Disability.

(C) Politico 27/02/14

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