Bold and Beautiful: Dreaming of Bringing Change to Africa

"When I start something, I always make sure to finish it," said Twamanguluka Ndayaamena Nambili, a first-year international student at SNC, coming from the African country of Namibia. Nambili, known to her friends by the nickname Twama, considers herself to be open-minded, charismatic, friendly and most importantly, a responsible person, who has already tackled major challenges in her life and now strives to be the voice of those less fortunate in Namibia and across Africa.

Recently, Nambili entered the Miss Africa USA pageant as the first-ever participant from Namibia, a country of just over two million people.

The Miss Africa USA Pageant, now entering its fourth year, is produced by The African Women's Development Foundation, Inc. Its main purpose is to "give back to humanity especially in Africa where need cannot be over-emphasized," according to the Miss Africa USA website.

The pageant serves not only as a showcase of beauty and brains, but it is also trying to redefine the image of the African women as strong leaders and key figures in the development of Africa and the world in general.

After hearing about this opportunity from a friend, Nambili, who had previous modeling experience while studying in Malaysia and had appeared in several teen magazines, was thrilled to apply and be given an opportunity to be the ambassador of her country, "the Land of the Brave."

Dreaming of becoming a successful businesswoman someday, Nambili recognizes the importance education plays in her life and would like to share it with those who currently don't have access to it. If she wins Miss Africa USA, she hopes to be given an opportunity to use her title in order to instigate change in her local community and on a much larger scale.

"My platform is to increase the significance of education in Africa, as well as to tackle the problem of HIV/AIDS, especially the critical issues of discrimination against those who are infected and the children who are orphaned after losing parents to this horrible disease," said Nambili.

After witnessing the horrors and the toll HIV/AIDS takes on families and entire communities during her early years in Africa, Nambili is strong-minded, determined and passionate about addressing this issue and making at least a small step toward ending discrimination and providing for children who are left to the streets of major African cities.

The first challenge in front of Nambili will be semi-final competition held in Atlanta, GA, where she will have a chance to meet other competitors and claim her spot at the national competition to be held in Washington, DC later this year.

After creating a group on Facebook titled "Help Sponsor Twama for Miss Africa USA Beauty Pageant," Nambili says she has received a lot of support from the SNC community, which helped her raise money to attend the semi-finals in the upcoming weeks.

Nambili, who is an elected member of the Student Government Assembly and a very active member of other clubs and organizations on campus, says she is happy to have chosen SNC as a place to get the best quality education.

"I like everything about SNC. People are nice and are taking care of me. I especially enjoy my classes because they are small and allow me to have very close friends."

SNC can boast about having students from more than thirty countries of the world at their small De Pere campus. They all come from different backgrounds, with extraordinary achievements and different ambitions, like Nambili, to make an impact on the world and be proud representatives of their respective countries.

Nambili's future at SNC is uncertain due to the financial problems caused by the volatile Namibian currency. However, she still cherishes every moment spent here, believes in goodness of the people and dreams that one day she will be in a position to help others to get proper education and care. The dream might not be too far from coming true.

"Even if I don't succeed in winning the title of Miss Africa, I will still work ardently on solving issues in my country, across the African continent and establishing cultural and business bonds between Africa and the world," concludes Nambili.