Kenyan Beauty Shooting for Miss Africa USA Asking for Your Vote

Hilda Nyaboke Mauya is asking for your vote. Not for president of Kenya, but for Miss Africa USA 2010/2011. The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Hilda is one of the finalists who sailed through at the Miss Africa U.S.A. preliminary pageant held in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this year.

Hilda, who is a nurse, sites her mum as her greatest influence.  “My mum was a nurse, and growing up, I observed and admired as she took care of poor people who could not afford her services. The difference that she brought to people’s lives inspired me to follow her footsteps as a nurse. It also made me aware of the issues that young African girls and women face in our society.” This invaluable experience is one of the reasons Hilda is running for Miss Africa U.S.A.

As an African woman and a nurse, HIlda says she would use the crown as a platform to help educate the Kenyan and African community about the physiological and psychological effects of female genital mutilation (FGM) on the African girl child and how the outdated practice exacerbates the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus and violence against women. She plans to work with women’s groups and community organizations to make a difference, one girl child at a time.

Hilda is currently a member of the Coalition of Violence Against Women, an organization that champions the rights of women in Kenya. She also works with the Kenya Society for Academic Advancement, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to underprivileged and orphaned children in Kenya.

The contestant that garners  the most votes becomes the People’s African Princess. The votes also contribute toward the overall tally for Miss Africa U.S.A. The 2010/2011. The Miss Africa U.S.A. pageant will be held in Washington, DC on July 24th.

Vote for HILDA N. MAUYA

By George Ndege (Jojo)