President Faure receives Miss Deaf Africa 2018 |02 December 2019
Ms Mundine presents President Faure with a gift (Photo: Thomas Meriton)
Present Danny Faure received Elisa Mundine, Miss Deaf Africa 2018, and the organisers of the Miss Deaf Africa and Miss Deaf Indian Ocean pageant on Saturday at State House.
Ms Mundine, who is from Mozambique, was crowned Miss Deaf Africa 2018 last year during the 7th continental pageant hosted in Seychelles.
She was in the country to implement her project at the School for the Deaf at Au Cap as well as to crown the new Miss Deaf Africa 2019 in the pageant, held yesterday evening at the ICCS.
Accompanying her to State House were the chief executive of Miss Deaf Africa Anita Gardner and Philippe Galle, a member of the Miss Deaf Africa organising committee.
“I came to meet the Seychelles president to share some information on Mozambique and he is ready to support me in ensuring that my own president knows of me and meets me on my return in Mozambique,” Ms Mundine communicated through sign language.
Her encounter with President Faure was the first time that she has ever met a head of state and Ms Mundine proved to be very enthused about that fact.
“I am extremely happy to be here; State House is very beautiful,” she stated.
During her one-year tenure as Miss Deaf Africa, Ms Mundine said that she has become a more optimist, positive and confident person.
She explained that it is quite difficult living as a deaf person in Mozambique hence why she had attempted to empower Mozambicans who are hard of hearing over the course of the last year, and hopes to continue to do so.
“I came to Seychelles two weeks ahead of the pageant in order to help with the preparations of the contest and I have learnt a lot, and I will be working really hard when I go back home.”
Miss Deaf Africa was hosted yesterday and saw the participation of 12 contestants from Seychelles, Mauritius, La Reunion, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania (see story on page 1).
Elsie Pointe