adminAlthough she missed out on the coveted prize, Miss Tourism International, which was won by the host country, Malaysia, she left the more than 1 000 guests mesmerised by her traditional Ndebele footwork, as she danced to a ballad from South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka.
Nadia appeared unfazed by the large crowd, who appeared stunned to see the only black girl in the contest, move with such grace, pomp and confidence, and doing well for that matter.
It was indeed the young lady’s moment of glory, when her performance was met with a thunderous applause from the guests, who were impressed by her flawless act.
In an interview after the pageant, Nadia said although she did not clinch the award, she said the time slot she got to perform on stage put Zimbabwe on the map, something she had been praying for.
“Being the only black girl in the pageant, I know there were a lot of people who didn’t think that I could do that. As you can see, talent and ability is not measured by one’s colour, but one’s capability,” she said.
On the pageant itself, Nadia said the three weeks she spent in camp gave her ample opportunity to fully develop her modelling, through interactions with other contestants.
“I went through learning and developmental processes, and I am grateful for the opportunity, which I also used to dispel perceptions that people had about Zimbabwe.”
Initiated in 1994 by a Malaysian, Datuk Danny Ooi, the Miss Tourism International beauty pageant is now franchised to more than 80 countries, including Zimbabwe. It has seen more than 500 Miss Tourism delegates from around the world participate in the event since its inauguration 15 years ago.
Most of the participants in last year’s event were drawn from Asia, South America, a handful of European countries and three African countries – Guinea, South Africa and Zimbabwe, which was participating in the pageant for the first time.
It looks like it is not easy to win the coveted prize, but the pageant is ideal as a tourism marketing strategy because of the diverse crowd that turns up for this event every year.
Nadia is expected in the country tomorrow.
Online Reporter