Nesie, a beauty with the desire to fight breast cancer

Sierra Leone has had several beauty queens but probably, Anniemaude Cole was one beauty queen that the entire country rallied behind and is still well remembered. To the thousands and thousands who followed her coronation on that day, over a decade ago, her choice as queen was well deserved as it was popular. Unfortunately though, her reign was short-lived. The 22 year-old beauty queen died in mysterious circumstances. Police report says she died from burns she suffered when a kerosene lamp apparently ignited her flammable nightgown but on to this day, her legacy, just like the late reggae exponent, Robert Bob Nesta Marley, still lives on. Sierra Leoneans still imagined what her reign would have been like had death not suddenly descended on her like the proverbial sword of Damocles.  (Photo: Nesie Isa Abdulai)

Further on the downside, her death jolted organizers of the Miss Sierra Leone national beauty pageant. Her loss was of such scale that organizing yet another national beauty pageant suffered arthritis if not still left in animated suspense. It was a loss too big to find a foot that perfectly fits that shoe.

Though several Miss Universities have been held in Sierra Leone since then, queens nowadays, just like diamonds have turned into precious rarity.

However, there is one Sierra Leonean who is determined to turn this around and relive the moments of joy we had when the late Anniemaude was crowned our queen. Albeit in a foreign land, Nesie Isa Abdulai, 25, a major in Political Science graduate from the University of West Georgia in the United States is determined to put her motherland on the international limelight when she steps on the stage in July to compete among other finalists from Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Guinea, Zimbabwe and Ghana at the finals of this year’s edition of the Miss Africa USA to be held in Maryland.

Nesie

With the true nature of the typical Sierra Leonean woman, Nesie who left the shores of her motherland when she was 18 says she is in the competition not only to win but that her winning would definitely have a positive impact on Sierra Leoneans as she also believes that it would serve as a rallying call for those of us back home to believe that our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora still care about their motherland.

What she has not however allowed to get the better part of her is her confidence as she recognizes that her other contenders went through a rigorous process that was meant to weed out the weak links and that all the finalists are the very best of Africans in the United States.

 A onetime pupil of the Ronsab Preparatory School, Nesie’s interest in breast cancer started when she heard a story of a young lady from Nigeria who died from the disease at the tender age of 22. As if that was not enough, she also heard about the death of a 16- year -old Sierra Leonean as a result of the disease. Both deaths shocked her and since then, she vowed that she was going to do everything within her power to save people from dying from it. Nesie sees breast cancer as a worldwide threat to women and she believes that now is the time to educate African women on it as, in her words, there are virtually little or no existing statistics on women in the continent with the disease. For her, the breast cancer project is just the beginning and she hopes that it may open a gateway for other programmes that will aid Sierra Leoneans.

Nesie Isa Abdulai

She plans to return home in the near future and for this, she believes that her winning would enhance her project which she hopes to establish in the country and later, hopefully extend to other African countries.

Determined to win, the single lady who misses and still yearns for her cassava leaves served with rice wants to make the nation proud. However this could only be achieved if we join her in whatever way we can to help her lift the crown in July.

Nesie, our sister is on a journey with a purpose and if she wins, it is the entire nation that will share in the glory. Please let us remember Nesie in our prayers and wish her all the best.

By Rachel Horner

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!

© 2010, https:. All rights reserved.