Miss Sierra Leone USA Attends African Women's Cancer Awareness Association's 2014 Ladies First Breakfast

Hello world!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing wonderful, thanks to the Almighty. On the morning of June 28th, I attended the African Women's Cancer Awareness Association's (AWCAA) 3rd Annual Ladies First Breakfast. As you may know, my personal platform as Miss Sierra Leone USA is Advocating for SHERO, and one of the pillars H is for Health. Therefore, an event such as this is very fitting for me to enlighten and educate myself more on breast cancer and its effect on the African diaspora in the United States.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

A signature event by the African Women's Cancer Awareness Association (AWCAA), Ladies First Breakfast is a family-oriented event held to encourage the education and dialogue of breast cancer. According to AWCAA, "This gathering was started to uplift and provide support for women in the community that are either directly affected by the disease or have a family member or friend that has been affected. Know that you come first." AWCAA has been committed to the welfare of breast cancer patients and survivors in the US African diaspora for the past ten years. After losing a mother, best friend, and aunt to breast cancer, I highly recommend you read the full story of how Mrs. Ify Anne Nwabukwu (seen in photo below) started AWCAA on the organization's website.

Founder/President of African Women's Cancer Awareness Association Mrs. Ify Anne Nwabukwu and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

According to their website, "The African Women's Cancer Awareness Association (AWCAA) is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization. AWCAA was established in 2004 by a coalition of African immigrant women health professionals in order to address disparities in awareness, prevention and access to healthcare for African immigrant communities that face cancer and other life threatening illnesses. The group has grown to encompass healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs and concerned individuals dedicated to eliminating these disparities within the Washington metropolitan area, the continent of Africa and beyond." AWCAA has made multiple medical missions to African nations such as Cameroon, Nigeria, Sudan, and at the end of this year they will be going to Sierra Leone (Freetown and Bo district).

With the AWCAA Founding Members
Mrs. Ify Nwabukwu (AWCAA President/Executive Director), Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, and Mrs. Teresa Ofong (AWCAA Director of Patient Navigation)

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. Isatu Wurie (AWCAA Chair)

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. Maureen Umeh (Mistress of Ceremony, Emmy Award-Winning TV Anchor)

A Nigerian American, Ms. Maureen Umeh served as the Mistress of Ceremony. She is an Emmy Award winning anchor/reporter, Maureen Umeh co-anchors the weekend editions of Fox 5 News and the News Edge. She has been honored with several awards for her work. They include an an emmy for Best Investigative Series and Best Newscast. She has also been honored by many organizations, including the South Carolina Television and Arts Association; the Illinois Broadcaster's Association and the NAACP. Sharing facts about breast cancer and cancer effects on women of African diaspora in the United States, especially in the District of Columbia metropolitan area, was Mr. Mamadou Samba. Originally from Senegal, Mr. Samba is a leader and voice in the African immigrant community in the metropolitan area and is involved in the development of the African diaspora in the United States.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. Anna Mwalagho (Singer/Songwriter, Actress, Dancer, and Poet/Spoken-Word Artist)

At the event, there was a delicious breakfast buffet setup and phenomenal variety of performances. Musical performances by The Fix, African cultural dance and drumming by Farafina Kan, and a remarkable song and poetry performance by Ms. Anna Mwalagho. Although this was not my first time seeing Ms. Mwalagho perform, I am always blown away by her talents and command for her audience. It is impossible to not put at least a smile on your face upon seeing and hearing her.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. Carol F. Walls (Actress/Singer/Motivational Speaker)

Keynote speaker of the event was Ms. Carol F. Walls. Ms. Walls took us on a trip down memory lane, shared her personal story pre- and post-cancer, and her desire to share her story to many women as a survivor. Ms. Walls is an author, actress, poetess, singer, motivational speaker, and community and civil rights advocate.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ma Winny Casey (Founder/Director of Miss Tanzania USA pageant, Mitindo Nite fashion designer)

Present at the event was the always kind and hardworking, Ma Winney Casey; we sat next to each other. I had the pleasure of first meeting Ma Winney last December when I judged the inaugural Miss Tanzania USA 2013 pageant. She is the Founder/Executive Director of the pageant, and also the fashion designer for the beautiful Mitindo Nite African and Kanga designs from Tanzania.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. D.C. Ogwu (two-time cancer survivor)

Sitting to my left on my table, I had the honor of sitting next to Ms. D.C. Ogwu. Small in stature, Mama Ogwu is a two-time cancer survivor and phenomenal woman. Her story is featured in the program book; for the sake of respecting her privacy, I choose to not share the details in this blog post. However, I will say that she is a very powerful woman and from reading her story, it is clear that she's a fighter and very strong woman. I feel blessed to have sat next to her on the VIP table, talk with her one-on-one, and give her hugs during the event whenever she was emotional. She is an inspiration. During the event, all the cancer survivors (including Mama Ogwu) present had a makeover by Avon.

Left-Right:
Ms. Justine Mbianda (AWCAA Vice Chair, breast cancer survivor), Mrs. Ify Nwabukwu, Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, and Ms. Teresa Ofong.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and her two young Tanzanian American friends

Left-Right:
Friends from Tanzania, Ms. D.C. Ogwu, and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Left-Right:
Miss Tanzania USA 2014 Contestant Grace, Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, and Ma Winny Casey

Being that this was an event to honor African women, I was very pleased to meet some of my fellow Sierra Leoneans. So many Sierra Leonean women came up to me to say hi and even requested a picture taken with me. I was very excited to see mi Salon uman den at such a relevant event; AWCAA members Ms. Teresa Ofong and Ms. Isatu Wurie are also Sierra Leoneans. At the end of the event, thanks to Ma Winney, we decided to take a group picture of most of Sierra Leoneans in attendance.

Ms. Priscilla St. John and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Lucy (Ms. Priscilla's daughter) and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Ms. Priscilla St. John, Lucy, Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, and Ms. Isatu Wurie

Left-Right:
Miss Priscilla St. John, Ma Winny Casey, Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, Ms. Adama Gibateh, and Ms. Amelia Cole

Below is the Sierra Leone group picture. An honor to be surrounded by these phenomenal Sierra Leonean women in beautiful afrikanas.

United Sierra Leoneans!!!
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and the Sierra Leonean women in attendance

Think Pink: Breast Cancer Awareness
Mrs. Ify Anne Nwabukwu and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

If you have a friend or family member with breast cancer, try not to look at her with 'sad eyes.' Treat her like you always did; just show a little extra love. - Hoda Kotb

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

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Photo credit:

Life Depicted Productions
Ma Winny Casey
Ms. Priscilla St. John