Miss Sierra Leone USA Attends 2014 African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation's Youth Awards

Hello world!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I've been very busy academically and professionally lately, but happy. A couple Fridays ago, I attended African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation's (AIRF) 13th Annual Youth Awards Ceremony. I shared my personal story as a former student, and the impact AIRF's Catching Up Program (CUP) had on me during and post-high school. Also, I presented awards to recipients of the Cultural Heritage Award and Academic Excellence Award. Being an alumnus, an event like this is close to my heart and personal platform as Miss Sierra Leone USA of SHERO, specifically advocating for service and education.

Dr. Wanjiru "Mama" Kamau (Founder of African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation) and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

In the photo above, I am seen affectionately hugging Dr. Wanjiru Kamau, who we loving call Mama Kamau. Mama Kamau is the Founder of the African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation, and has been a mother to all of us in the AIRF-CUP. She is one of my role models and forever mentor. If you will like to know about my personal story regarding AIRF and more information about this wonderful organization and their programs, read the post I wrote few months ago when I hosted their 2013 End-of-Year Youth Conference.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Along with my invitation as an AIRF-CUP alumnus, I was asked to speak about what AIRF meant to me when I was in High School and how it affected me after I graduated from high school years ago. At the event, I shared my personal story as a former student and the impact AIRF's Catching Up Program (CUP) had on me during and post-high school. I spoke about the importance of service and mentoring, and how AIRF is an organization that truly justifies these two things. I spoke about how each member of AIRF assisted me in a variety of ways, especially Miss Bertha Hyera (former AIRF-CUP youth coordinator) and Mama Kamau. In addition to my personal story and advice for the students, three other alumni and my friends spoke about their experiences and gave remarkable advice.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

In addition to my speech, I was asked to present awards to recipients of the Cultural Heritage Award and Academic Excellence Award in the AIRF Catching Up program. Recipients were girls and boys in Elementary, Middle, and High School.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. Sohna Oulare (AIRF-CUP student and Miss Guinee North America 2013 finalist)

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson presenting the Cultural Heritage Award

The Cultural Heritage Award went "to students who carry with them an obvious pride for their cultural heritage. Whether they are entering pageants to be the youth representative of their country of origin, writing poems to educate others about their country, have learned to read, write and speak in their language, can remember and name more African countries then their peers on any given day, or speak proudly of their heritage, lineage or countries’ foods, these children have all shown what it means to be proud of one’s culture."

Adorable Moment of the Night!
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson receives a hug from Cultural Heritage Award recipient

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Cultural Heritage Award recipient

In the last two photos, I am pictured with the youngest winner of the Cultural Heritage Award, and second youngest winner of the night overall. I also had the pleasure of sitting on the same table with him and his mother. He is very deserving of this award; such a smart and sweet boy!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and attendees

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and attendees

Below are photos of some of me presenting the Academic Excellence Award to the many recipients. This Award was given to "students who have a GPA of 3.0 and above." Congratulations again to these remarkable and smart students!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson presenting the Academic Excellence Award

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson presenting the Academic Excellence Award

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson presenting the Academic Excellence Award to Miss Berkit

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson presenting the Academic Excellence Award

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson presenting the Academic Excellence Award

After all the music, dance performances, documentary viewing, speeches, Award presentations, and delicious dining, we had the opportunity to mix and mingle with students, parents, mentors, and AIRF Board members. Overall, I had an amazing evening with good company, good food, and many laughs. It's always a pleasure seeing familiar faces and getting to know new people.

Left-Right:
Ms. Asteria Hyera (AIRF-CUP Youth Coordinator), Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, and Ms. Gathoni Kamau (daughter of AIRF Founder, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau)

Sierra Leonean Sisters
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Miss Haja Kalokoh (beautiful singer, AIRF-CUP student, and current student at my high school Alma Mater)

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and event keynote speaker Ms. Rahama Wright (President/CEO of Shea Yeleen)

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Miss Pamela (AIRF-CUP student)

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Mr. Freddy Possian (friend since High School days)

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Miss Adja Koite of Her Right To Literacy (friend since High School days)

Mama Kamau and Her Legacy
Ms. Asteria Hyera, Mr. Freddy Possian, Mama Kamau, Miss Adja Koite, and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Below is a photo I took with members of Parkwood All-Stars dance group. They're a group of talented, beautiful, and smart girls in the African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation's Catching Up Program, and currently in Middle School. After taking this group photo with them, they all wanted to wear my crown. So I decided to crown all of them and other girls at the event, one at a time, a 'Miss' of their various countries of origin.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Parkwood All-Stars dance group

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson crowning a princess from Ethiopia

There she is... Miss Ethiopia 2014 (unofficial) while she does her queenly wave. As you can see in the photo above, Miss Berkit is truly an African Queen!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson crowning a princess from Liberia

There she is... Miss Liberia 2014 (unofficial). As you can see the beautiful smile in the photo above, Miss Sandra is truly an African Queen!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson crowning a princess from Ethiopia

There she is... Miss Ethiopia 2014 (unofficial). As you can see the beautiful smile in the photo above, she's truly an African Queen!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson crowning a princess from Liberia

There she is... Miss Liberia 2014 (unofficial). As you can see the beautiful smile in the photo above, she's truly an African Queen!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson crowning a princess from Ethiopia

There she is... Miss Ethiopia 2014 (unofficial). As you can see the beautiful smile in the photo, she's truly an African Queen! Last but not least, there she is... Miss Guinea 2014 (unofficial). As you can see the beautiful bright smile in the photo below, she's truly an African Queen!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson crowning a princess from Guinea

That's what being young is all about. You have the courage and the daring to think that you can make a difference. You're not prone to measure your energies in time. You're not likely to live by equations. - Actress and Civil Rights Actress Ms. Ruby Dee

Ruby B. Johnson,
Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

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Photo credit:
African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation

Royal Profile: Queen from Sierra Leone, Miss Josephine Kamara

Hello world!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I've been doing well, thanks be to God. Besides living out my platforms of advocating for SHERO and women in STEM, my goal as Miss Sierra Leone USA and onward is to highlight and celebrate my fellow queens and titleholders from Sierra Leone. Using my blog as a tool to thoroughly highlight our queens, I have decided  start this off by showcasing my dear friend and a phenomenal young lady. Ladies and gentlemen, get to know this beauty with a purpose that is using her crown for a good cause, Miss Josephine Kamara.

Presenting... Queen Josephine Kamara

Miss Josephine Kamara
Miss Port Loko 2014

Who is Miss Josephine Kamara?

Age: 21 years old
City of Birth: Freetown
Country of Residence: Republic of Sierra Leone
Hobbies/Interests: fashion and designing; singing; songwriting; surrounded by older and experienced people; and writing Christian stories.

Gorgeous in Green
Queen Josephine Kamara

Education:
Primary: Buxton Methodist Primary School
Secondary: Annie Walsh Memorial
Tertiary: Njala University; studying Business and Information Technology (final year student)

Beauty and Brains
Queen Josephine Kamara

Pageant Experience
Miss Lumley 2007, 1st Runner-Up
Miss Inter-Area, 1st Runner-Up
Miss Annie Walsh Memorial School, 2nd Runner-Up
Miss Njala University 2012, Winner
Miss Africa University Sierra Leone, Winner
Miss Port Loko 2014
Current finalist for Miss Sierra Leone 2014

Beautiful Bright Smile: Queen Josephine Kamara
After being crowned Miss University Africa Sierra Leone in 2012

Salone's Miss University Africa 2012-2013
Queen Josephine Kamara

WOW Queen Josephine
Queen Josephine is the Founder/Coordinator of Women of Wonders Sierra Leone (WOW-Salone). WOW-SL is a non-governmental, non-political, non-denomination, and non-profit upcoming young women's peace and development club founded on March 8th, 2013. WOW envisions a future where today's girl child and youth are productive, hardworking adults, well-informed,  and highly skilled in technical, vocational, and social life skills. Their goal is to have individuals with high self-esteem, reliant, and with an enriched empowerment to participate actively and positively with quality dynamism in different fields of socio-economic development and refined democratic leadership attitude.

Queen Josephine Kamara (WOW-Salone Founder) with some members of WOW!

Queen With A Crown and Cause
On February 8th 2013, Queen Josephine organised an HIV/AIDS awareness and testing program at her university's campus. The program was supported by the National AIDS Secretariat and the AIDS section at Connaught Hospital. They tested successful tested 133 students (89 men and 44 women). On the 14th of February, Queen Josephine gave a speech at Atuga Stadium to recognize International Condom Day organized by AIDS Healthcare Foundation Sierra Leone.

Queen Josephine Kamara with HIV/AIDS testing crew

Queen Josephine Kamara distributing HIV/AIDS awareness kits and free condoms

Queen Josephine Kamara speaking on International Condom Day at Atuga Stadium

Queen Josephine Kamara
Freetown Marathon in October 2013 raising awareness on breast cancer

Statement from Queen Josephine
I believe that if you have a dream, you should work hard and achieve it, and no one should be afraid of failure but to learn from one's mistakes and it’s not by might nor by power but by the spirit of God. The most important things in life for me are: God, education, career and love for family, friends and the entire human race. My principles in life is ‘to make use of every opportunity you have to be educated because it is the only husband that never divorces a woman.' I also believe in the spirit of tolerance – accepting differences, it makes the world a better place and I strongly believe in the positive power of women for a change in the society.

African Queen from Sierra Leone
Miss Josephine Kamara

Personal Remarks

Last year during my official homecoming to Sierra Leone in April as Miss Sierra Leone USA, I had the pleasure of first meeting Queen Josephine at Family Kingdom. With a loving bright smile, she approached me with so much humility and joy, and that was the start of a friendship that I will always cherish. Few months ago, I wrote a status on my Facebook page about Queen Josephine and it explains how I really feel about her. It reads: Sometimes when I feel like slowing down, someone or something makes me keep going and want to do more. Thank you, my dear friend and Miss Sierra Leone sister, Josephine (Miss University Africa Sierra Leone 2012-2013) for your continuous support and words of encouragement. You continue to make me (and mama Salone) proud and I love your heart of gold and resilient spirit. You're the best!!! Another thing I love about Queen Josephine is her social media activism; she is very active on social media and frequently updates her supporters on her recent endeavors. As a friend, I can speak the world of her, but you can also in this post why she deserves all the praises and needs to be celebrated. Keep reaching for excellence and nothing less, Queen Josephine. You're truly a beauty with a purpose.

Queens from Sierra Leone
Miss University Africa Josephine Kamara and Miss Sierra Leone USA Ruby B. Johnson

Additional Fun Facts about Queen Josephine

• Has a twin brother, Joseph
• Has a clothing line called Jazzmen's Act
• Coordinator/Singer of Peacelinks Musical Youths
• Was a senior school prefect in Class 6 at her primary school
• Initiated a program known as Operation Pick Plastic on Global Youth Service Day in April 2011
• Composed a maiden album with her twin brother for the National Electoral Commission that contained four peace songs for the 2012 Sierra Leone general elections

Talented Woman: Queen Josephine Kamara

One more thing...

VOTE for Queen Josephine for People's Choice Award in the upcoming Miss Sierra Leone 2014 pageant this Saturday, June 14th at the Bintumani International Conference Centre in Freetown at 6:30pm. Visit this link and Like the photo (must have a Facebook account).

VOTE FOR QUEEN JOSEPHINE Kamara, Miss Port Loko 2014
Visit link and 'Like' her photo

As a beauty queen, I believe in motivating, inspiring, captivating and helping the youths of Sierra Leone. I believe that by working together with people who share my dreams, aspirations and vision, we can help make our country Sierra Leone a better place for the future generation of youths. 

- Miss Josephine Kamara, Miss Port Loko 2014.

Regal in Red
Queen from Sierra Leone
Miss Port Loko 2014 Josephine Kamara

UPDATE: Queen Josephine Kamara (Miss Port Loko) was crowned Miss Sierra Leone 2014 1st Runner-Up, as well as the winner of Miss Talent.

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

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Miss Sierra Leone USA Attends SLEN's May 2014 Networking Mixer

Hello world!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing well, thanks be to God. A couple Fridays ago, I attended Sierra Leonean Empowerment Network's Happy Hour and Professional Networking event in our nation's capital, District of Columbia. We were slenning. Are you SLENNING???

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Mr. Desmond Ellis (Co-Founder of Sierra Leonean Empowerment Network) and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

According to their website, "The Sierra Leonean Empowerment Network (SLEN)--launched in July 2013--aims to build a sustainable network of Sierra Leonean professionals through mentoring, knowledge sharing and networking among Sierra Leoneans of diverse socio-economic and professional backgrounds."

Left-Right:
Ms. Jerrie Kumalah, Mr. Salifu Kamara, Mr. Desmond Ellis, and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

The purpose of this event was to have an evening of mixing and mingling with current and future Sierra Leonean professionals. Another wonderful thing about this event was that some individuals, including myself, that were featured in African Luxury Mag's 30 Under 30 Sierra Leoneans To Follow in 2014 were present! Read the full list in the article by Akindele TM Decker.

Mr. Thomas Kaikai (SLEN Outreach Program Manager) and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Mr. Salifu Kamara and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Mr. Musa Bernard Komeh and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Family Feud: UVA vs. Virginia Tech
When a Cavalier and Hokie meet
Mr. Max Kanu and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Ms. Rose Jalloh and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. Fatma Zahra Kamara

Sierra Leoneans Networking

We Are SLENNING!

Overall, I had a great time meeting new people and seeing familiar faces. I look forward to more networking events and SLEN's inaugural conference this September!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Networking is an essential part of building wealth - Armstrong Williams

Ruby B. Johnson,
Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

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