Veteran Politician and one-time newspaper columnist of the Puawei Column, Dr Sama Siama Banya, has over the weekend urged Miss Sierra Leone contestant Janet Mumgbay Zizer not to give up on her dreams of becoming a Beauty Queen and representing Sierra Leone at the global stage.
Janet, a news presenter and founder of the women and girls’ empowerment organisation, Jansuccess Sierra Leone Network, now renamed Empower Her +, was among hundreds of Siama residents in Kailahun District and its environs who gathered at the humble home of the nonagenarian to celebrate his 95th Birthday.
During a one-on-one conversation with Janet, who is the reigning Beauty Queen of Kaillahun District, her maternal home, which she represented in last April’s Miss Sierra Leone won by Lachaeveh Davies representing the Western Area Rural, Dr Banya, the Physician by profession, urged Janet to “Never give up. If you try and you don’t succeed, try and try again.”
Despite not being placed in the winner’s category of the last competition, Janet’s determination shone through. Dr. Banya’s insistence that she should keep trying only served to fuel her resolve.
He thanked her for representing the district and for returning to Pendembu and Siama for a thank-you visit.
Janet’s meeting with Dr. Banya in Siama over the weekend was part of her thank-you tour, a series of community engagement activities that demonstrate her commitment to the district. The tour, which started on Friday in Pendembu with a visit to the Town Elders, including Councilor Senessie Kutubu, who congratulated her for representing the District, also included a ceremony where she presented sanitary pads to women at the Barray and to 69 pupils of the RC Girls Primary School, including the female teachers. She later engaged with Pendembu residents at the weekly trade fair called “Luma” (Dorwei) .
She spent Saturday visiting Kailahun Town itself, and in the evening, she was hosted by the local radio station, Voice of Bambara 98.8 FM.
The visit culminated in a prayer and thanksgiving service on Sunday at the Roman Catholic Church in the township.