Beauty with a Purpose

Miss Malaika takes her campaign against malaria to the people.

Who says beauty pageants have outlived their usefulness? There may be tons of beauty pageants in Ghana today but only a few continue to be relevant to the social challenges facing the society, and Miss Malaika is one of them. Miss Laurie Naa Lamile Lawson, the reigning Miss Malaika has embarked on a malaria awareness and prevention campaign in Kakundo, a village in the Central Region of Ghana.

As a National Youth Ambassador, by virtue of winning the Miss Malaika crown, the trip formed part of her numerous social responsibilities and commitments. With support from the Indo African Child Health Organization (IACH), National Malaria Control Board and members of the Child's Right and Red Cross Clubs of Wesley Girls High School, a large number of Kakundo citizens were given free mosquito nets among other health related items.

The two-day event took Laurie and her team on a door-to-door Malaria Awareness Campaign which involved intensive education on Child Health issues and Malaria Prevention. A durbar was held at a community centre of the village where Laurie addressed the people of Kakundo on her quest to help eradicate the disease from the malaria-prone community.

The 21 year old beauty queen said that the trip provided her with an opportunity to help the vulnerable in society.