Another Medical Student Earns 'Miss Malaika'
For the second year running, a medical student has won the enviable crown of Miss Malaika. 20 year-old Tamara Aku Dzormeku stood tall among nine other delegates to become Miss Malaika Ghana 2008 at the National Theatre last Saturday.
Tamara followed on the heels of her predecessor, Laurie Lawson, Miss Malaika Ghana 2007 who is also a medical student.
Tamara's victory may not have come as a surprise to many in the audience as she distinguished herself throughout the competition and when it mattered most, she answered her question very well, probably making it easy for the judges to determine who among the top three deserved the crown.
In the programme brochure Tamara describes herself thus: “The fact that I am a very disciplined but extremely sociable person and the way in which I am able to achieve tasks I set my mind to, makes me an exceptional young women.”
“I know I have all it takes to be the next Miss Malaika. I believe Miss Malaika as a pageant requires someone who is both beautiful, intelligent and someone who is innovative with fresh ideas and genuinely passionate about the vulnerable ones in society. These are attributes deeply rooted in me.”
For emerging winner, Tamara drove home a brand new KIA Cerato saloon car plus GH¢2,400 and loads of sponsors products. She will also work as a Malaria Ambassador with the National Malaria Control Board.
Christabel Ekeh was the first runner-up and won GH¢800 and sponsors products. The second runner-up position went to Yvonne Eyram Kofigah who took home GH¢500 and sponsors products.
The delegates took patrons through speech presentations, talent segments and a question & answer segment. Some of the speeches touched on Peaceful Elections, Street Children, Patriotism, Over Westernisation and the Power of Words.
As expected, some gave very good account of themselves while others were just okay. The talent segment for instance saw some lousy performances, but of course, others were impressive.
The runway segment which is a new addition to the pageant was very exciting. It saw the delegates modelling as different professionals.
Special awards were presented to deserving delegates — Michelle Ayonka won Miss Congeniality, Miss Eloquence went to Tamara while Erika Thompson won Miss Talent.
Five of the delegates, Rachael, Tamara, Christine, Yvonne and Christabel made it to the top five, out of which three made it to the top three.
As has been the tradition with the pageant, the top three were made to answer the same question to determine the eventual winner.
It was not all about the lovely delegates as R2Bees, Adina, Okyeame Kwame, Tinny and Sidney took turns to thrill the audience with spectacular performances. These probably made up for the late start of the show.
Miss Malaika Ghana is a Charterhouse production sponsored by UT Financial Services, Travel Bureau, Lux, Vimto, Gino, Forever Easy. MTN, KIA, UB, Allure, Lux and Darling.
Story by Jayne Buckman-Owoo