Ghyslaine Tchouaga | Tadias Magazine

Tadias Magazine

By Tadias Staff

Published: Sunday, November 13, 2011

New York (TADIAS) – Twenty-two-year-old Ghyslaine Tchouaga of Cameroon was crowned Miss Africa USA 2011 on Sunday after beating fifteen other finalists. Ms. Tchouaga was born and raised in the capital Yaoundé and migrated to the U.S. six years ago.

The scholarship and beauty pageant, which celebrated its 6th anniversary, was held at the Hilton in Silver Spring, Maryland. It also included cultural performances by the participants.

Tsige Hussein, a 29-year-old aspiring Nurse from Virginia who represented Ethiopia, finished in the top ten but did not qualify for the final rounds. She was named Miss Photogenic. “I gave it my best shot,” she said.

“Over all she did good, but her speech needed more work,” said Markos Huluka, who represented Tsige through his Konjo Models & Fashion Group. “Her cultural performance brought down the house.”

Tsedey Aragie, who covered the event for Tadias said: “It’s true that her song selection [from the South] was fantastic. But, had she also incorporated a monologue explaining elements of our culture and history, it may have worked out better.”

“Given that she had only two months to prepare, I think she did fine,” Markos said. “What I witnessed today was the beauty, grace, and the diversity of the African continent.” He added: The lesson for us is that we can easily win this thing.”

Markos said he is already looking forward to 2012. “We’re going to go out to over 22 states to find the winning candidate for next year,” he said. “We’re going to reach out to colleges and universities across the country.”

According to the organizers, the pageant is designed to empower young women in the United States as goodwill ambassadors to Africa. Past winners have gone on to join forces with Habitat for Humanity, Concern USA, as well as Russell Simmons’s Diamond Empowerment Fund, to help raise money for various causes benefiting communities in Africa and the United States. Last year’s winner, Fifi Soumah of Guinea, a student at Montgomery College in Maryland, established a foundation in her native country to help promote free education for disadvantaged young girls.

The competition this year included a series of interviews which required each candidate to present a social message. The winner said she wants to use her new role to “raise awareness about hunger in Africa.”

Below are photos from the event:

Tsige Hussein and Markos Huluka at the 2011 Miss Africa USA Pageant. Tsige, who represented Ethiopia, was named Miss Photogenic. (Photo by Tsedey Aragie for Tadias Magazine)