Miss African Spirit 2010 - Charity Begins at Home

Online, April 29, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The Miss African Spirit pageant takes place this month on the 22nd May 2010 in Milton Keynes and is set to coincide with Africa Day festivities. Part of the pageant's appeal, and the reason why it has already proven very popular and set itself apart from all other pageants is that there are no size, height or weight restrictions on the part of the contestants. In this day and age where pageants are glorified fashion shows, where it seems slimmer, 'size zero' models are the order of the day, the Miss African Spirit has challenged that perspective and has proven that indeed size does not matter.

What DOES matter is building a sense of community, being charitable and giving back to the communities - we live as well as those we come from. One of Miss African Spirit's aims is to create and nurture the next generation of charitable leaders from its contestants and to inspire creativity, love, Ubuntu. Pageant Director Michelle Adams says "Our contestants will be required to choose three prevailing issues that affect Africa or the African Diaspora community, and the winner will have our full support in raising funds for a charity that is close to her heart, or creating her own brand new charity initiative. Charity does begin at home."

It is impossible to ignore the plight of so many children in Africa. Several weeks ago, the BBC aired a documentary entitled "Zimbabwe's Forgotten Children", which highlighted the plight of impoverished Zimbabwean children suffering under the harsh strains of the country's economy. The film saw the start of massive grassroots efforts towards changing the fortunes of children, not only in Zimbabwe but everywhere, who may be suffering the same fate.

Long before the film was brought to the public's attention, Miss African Spirit had researched and decided on where to focus its own charitable efforts. This year, after many consultations and with help from The Trail of Hope Foundation (see http://www.trailofhope.blogspot.com/), the pageant's main charitable beneficiary will be the Upenyu Hutsva Orphanage in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The orphanage houses just under a hundred orphaned children of all ages up to 18 years of age. Michelle says," Miss African Spirit will give specifically to several sections of this community, with the aim of providing self-sustainable options for their future. We're inviting individuals, families, community groups, schools, churches, businesses and everyone in between not only to support the pageant but to participate. The psychological benefits derived from giving to others who are less fortunate are priceless". Full details of actual projects will be announced towards the date of the pageant.

Miss African Spirit 2010 Charity Launch Party takes place this weekend Sunday 2May 2010 at Blagclub 222 Kensal Road, London, W10 5BN from 10pm (see www.blagclub.com). To be added to the guest list and for more information, email [email protected]