Since she was adjudged 1st Runner-Up in the Miss USA 2010 BEAUTY PAGEANT, in Maryland, USA July 24, in a ceremony surrounded by controversies that made commentators to question whether she was not the actual winner, Miss Swadu Natasha Beckley (see photos and video below) promised to give this press an exclusive interview.
The interview, which was conducted in the main via email and a snap telephone conversation, has not been easily forthcoming. This was due mainly to Ms. Beckley’s heavily schedule, involving her studies, charities and preparations for the Miss Tourism Expo in China this autumn. Once she decided to reveal it all to Saidu Kaye Sesay our Special Correspondent in London, the interview became a no hold back experience. Sure, Ms. Beckley took no prisoners. Here we go:
Patriotic Vanguard: Hi Natasha. On behalf of the Patriotic Vanguard, I would like to say how proud we are of your success. Welcome to this interview. First, what motivated you to contest in the Miss USA 2010 beauty pageant?
Natasha Beckley: Wow. After earning the Miss Sierra Leone Washington D.C title, I then contested and won the Miss University of Virginia College at Wise pageant. Being that I was already a Miss Sierra Leone title holder, I followed it up and realised that I was qualified to represent Sierra Leone in the Miss Africa USA pageant as a Miss Sierra Leone USA finalist, alongside other Sierra Leonean young women.
My inspiration in doing this pageant was to showcase the beauty and the intellectual traits that Sierra Leonean women carry.
My motive was as well to promote my organization “Sisters Supporting Sisters,” and to inform the world about the maternal/child mortality rates in Sierra Leone. I furthermore wanted it to be known to the world of the changes and the advancement that his Excellency (President Ernest Koroma) is introducing to the people of Sierra Leone, in terms of agricultural and developmental programs.
Lastly as we prepare to celebrate our 50th Independence Anniversary as a nation, my biggest drive was to bring the crown home.
PV: Who will you say is your idol or mentor?
NB: I have a lot of people that have impacted my life one way or another, and I am blessed with the guidance and the teachings that friends and family have to offer to me. But my father Patrick Olufemi Beckley I would say is my biggest idol.
I am what I am today because of him, or should I say my family is the way we are today because of his hard work and perseverance.
My father is a tough guy I tell you, and he is a man that would sacrifice everything for his family. He has high expectations for his children, and will not take “NO” for an answer. Being that I am his only daughter, he is harder on me because he wants the best for me. He loves his family, and I know that he could give me the world if it was accessible to him.
He does what he can do as a father, but he lets us make decisions on our own, and allows us to create our own paths. Not only am I blessed to call him “Daddy,” but I am privileged to be his daughter, and honoured to represent the entire Beckley family.
It is “sad enough” that I share him with a loving wife, three handsome boys, and two pets ....just a little secret between us and the readers, [and don’t say it loud], I know that I am his favourite.
PV: Should we describe you as Sierra Leone’s new Mariatu Kargbo or are you your own woman?
NB: Wow, I am honoured to be compared to such a great woman. I am impressed by her talent and the reorganisation that she has brought for Sierra Leone. Even though I admire her and see her as a role model, I am my own woman. I have my own uniqueness in characteristics and my own strong traits that the world, maybe, is also not ready for. I do hope to continue in the footsteps that she has started for Sierra Leone’s pageant women.
PV: Your background or profile make quite an interesting reading. You migrated from Sierra Leone to Kenya at a tender age, and then, as you said, grabbed the opportunity to settle in the USA. Will you say you are living the American dream?
NB: In my eyes, the American dream represents a lifestyle free of worry, and gives an individual the feeling of accomplishments and success. I have been blessed, and am taking advantage of the opportunities that America has to offer me, but I cannot say that I am living the dream at the moment. It’s going to take a lot of hard work ahead of me. I have a lot of dreams and aspirations to accomplish, but with faith, perseverance, and good health, I know that I would be living the American dream soon.
PV: Fifi Suma of Guinea beat you to the title, right? What would you say was the cutting edge that made her champion?
NB: Till this day, I do not know what her cutting edges were. I know that I represented Sierra Leone very well on the night of the pageant, and after my spoken word performance I was rest assured that the crown was mine. In life, things change; it’s not always what we expect that we receive. I am proud to be 1st runner up, and I am happy for Miss Suma, and hope that she represents not only Guinea but the continent of Africa to the best of her abilities.
PV: Have you learnt lessons from the competition? If so how would you utilise these for the Miss World competition in China…
NB: This is a good time for me to clear this up, because a lot of people think that I would be representing Sierra Leone in the Miss World 2010 pageant. The fact is a representative crowned in Sierra Leone will be in that competition in China.
I would also be in China representing Sierra Leone, but in the Miss Tourism International pageant, being that the Tourism Expo is taking place in China as well.
To answer your question, after the Miss Africa USA pageant, I feel experienced and ready to represent Sierra Leone internationally. I have learned a lot of lessons and gained “top secret” knowledge about the sport of pageantry to bring the crown home this time around.
PV: What unique characteristics would you say you bring to the competition?
NB: My personality is unique, but I believe my talent would be the powerful trait that gives Sierra Leone the title in China. I am a spoken word artist, currently working on a book, and as I had said earlier, I have gained “top secret” knowledge for the upcoming pageant. So please Sierra Leoneans, I need your support and stay tuned.
PV: Perusing your profile, I picked the point that your uniqueness is as a result of you being a product of four tribes. Could you elaborate on that, and which tribes are they?
NB: This is an easy one. My father is of mixed tribes: Temne, Krio and Fullah, and my mother is Mandingo and Temne. So, I am the melting pot of these four tribes. I wrote a small poem about my origins that I would like to share with you and the readers, if you can spare me more space.
Pride
Say I walk with the style and grace of a Mandingo princess,
And I am bless with the brains, the beauty, and the smile of a Fullah bride,
But my bluntness, manipulative ways of speech was inherited through my TEMNE side,
Yet again my steep curves,
My round hips,
My sweet words,
My thin lips was inherited to me for my ancestors to the KRIO tribe,
Now these are the cultures blended together to create a woman full of Sierra Leonean pride.
I hope that this answers that question
PV: Great and sure it does. You are planning a visit to London this summer. Is it part of your preparations for the Miss World contest or…
NB: I have been thinking about expanding my “Sisters Supporting Sisters” organization in the UK, with hopes to work with the Enjoy Sierra Leone Company. Next year, I plan to host a fundraising banquet to get British Sierra Leonean women involved in the cause as we aim to change the lives of women in Sierra Leone.
I would be in London in September and anything is possible. I would love to work with different groups in the UK as we try to work to bring change.
PV: I see you are engaged in some charity works. Is it the socio-economic situation in Sierra Leone that influenced you to undertake these projects? Please talk us through these…
NB: As I had mentioned earlier, I am the founder of the “Sisters Supporting Sisters,” organization.
“Sisters Supporting Sisters” is a program that focuses on educating the Sierra Leone/African woman to take better care of herself.
Our mission is to help address the issues of maternal mortality in Sierra Leone. The organization plans to attack the issues of maternal mortality in Sierra Leone, by achieving five distinct projects. (Sisters in Education, Sisters in Maternal/Child care, Sisters in Hygiene, Sisters in International outreach, and lastly, Sisters in Athletics.)
Sisters in Education, which was launched June 16th 2010 at Paddy’s Beach Restaurant is a scholarship program that currently caters for seven schools in Sierra Leone supporting a total of 89 young girls attending: Vine Memorial Secondary School, Birch Memorial Secondary School, Methodist Girls High school, Annie Walsh Memorial School, Richard Allen High School, St Josephs Secondary School (Brookfield’s), and Freetown Secondary School for Girls.
The programme is a tuition assistance program. It is a programme that identifies and supports girls that are in financial needs and girls that are doing well academically.
The girls are chosen by their principals, and they then have to complete a student information profile (attached with a letter to Sisters Supporting Sisters and a picture of themselves for the sponsors to take a look at), explaining their needs of the financial assistance.
Sisters abroad; past alumni of these selected schools, and supporters of the Girl Child Education, will then donate to support the mission.
Each of the chosen girls receives a year’s paid tuition fee, a Sisters Supporting Sisters certificate, a Sisters Supporting Sisters Tote bag and Scholastic stationeries for the year
Education is the key to bring change and to reduce the child/maternal mortality rates in Sierra Leone. I believe if our girl children are given the chance to make their dream a reality we will notice a decrease in our literacy percentage, and our mortality rates. Thus, Sisters in Education stresses the importance of not only a high school education, but undergraduate education, young women reporting unwanted rape, young women refusing arranged marriages, young women abstaining from sex, and lastly young women protecting themselves if sexually active and the importance of getting tested.
As a young child growing up in Kenya, East Africa, I remember singing a
French song that stressed the importance of sending your girl child to school. I believe we must educate our daughters if we are to witness an improved future for Sierra Leonean women.
I also believe that the Sierra Leonean community needs to keep an eye on our daughters telling them nothing is impossible with faith, and belief in oneself. We must teach our young women that a lot of things can wait, until they have reached their goals in life through education.
I would love to tell you a lot more about my other programs, in another interview.
PV: Hopefully, that will unfold when we meet in London. Finally, some short Qs and As of your hobbies and things you wish for in life.
Your pets or some African kids?
NB: I love my Yorkshire terrier (Sierra) and my Chihuahua (Free) but I would never choose them over African kids. We are the future.
PV: A big Mac or an African dish?
NB: Are you serious Saidu?
P.V: What do you think?
N.B: This is definitely not a hard one, because I would NEVER pass up a plate of hot cassava leaves, or beans cooked with palm oils and plantains on the side, or fufu with sawasawa cooked with “cow belleh, and beef only,” or fry-fry and hot gravy with a cold glass of ginger bear, need I say more Mr Sesay?
PV: Ummmm, lovely. A Francophone holiday or Anglophone?
N.B: I love my Anglophone Africa, but I am in love with the francophone lifestyle. I love the French language and if given a chance to take a vacation I would definitely choose a francophone location.
PV: Africa or America?
N.B: Wow this is a tough one. As a student aspiring for higher education, I love the American opportunities. But after earning my career and having my children I would definitely love to end up back in Africa. I experienced a lot while living in Nairobi, Kenya, and I would also want my children to share the same experience or even better. I want my children to enjoy the luxuries that African countries have to offer. My heart beats for Africa, but as I try to find the inner woman in me, for the moment, I will choose the American way of life.
PV: Face book or twitter?
N.B: I really like using face book. Maybe it is because I have not really been properly introduced to Twitter. But something about Twitter creeps me out. I am a turned off by the idea of having “people following me,”. At least with face book it’s not all about somebody’s status. You can actually watch videos, pictures and chat. So I definitely choose FACEBOOK.
PV: Marriage life or singleton?
N.B: Single life is not the best. I admire my parents’ relationship and one day I would also want the same happiness. While searching for Mr Right at the moment, I am in no rush. I have a lot of dreams and aspirations that I would like to accomplish before taking such a big step and jumping the broom. So for now I certainly choose SINGLETON.
PV: Finally, once again I thank you for honouring this invitation.
N.B: First and foremost I would like to thank you for the patience that you have had with me. I had a blast answering your questions and would love to do this again.
I would like to thank God for bring me thus far. I also would like to thank my immediate and extended family member for all their love, support and prayers, especially, my loving grandparents, representing the Jabbie family. My mum, dad and three brothers for their belief in me, and my best friends for their massive support.
I also would like to thank Mr David Vandy, the United Wesleyan Church members, the coordinators of the Miss Africa USA pageant, JABS Travelling Agency, Mr Henry Johnson, Mr Bah, the coordinators of the Miss Sierra Leone DC pageant, the Sierra Leone Embassy, Mr Yusuf Sesay Videos, my fabulous designers, Sisters Supporting Sisters members, and all the people in the United States and abroad that pray and support me.
I also would like to thank these people in Sierra Leone for the support that they have showed me especially , Honourable Alhaji Alpha Kanu ,and his darling wife Haja Agnes Kanu , Paddy’s Beach Bar Restaurant, The Office Night Club, Mr Brima Keita, Mr Abubakar Ezekiel Kamara ,Leone stars Co Captain Mr Ibrahim (Obreh) Kargbo, SLBC producers, Star Radio, Vicky Romone show, news papers online and print papers that keep the country informed about me, and the sister of his Excellency, Ms Admire Koroma.
I would like to thank my fans, my supporters, my voters and my individual sponsors. Thank you all for making this possible.
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