Newly Crowned Queen of Girl-Child Advocacy

GLITZFOCUS

She is only eight years old but already toeing the path of girl-child advocacy. Meet Nnenna-Miracle Kalu, the newly crowned queen of Little Miss Damsel Nigeria (LMDN) World. Funke Olaode reports that the damsel is on a mission to promote
female child education and gender equality globally

As she walked the runway in her flamboyant evening dress, her comportment caught the attention of the judges. The way she strutted the runway and displayed her brilliance spoke volumes of her wisdom. It came as no surprise then that by the end of the glittering evening, the judges crowned the eight-year-old Nnenna-Miracle Kalu the winner of the fifth edition of Little Miss Damsel Nigeria (LMDN) World.

Held recently in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the 2021/2022 edition of the kids’ pageant paraded beautiful young girls from different parts of the country. LMDN World is a kids pageant that not only emphasises beauty and intelligence but campaigns for the girl-child. The vulnerability of the girl-child is a global problem and LMDN World is tackling it through programmes that promote female child education, encourage children in the areas of academic and career, thereby advancing gender equality. It is focused on grooming serious-minded adolescents through academic competitions, moral sensitization, as well as fashion events that celebrate African fashion designers and talents.

Since its inception, it has impacted the lives of Phoebe Pepple, Zikora Niz and Christabel Bonny among others in achieving their goals. The newly crowned Kalu is the latest to join that list.

The indigene of Abiriba in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State started her journey to stardom at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos where she auditioned and emerged as one of the top contenders for the prestigious pageantry.
“It was exciting and hard for me at the initial stage when we went for selection in Lagos. And having made it, we went camping in Port Harcourt. After camping, we were taken to see a movie at Genesis Cinemas. The next day we had a football match at Pleasure Park and my team won. So far, the show was packed with lots of fun activities and it was educational as well,” said Kalu, narrating her experience in the pageant.

She got to know about the beauty contest from her school. “The information came to my school so I picked up interest because I love beauty pageants and fashion even though I’m a young fashion designer. I got home and I decided to tell my parents about it. My mum was excited about it and gave me her full support. My dad was a bit reluctant at first. But being a child I used my trick, I cried as if my life depended on it and after a while, my dad also gave his consent.”
The unflinching support of her family saw the young and dashing damsel clinched the coveted crown and went home with One Million Naira. She acknowledged that she wouldn’t have gone far into the competition without the support system from everyone who believed in her. She expressed her gratitude and promised to be a torchbearer in campaigning and promoting gender equality for the girl-child.

Leadership comes with responsibility, and despite her young age, Kalu is ready to take up the task that comes with her crown. She has already hit the ground running by rolling out programmes that will support the aims and objectives of the pageant. Her first mission is to take up a pet project by visiting Government Schools where she intends to donate ‘back to school’ items to the less-privileged. Also, she will visit the orphanage home and the vulnerable. Not done yet, she intends to give back to society by donating part of the money to charity, particularly the poor, while the rest will be used to pay hospital bills for the sick. But above all, she will love to promote LMDN because it is a brand that has changed her life.

Recalling her mood as she was announced the new queen, Kalu said she was excited.
“I was really happy. It was an exciting moment, you know, winning such an amount of money. I was happy and I’m still happy. But becoming a queen is not just about the crown. There are lots of responsibilities attached to it. Through this event, l learnt so much about confidence and being bold also. So I’m going to give that back by showing good morals and being a role model to other children.”

Reenacting what the LMDN stands for and how to promote its objectives, Kalu promised to stand for the girl-child, to ensure that their voices are heard, to be fearless, trust their inner knowing, to believe in themselves “because if you don’t know, how can you expect others to do so? It all starts with you. The moment you start believing in yourself, everything will start to fall into place.

“Yes I’ll always speak the truth and fighting against child abuse should be a general thing irrespective of your status. I am an advocate for the girl child and standing up for them I must do.”
As the queen embarks on the mission and vision of her project, she is confident that she will achieve her childhood dreams of becoming a fashion designer, a model and a global queen. She believes with the help of her parents, her manager, her teachers and everyone around her, her dreams will come true.