Meet Zim's Miss Africa USA contestant

Belinda Rangarirai Sakupwanya from Zimbabwe is representing her country in the forthcoming Miss Africa USA contest. Website UGpulse.com recently caught up with her and dug up a few interesting bits from the interview.

Belinda is a student Richland College and majoring in Pre-medicine.

Giving back: I serve as the executive director of Saving Tomorrow- Zimbabwe (supports individual transformation of vulnerable and orphaned children). I have self conducted Warm the Troops Project (which provided the USA Army soldiers with scarves and wrap up blankets) and the Warm Hands Project (donated cuddle wraps to children in Children’s Medical Center Dallas), I am a member of the Girl Child Network, Voice of the Youth under UNICEF. I have also volunteered as a fundraiser with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and as a child life playroom volunteer.

Five-Year Aspirational Plan: I plan to be in Medical School pursuing my dream of becoming a pediatrician which will acquaint me with the skills to focus on the physical, emotional, and social health of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults in Africa. I also hope to be a strong voice behind the improvements in health, educational facilities and the empowerment of girls and women in Africa.

Country you are representing: Zimbabwe.

Platform: To improve the lives of children in Africa affected by HIV/AIDS through the advocacy of better education, health facilities and food.

UGPulse: If you were evicted from the United States and had to live in an African city, apart from any city in the country you are representing, which African city would you decide to move to and why?

Adaption is one of the characteristics most of us African women have acquired which make us survive in different conditions. With this unique characteristic I am able to live in any African city apart from any city in Zimbabwe. However, given the opportunity to make a choice I would decide to move to South Africa’s largest city Johannesburg also popularly known as ‘Jozi’ or “the New York city of Africa” because of its fast paced day to day activities.

The reason of my choice is based on the proximity of South Africa to my country Zimbabwe that will make it easier for direct contact with relatives and friends enabling me to maintain family ties and extend a helping hand to vulnerable and needy children.

Considering my education, it will be convenient for me to attend a Medical School in Johannesburg as I am already familiar with South Africa’s educational system. In addition, South Africa is a culturally diverse nation and moving to Jozi would be a life time experience as I would get to interact with people from different ethnicities, religions and traditions.

Belinda Sakupwanya

UGPulse: Identity Theft… What is it? Are you concerned? How do you protect yourself?

Identity theft is when a person assumes another’s personal information such as their identity card, social security, passport, name and credit card information for their own benefits. Identity theft is of my concern because of rapid changes in technology and development, which has resulted in easy access to resources that make identity theft easier. Victims suffer from loss of personal privacy and financial ruin which can be expensive to resolve.

One can protect themselves from identity theft by avoiding using their sensitive personal information on unsecure websites. In addition avoid giving your personal information over the phone to unidentified individuals. Our trash bags are the biggest source of identity theft. One can protect their identity by shredding all letters, bills and personal documents before trashing them. Checking our credit report regularly can help to quickly identify any identity theft based on unauthorized transactions. One can also place an identity block to protect themselves.

UGPulse: If Miss Africa USA had a cooking segment, what would you cook to represent your country and walk through the process of cooking involved in preparing your chosen dish?

To represent my country I would cook “sadza, nyama nemavegi” sadza and beef stew as it is the most popular dish and a staple diet for most of Zimbabwe’s indigenous people. The preparation and cooking can be divided into two parts with sadza on one hand and beef stew on the other. To prepare the dish, one would need mealie- meal (upfu), cubed tendered beef, chopped onions and ripe tomatoes, cooking oil, seasoning, beef stock, shredded vegetables (scallions/covo) and water.

To cook the beef stew, shallow fat fry the cubed beef until golden brown, add chopped onions, seasoning and stir fry about 2 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and continue stirring until they are well cooked. Pour in the beef stock, stir and leave to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the meat to be thoroughly cooked. Add shredded scallions (mavegi) stirring them into the stew. Cook for three minutes and leave them green and crispy.

As the beef is simmering, bring the water to the boil in a kettle or saucepan. Put two cups of mealie meal in a saucepan, add cold water and mix to a thick paste. Slowly pour the boiling water into the saucepan stirring continuously to prevent lumps (mapundu) and leave it to boil under medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

Gradually add mealie meal evenly stirring and folding until it takes the appearance of mashed potatoes. Be careful not to make the texture hard (chidhinha chesadza) and unpleasant to eat. Lower the heat and cover for a few minutes. Serve in an ashet or dinner plate or serve separately in traditional plates. Yummy… Enjoy!

Belinda Sakupwanya

UGPulse: Tell us about the country you represent? Are all its women as beautiful as yourself?

I am proudly representing my motherland Zimbabwe, which is a landlocked country located between South Africa and Mozambique. It is one of the most beautiful countries on the face of the earth and it is also a mother to talented, vibrant, united, peaceful and welcoming people.

One cannot talk about Zimbabwe without talking about its magnificent tourist attractions like the Victoria Falls, often referred to as the adrenaline capital of Africa, the Great Zimbabwe, the breath taking Eastern Highlands and the Big Five. Going down to the Zambezi River we have our main source of hydro-electric power, the Kariba dam which we share with our neighbor Zambia. Zimbabwe is also one of the countries with a rich and diverse culture and this make it an outstanding nation.

All women in my country are as beautiful as me that is why I feel honored and humbled to represent the Zimbabwean women. I believe beauty is not in the face but in the light of the heart, and we possess inner beauty characterized by kindness, intelligence, dedication, creativity and the heart to make a difference everywhere we are.

As Zimbabwean women we are the ‘house pillars’ (musha mukadzi) which means “behind a successful family or man there is a strong and beautiful woman”. We women have knowledge and skills designed to stimulate courageous activities within the community which makes us beautiful. UG Pulse.com

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