I gave it my all, says Miss Zimbabwe

By Dakarai Mashava

In November last year, Miss World Zimbabwe Chiedza Lorraine Mhosva failed in her bid to be the first local national queen to be crowned Miss World.

Miss India Manushi Chhillar was the winner of Miss World 2017 with Miss England Stephanie Hill landing the first runner-up slot. The second runner-up title at the 67th Miss World contest went to Miss Mexico Alma Andrea Meza Carmona.

The highlight of her participation at the global pageant was qualifying for the semi-finals in the Beauty with a purpose project category. 

The Daily News on Sunday’s Dakarai Mashava recently spoke to Mhosva on her Miss World heartache.

Below are the excerpts of the interview:

Q: You were obviously disappointed not to bring the Miss World crown to Zimbabwe. Where do you think you fell short?

A: Thousands of girls from all around the world dream of wearing the blue crown, unfortunately it is only one crown and that one girl who is extremely exceptional gets to be crowned Miss World. Every contestant gave it her best including me; unfortunately we cannot all be lucky.

Q: Suppose you are given another chance, what will you do differently?

A: I cannot deny the fact that the Miss Zimbabwe Trust prepared me very well for this contest and getting a second chance would simply call for more effort in everything. However, that needs more effort than others, like talent and dances of the world as well as the social media campaigns.

I would work more on talent and a Zimbabwean dance that embraces our culture and build up a stronger social media following to help out with the Head to Head challenge.

Q: Do you think you were adequately prepared for the event?

A: Yes, l was adequately prepared for the big night. By the final night l had mastered all the dance routines and stage blocking. My dress and jewellery were ready. I had this beautiful white gown by Spero Villioti which I paired with lovely pearls I received as a present from Marry Chiwenga. However, one can never be fully prepared for the results. I was hoping for the best and obviously disappointed in the outcome but I am still very happy for the winners.

Q: What lessons did you bring back from China? Have you shared these with the Miss World Zimbabwe Trust?

A: There is quite a lot to learn from my experiences in China. Some are personal and they developed me as a young lady and some impact on the Miss Zimbabwe Trust. There is one area we all could have worked on very much which is social media, it makes a huge part of Miss World and I have shared my views with the team and they welcomed my views hopefully they will use my experience to develop the upcoming shows as well as help the next queens. On the other hand, the Miss Zimbabwe Trust should be applauded a lot; other countries could learn a lot from our lovely team.

Q: Which national queens from other parts of the world did you befriend there?

A: Funny story, on my way to China I accidentally left my make-up kit on the plane so I got there a bit devastated but the very kind Miss Zambia Maria Chibula came to my rescue like an angel.

We shared her make-up till the last day and I am so grateful till this day because she literally saved my life. She was also my roommate and we were always together caring for each other like true sisters to the extend that people actually gave us a nickname. They called us Zimzam.

It was so amazing how the whole group grew close to be one huge family in the course of a month despite our social and cultural differences. Everyone was interacting with almost everyone and we shared a lot, from music, snacks, gifts and a lot more.

Q: How did you fare in the “Miss World Head to Head Challenge? Do you think this is the part of the competition that undermined you a lot?

A: Unfortunately, we could not get the final results of the Head to Head challenge so I am not sure how I fared on that part but it did impact a lot on the final result of the whole competition.