NINETEEN year old Favour Tariere Aro has been crowned 2021, the annual pageant organised by the Tracy Mcwary Foundation to empower young women in the Niger Delta.
Aro, in the contest staged Friday night in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, beat eight others representing various Niger Delta states, to become the reigning queen, going home with N500,000 cash and a Toyota car.
Tracy Mcwary, Coordinator, Tracy Mcwary Foundation and initiator, Miss Amnesty Nigeria with support from the Presidential Amnesty Programme, said the biennial event, in it’s second edition, promises more excitement and prizes in subsequent editions.
Mcwary said, “The motivation for the foundation has always been to lift underprivileged children and women who prostitute to make ends meet, off the street, knowing the far reaching value for empowering women.
“During the era of intense militancy and violence in the region, the women and children were the most affected. But when Amnesty came, the benefits were concentrated on the male folks, the women and children neglected.
“So we fashioned Miss Amnesty Nigeria, with remarkable support from the Presidential Amnesty Office to empower the neglected young women. We traveled across the Niger Delta to audition for the state representatives that contested for the crown today.
“Having been crowned, the queen today has a huge responsibility on her shoulders. She will come up with a pet project, soliciting support of key stakeholders to empower other female folks just as she has been empowered.”
Other contestants who went home with various consolation prizes include First Runner up, Blessing Woke, representing Rivers who was decorated as Miss Amnesty Diaspora, Bethania Peter, representing Ondo state emerged Miss Amnesty Top Model while Onyinye Prisca Johnson of Imo, third runner up became Miss Amnesty Entrepreneur.