The teenager who hopes to be African queen

Adopted Derry girl and aspiring scientist Skhululekile Mupemhi has pledged to use her involvement in the Miss/Mrs Africa Ireland pageant to empower young women to “embrace their diversity and celebrate their culture”.

Skhululekile, 19, is the only contestant from Northern Ireland to be a finalist in the competition, which will be held in Dublin later this month.

She is originally from Zimbabwe but two years ago she and her family upped sticks and travelled more than 8,000 miles (13,000km) to make Londonderry their new home.

They live in the Top of the Hill area of the city, where Skhululekile’s mother Fortunate works as a midwife.

Skhululekile has immersed herself in the life of Derry in the relatively short time she has been there and is now a youth leader with the African Caribbean Community Network (ACCN) in the city.

“The competition has helped me realise that I can create a positive impact on young women in the area,” she told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.

“We need young women in power, we need to stand tall, we are seen and not heard, we need to be empowered.”

It is a busy time for the teenager who is hoping to study bio-medical science at Queen’s University Belfast in September.

So, she is juggling many things over the summer holidays but often thinks of her native Zimbabwe and the difference two years can make in someone’s life.

“Here there are more opportunities, and you are freer to be less educationally-focused,” she said.

“We have been trying to adjust to the local culture.

” It hasn’t been too hard, as people in Derry like to smile a lot. At first, I was – like – do these people know me?” Skhululekile said.

In between beauty pageants, studying and her youth work, Skhuluekile’s faith and church play an important part in family life.

When they first arrived in Derry, Skhululekile said her family was welcomed into the community by the Methodist Church in Ireland.

“When we started going to church, we found people who supported us and welcomed us and made us feel at home,” she said.

Now she has faith that the result of the Miss/Mrs Africa Ireland pageant on 30 August will be the right one for her – whatever that is.

Competition organiser Dr Dineo Moiloa-Murphy said the competition allowed young African women in Ireland to empower themselves with masterclasses in media training, how to “dress for success” and financial literacy.

She said she went into pageantry as a contestant a couple of years ago and learned a lot of skills herself which helped her find her own voice.

“It is important we call this competition an empowerment forum, because you don’t have to look a certain way to participate in this competition,” Dr. Moiloa-Murphy said.

“We want someone with a brain.”