Tatenda Machaya, who is originally from Zimbabwe, beat off the competition from 15 girls to be crowned the winner at the event, which took place in Hands worth on October 27.
The 18-year-old, who hopes to move on to university to study HR and Business, won £5,000 and the chance to work with people in the community, along with a return ticket to Africa to take part in charity work overseas.
Tatenda, whose tutor had advised her to get involved in community work to give her CV a boost, said: “When I found out I had won I got this overwhelming sense of accomplishment. All my hard work had paid off and I’m so proud of myself. I did the best I could on the day and being rewarded for it has made everything worth it.
“I have also been given an opportunity to make adifference and it doesn’t get better than that.”
The competition had been organised by AfricanWomen of Substance, a community based organisation which offers support and information services to African women and their families. They provide immigrant women from diverse backgrounds with the opportunity to meet new people, share advice and practice conversational English.
Post published in: Arts