The Capital witnessed a celebration of six women achievers — Faith Kachenga Mukonko, Mwila Masongo, Nalavwe Chinakila, Doris Couvaras, Beauty Katebe, and Angela Malenga — These women are the winners of My Home Town pageant held recently in Zambia. Hailing from small towns and villages, their journey is an inspiration for all those who set out to achieve their dreams.
In conversation with Hindustan Times, My Home Town Winner, Faith Kachenga Mukonko describes her life before the pageant. She says, “I have always been this girl that has known that she can achieve many things. I come from a small town where there are very few opportunities.” Pointing at her circumstances she adds, “I studied in a government school, and most people think that the important things or the big things in life are for rich people. But then I have this mindset that any good thing in life is meant for me, and so I focused on studying hard.”
“And in a class of over 100 students and a school of over 500, I was the only girl that made it to a national school, thereafter I went to a university, where I am pursuing my bachelor’s degree in computer science, and I keep excelling from there,” she continues to say smilingly.
Expressing how her life changed after, she adds“And then came My Home Town, an opportunity to empower women and give us a platform to express our views on various issues, and more importantly help our communities. The pageant was an extremely gruelling competition with over 2000 participants. During the grand finale, I kept telling myself that ‘we may be 54 women, right now, but I would be the only one standing’, and I made sure of that. So, post the competition, I now have these amazing opportunities. Today, I am in India, participating in the Dreamers are Achievers fashion show. I have also been all around the world. And I couldn’t be happier.”
When asked what dreams she has for her country, Mukonko goes on to say, “The biggest dream for my country is to have people who believe in the attainment of greatness.” She wants “Zambians to understand that whatever it is that you set your mind to, you can achieve. And as long as you keep pursuing your path, the whole universe or God, whatever you believe in, will conspire to help you achieve it.” She believes “ what holds us back in life is not our financials, our status, or where one is from, but rather the support you have, the support we have for our future.”
And if there’s one thing that she would like to tell others who dare to dream, is to “stop feeling sorry for yourself. We all go through negative situations, and it is okay to feel bad, and to have a moment of sadness. But you must get up and control your life.”
