Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes ends her trip in Ghana and arrives in Nigeria

'Obaa Ba' (Woman of Substance)

Miss Universe 2011, Leila Lopes’ two-day visit to Ghana ended with an honorary cocktail reception at the Labadi Beach Hotel which culminated into the launch of the 2012 Miss Universe Ghana search.

For her selfless humanitarian service since winning the Miss Universe title, she was given the title ‘Obaa Ba’ (Woman of Substance). The title which came with a stool was conferred on her by the Miss Universe Ghana organizers, The Insignia Group.

Leila Lopes was mesmerized during the coronation event that was supported by the Angolan Embassy and Ecobank Bank Ghana. She also received a gold necklace crafted with Adinkrah symbols as a souvineir from Ghana. While in Ghana a fundraising dinner was held in honour of the 26-year-old Leila Lopes, who also visited and presented a cheque for GHC2, 400 to the SOS Village in Tema, on behalf of Ecobank. The beauty queen said her commitment and dedication towards children and orphans in Africa will never wean. She added that a lot more effort is needed to lift millions of Africans out of poverty and also educate Africans about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. Miss Lopes singled out Ecobank, describing the outfit as very helpful in supporting her since she won the Miss Universe crown.

Ms Roberta Annan, Chief Executive Officer of Roberta Annan Consulting Group, organizers of the tour, during the visit to the SOS Village, said the loss of a parent was terrible and that children who had been orphaned by AIDS were frequently shunned by society, denied affection and care and left with few resources to fall back on. She said for economic and other reasons, many of these children drop out of school and sometimes suffered from malnutrition, ill health and are at risk of exploitation and abuse, increasing the chance that they too might contract AIDS.

She said often, poor women and the elderly shouldered the burden and some communities were reeling from the loss of their most productive members.”It is for t his reason that Miss Universe 2011 has decided to undertake this tour to add her voice to draw the attention to plight of these vulnerable children affected and infected by HIV and AIDS.”

The cocktail reception which was also co-organized by the Roberta Annan Consulting Group was graced by previous winners of the Miss Ghana Universe as well as several dignitaries, including former First Lady, Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, Emmanuel Adebayor and others

Source: ameyawdebrah.com