Students win Miss and Mr. Y+ Central region
Aug 25, 2015
The wild yells that followed Robinah Babirye and Tuhaise Mark’s crowning as MISS Y+ and MR.Y+ Central region respectively during auditions at Nagulu Teenage Centre Sunday, confirmed the crowd’s approbation. The judges had made an unquestionable choice.
By Elvis Basudde
The wild yells that followed Robinah Babirye and Tuhaise Mark’s crowning as MISS Y+ and MR.Y+ Central region respectively during auditions at Nagulu Teenage Centre Sunday, confirmed the crowd’s approbation. The judges had made an unquestionable choice.
Babirye in particular is beautiful with nice dimples on her cheek. She is also intelligent. Her stage presence also charmed many. There was a question-and-answer session and Babirye just “chewed” them while some other contestants looked clueless, though they smiled on.
One particular contestant caused laughter when she was asked, “What makes you think you will be MISS Y+?” and she answered, “Because I have Desire Luzinda’s Ekitone!”
32 contestants had been nominated for the contest. The judges, who included Bizzu Phionah, a former 2013 Miss Uganda, Zaituni Nabateregga from Straight talk Foundation and Priscilla Nakyobe, easily noticed Babirye and Tuhaise’s intelligence.
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Some of the participants during the Y+ Beauty pageant, 2015
Nabateregga said her team was 100% transparent as they did their work without using favourism or friendship, adding they were looking for someone with brains who was going to represent young people who are living with HIV to fight stigma.
“We are not only looking at the outer beauty. We are looking at brains, confidence, eloquence, knowledge, vision, people who are focused, who can speak, who have information on issues affecting young people. We want people whom we can mentor and can drive this theme to greater heights,” she said.
The 22-year-old Babirye, a final year student at Kyambogo University pursuing Bachelor degree in community- based rehabilitation, became emotional and shed tears of joy as she was declared a winner.
Babirye together with the 22-year-old Tuhaise, a student at Namasuba College of Commerce doing a diploma in counselling and guidance, were crowned by Bizzu. They were followed by Nasaaka Doreen, 21, and Daniel Owino, 19, as runners-up respectively.
Asked why she is taking part in the Y+ beauty pageant, Babirye answered that she believes she can transform lives especially of the young people living with HIV by showing them that they can be stigma free.
“I have done something related to this in the past. I have been educating fellow peers on HIV at my university, and I have also been on different radio and television stations and in communities sensitizing the public,” she stressed.
Asked how she handles stigma at her university, Babirye said that she first worked with her mind and accepted her new HIV status, and being proud of herself as a change agent.
She says she is obliged as a young person living with HIV to come out and educate fellow young people who are living with HIV and those who are negative. Those who are negative to stay safe and those who are living with HIV to live positively and also protect the ones that are not.
“ I feel that I as a young person living with HIV, it is my responsibility to help the ones that are voiceless because sometimes our needs are not really heard,’ she says.
Babirye discovered she was living with HIV at the age of nine after her late mother told her. Her mother used to visit clinics with her and her twin sister, Nakato) and one night she offered to tell them that they got the HIV virus through birth.
She has been able to cope due to peer support from fellow people living with HIV, her counsellors, doctors coupled with the information and training that has empowered her. She feels she has made a contribution in the fight against HIV.
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L-R: Mr. Y+ Central, Tuhaise Mark and Miss Y+ Central after being crownwed.
Now that she has won Miss Y+ central auditions, she feels she has started her responsibility. Since she has been educating peers, she says she will use this as a platform to add into her work that she has been doing even to reach out to do peer education to more young people who are positive and those who are not.
“I will collaborate with our leaders and policy makes to find a way of fighting stigma associated with society because we cannot not win the war against HIV/AIDS without addressing stigma,” she says.
The auditions continue in Jinja at AIC on 30 August, courtesy of the Uganda Network of Young People Living with HIV&AIDS (UNYPA) in conjunction with SRHR Alliance, HIV Bible Movement (HBM), Marie Stopes International Uganda (MSIU) among others.
Jacquelyne Alesi, executive director, UNYPA, says the spirit of this pioneering event is not to celebrate being HIV positive but contributing to the UNAIDS three Zeros (Zero new infections, Zero stigma and discrimination and Zero AIDS related deaths), and also showing the world that people Living with HIV are also normal and capable of doing anything like other people who are HIV negative.
The Y+ (young positive) beauty pageant is comprised of young men and women between the ages of 16-25 years to be held regionally getting the final winner in auditions in Kampala at Golf Course Hotel on 18th September, 2015.
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