NAMIBIA-WINDHOEK-BEAUTY PAGEANT-INFORMAL SETTLEMENT-YOUTH

NAMIBIA-WINDHOEK-BEAUTY PAGEANT-INFORMAL SETTLEMENT-YOUTH

(221123) -- WINDHOEK, Nov. 23, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Charlotte Namwandi (M), winner of the first-ever Miss Youth Vibez, is pictured with youngsters from an informal settlement in Windhoek, Namibia, on Nov. 21, 2022. Wearing her sash adorning her outfit, Charlotte Namwandi encouraged young girls in Havana, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Namibia's capital Windhoek, to be daring. TO GO WITH "Feature: Beauty pageant empowers Namibian informal settlement youth" (Photo by Ndalimpinga Iita/Xinhua)

NAMIBIA-WINDHOEK-BEAUTY PAGEANT-INFORMAL SETTLEMENT-YOUTH

NAMIBIA-WINDHOEK-BEAUTY PAGEANT-INFORMAL SETTLEMENT-YOUTH

(221123) -- WINDHOEK, Nov. 23, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Charlotte Namwandi (M), winner of the first-ever Miss Youth Vibez, poses for photos with other laureates in Windhoek, Namibia, on Nov. 19, 2022. Wearing her sash adorning her outfit, Charlotte Namwandi encouraged young girls in Havana, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Namibia's capital Windhoek, to be daring. TO GO WITH "Feature: Beauty pageant empowers Namibian informal settlement youth" (Photo by Ndalimpinga Iita/Xinhua)

NAMIBIA-WINDHOEK-BEAUTY PAGEANT-INFORMAL SETTLEMENT-YOUTH

NAMIBIA-WINDHOEK-BEAUTY PAGEANT-INFORMAL SETTLEMENT-YOUTH

(221123) -- WINDHOEK, Nov. 23, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Charlotte Namwandi, winner of the first-ever Miss Youth Vibez, poses for photos at an informal settlement in Windhoek, Namibia, on Nov. 21, 2022. Wearing her sash adorning her outfit, Charlotte Namwandi encouraged young girls in Havana, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Namibia's capital Windhoek, to be daring. TO GO WITH "Feature: Beauty pageant empowers Namibian informal settlement youth" (Photo by Ndalimpinga Iita/Xinhua)

Beauty pageant empowers Namibian informal settlement youth

STORY: Beauty pageant empowers Namibian informal settlement youth DATELINE: Nov. 23, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:57 LOCATION: Windhoek CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Havana informal settlement, beauty pageant, Windhoek 2. SOUNDBITE(English): Charlotte Namwandi, Miss Youth Vibez 3. various of Havana informal settlement and beauty pageant venue, Windhoek STORYLINE: Wearing her sash adorning her outfit, Charlotte Namwandi encouraged young girls in Havana, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Namibia's capital Windhoek, to be daring. Namwandi was crowned the first-ever Miss Youth Vibez, a pioneer beauty pageant aiming to empower and unleash the talents of young people in informal settlements in Namibia. The contest held on Nov. 19 attracted 15 participants from various backgrounds in Windhoek. Nineteen-year-old Namwandi knows too well the challenges of growing up in an informal settlement. "I grew up in an informal settlement in Otavi town and understood first-hand how hard the limited opportuni