Kamanya’s Phoenix Year

Based on the roller coaster of last year, former Miss Namibia Selma Kamanya has themed her year ‘The Phoenix, resurgence from the ashes ‘.

Kamanya says the theme is simple and ironic, but an extremely profound concept to her.

“It is also ironic because I have a fear of birds, so it simultaneously symbolises facing my fears… This year’s theme for me represents resilience and cultivating an impenetrable spirit,” she says.

Kamanya is known as a hard worker who is passionate about bringing change and helping better the lives of others.

Recently, she was elected as the vice president of the Internet Society of Namibia, an organisation that strives to promote the development of the internet as a global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people’s lives, and a force for societal good.

Kamanya says she is excited by the opportunity to contribute to such a progressive organisation.

Over the years, Kamanya has made her mark in modelling and has worked with various brands such as FNB Namibia, Karibu Flowers, Shell/Vivo Energy Namibia, NBC, Shiwa the Baker, Younique Medi Spa and Shoe Zone Ghana.

She says modelling is very close to her heart and loves modelling local designers ‘ clothes. She commends Namibian designers as talented and creative, and she believes to foster and grow the emerging local entertainment and creative industry Namibians have to support their own.

“I live to see a Namibian creative space that is authentic to the Namibian people ringing true of our own flavour, style and designs. I think that the modelling industry alone in Namibia is not conducive to sustaining the livelihood of a model, but I believe that the profession should still be respected. Our industry is, however, growing, slowly but surely. It has so far made great strides by annually taking part in the global celebration of textiles, fashion and couturiers,” Kamanya says.

She has also been working on a few projects in various industries.

Last year, Kamanya launched her ‘Inno-Grows ‘, which aims to empower less-privileged communities to produce their own food, while simultaneously teaching them the importance of developing agricultural skills. The project will provide healthy food to children in need across the country, as well as help create a sustainable life cycle within communities.

“We are now installing a hydroponics unit, with the assistance and support of Agribank, with the goal to establish a ‘smart ‘ agricultural system geared towards assisting the different community centres to save water as well as mitigate the impact of ever-changing weather conditions on agricultural production. In addition, we have also crafted an ‘agri-preneur ‘ programme to kickstart the training component of the installation of the various systems, to allow the different systems or projects to generate an income and benefit the various centres,” she says.

MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE

Kamanya is passionate about openly speaking about mental health. She believes it’s time to start making provision for accessible mental health services, especially at grassroots levels.

“Your mind is the core/nucleus of your being. The quality of your life is contingent on quality of your mind. I believe that I have been just a voice for long enough and am currently accumulating efforts towards the implementation of programmes, counselling services, workshops and teachings. My foundation is currently organising efforts for a more innovative approach to dealing with mental illness by exploring art-infused methods and incorporating vocation skills in the process, alongside the more traditional methods like counselling, aiming to increase the public’s knowledge and education about the topic. Mental health will always be my labour of love, and I always plan on using whatever I have at my disposal to champion the cause,” she says.

Through her interest in acting she has done a lot. Kamanya says Milli Namibia asked her to feature in a short film geared towards addressing the adverse effects of cyber bullying. She was happy to participate because of her mental health advocacy.

“I have done various commercials and advertisements for different brands but none of them had a script. Being called an ‘actress ‘ may be a bit overstated; I ‘m still at the very rudimentary stages of the craft and have a lot to learn. I found acting foreign and very strange. Through that experience, however, I garnered immense respect for the art form, and for experienced actors. Acting is immersive storytelling. It’s a beautiful concept to be able to convey the message of another human being’s experience on earth. I ‘m definitely looking forward to learning more about the craft of acting and working on more productions that continue to challenge me,” Kamanya says.

Speaking for her own life lessons so far, Kamanya encourages everyone to strive to be authentic and not to compromise on their morality for carnal gain or ‘quick success ‘.

“When I was younger I wanted nothing more than to blend in with the crowd and fit in, but you make questionable choices when you are guided by this philosophy, it can be tempting, but slow and calculated wins the race. In addition to that, maintaining your integrity and peace of mind are absolutely priceless. Also, I have been taught through experience that you should always have a teachable spirit and that you never stop being a student of life,” Kamanya says.

With Easter weekend upon us, Kamanya urges all Namibians to be vigilant on the road and to go about celebrating the Easter weekend safely and responsibly.

For more follow her on social media.

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