Miss Samoa

Samoa Pageant contestant highlights discrimination

Ms Afele made history earlier this month when she became the first deaf person to participate in the pageant.

She told RNZ Pacific that during the pageant, she endured online bullying.

The eventual winner of the contest, Moemoana Schwenke said she was aware of negative comments being directed at the contestants.

     

New Miss Samoa crowned 26 years after her mother won same title

Moemoana Safa’atoa Schwenke was named Miss Samoa 2023-2024, as the end of this year’s Teuila Festival celebrations wrapped up in Apia over the weekend.

The 23-year-old was born and raised in the motherland, but also grew up in New Zealand and Australia, where she and her family now live.

She is no stranger to the big stage; having performed siva and dances from around the Pacific as a member of the Matavai Pacific Cultural Arts centre started by her parents in Sydney, Australia, in 2013.

Samoan beauty queen a beacon of hope in NZ foster system

Fonoifafo (Fono) McFarland-Seumanu's new role is the first of its kind in South Auckland.

RNZ Pacific reports the things that Fono and the social workers come across are lice, scabies, infected eczema, mental health issues, malnutrition, and conditions such as ADHD or poor eyesight that affect learning.

She drops prescriptions off to homes, registers babies with GPs and Plunket and even makes sure babies have a birth certificate.

Fono comes to the job with valuable knowledge. At 21 years old she said 'yes' - a small word with big impact.

Pageant Winner Encourages Samoan Youth to Put the Lord First

Born and raised in Australia, Kuruppu was candid in sharing the trials faced as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as Miss Samoa, the country’s tourism ambassador to the world.

Kuruppu gave service for 18-months as a full-time missionary for the Church in the Japan Nagoya Mission and spent part of her mission in the Australia Melbourne Mission¾her home country.

Her time in Melbourne as a missionary was difficult, she said, because “God is not a priority” in everyone’s lives.

Miss Samoa is new queen of Pacific

The 24-year-old beauty was crowned last night in Port Moresby.

The crowning took place at the Stanley Hotel guided by the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant theme of “Pacific We Are, One Step, One Aspiration”.

Seumanu, who is a public nurse by profession, was supported by the Samoan delegates at the crowning ceremony.

Miss Samoa won the Best Traditional Wear and Best Interview categories.

Miss Samoa steps up to help stop measles spread

Fonoifafo Nancy McFarland-Seumanu, 24, known as Fono, has left her role as a public health nurse for Auckland's Counties Manukau District Health Board to take up a new role with the Samoa Tourism Association for the one-year duration of her reign.

She had worked in the health prevention role for the past three years after completing her training at Manukau Institute of Technology in Otara.

Fono hoped her nursing experience could benefit the Samoan community which was vulnerable to transmission from the current Auckland outbreak.

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Miss Samoa pushes measles message in Auckland

An interim report by the Auckland Regional Public Health Service shows half of South Auckland under fives have needed a hospital bed due to measles, with some of them staying longer to treat complications like pneumonia.

A Samoan Public Health nurse, who has recently been crowned Miss Samoa, is using her platform to share the importance of immunisations to parts of the community that often miss regular public health messaging.

Regional Pageant board judging criteria under scrutiny

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi assured reigning Miss Samoa, Alexandra Iakopo that the Board can expect a formal letter from the government.

Iakopo was crowned first runner up in the regional pageant that was held in Fiji last week.

“In my eyes and in the eyes of your country, you are still a winner in our book,” Tuilaepa told Iokopo when she paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister.

On the same token, he is pleased with the overall performance by Miss Samoa and has accepted with pride the outcome.

Miss Samoa reaches out to Savai’I students

One of Samoa Qualifications Authority’s (SQA)  mandated functions  is to promote links and learning pathways between the school sector, PSET sector and offer career services.
Iakopo, who is a Qualifications Officer at SQA attended the SQA’s National Career Day (NCD) held in Savai’i on Friday at the Don Bosco Hall, Salelologa.

Lifelong Learning was the theme for this year’s event and it emphasized learning as a lifetime activity and also advocated the message that learning does not stop at any educational level. 

Miss Samoa to promote ICT evolution

Whoever will be crowned Miss Samoa will be one of the icons to promote Samoa’s ICT evolution starting with the Tui-Samoa fiber optic cable to be commissioned in December.