The stunning and inspiring Miss Supranational 2021 Chanique Rabe of Namibia has arrived in the far northeastern Zambezi region of Namibia again this week to work with the seamsters and students at the Junior Sewing School for The Sijwa Project.
As she arrived, the queen took to her social media to share, “Super excited to be up North again at African Monarch Lodges to spend some time at The Sijwa Project Junior Sewing School. So much is happening this week and still can’t believe it is in the midst of this magical Namibian nature!”
This week her focus will be to continue developing the curriculum and working on a skills upgrade program. The Sijwa dress was launched recently by the The Sijwa Project. The dress, available in red, bamboo, jade and ivory, will be produced exclusively at the Sijwa Project in the heart of Kaza, the World's Largest Conservation Area for Wildlife in Namibia's northeastern Zambezi Region.
The Sijwa Project is the re-purposing and re-inventing of all recyclable waste from the African Monarch Lodges; Nambwa Tented Lodge and Kazile Island Lodge, on the Kwando River of the Zambezi Region of Namibia, and from the local community, into exquisite saleable craft and art.
The dress was designed by Chanique exclusively for the Sijwa Project in April 2021. It is an easy to wear, linen dungaree style dress. During one of her visits to her Junior Sewing School, then-Miss Supranational Namibia taught the senior seamsters step-by-step how to make the dress and gave in-depth training on dressmaking. Once completed, the ladies modelled the finished garments with absolute pride.
Chanique established the Junior Sewing School in partnership with the African Monarch Lodges as part of the 'From the Ground Up' Community Service Initiative, which supports grassroots projects that benefit the candidates' communities. Rabe wants to use her skills to make a meaningful difference at the Mayuni Conservancy, exposing the youngsters to new aspirational ideals. The Honorable Chief Mayuni gave his blessing and support to Chanique's Junior Sewing School.
Chanique committed to continue dedicating her time to empowering the youth of Namibia with her 'From the Ground Up' programme after becoming the first lady from Africa to win the Miss Supranational title in August 2021. During her reign as Miss Supranational, she will continue to focus on the Junior Sewing School at the Sijwa Project.