Zorena Jantze
FOR Miss Teen Namibia, Oriana Ribeiro, who is half Portuguese and half Aawambo, a conventional life is for those who settle for the mundane.
For the 18-year-old, who is home-schooled, life is all about intentionality, showcasing the exceptional beauty and qualities that Namibia has to offer on the international stage, and studying towards her goal of becoming a psychologist.
The young Ribeiro, who has experienced the diversity of Namibian towns with her family, shared with the informanté her journey to being crowned Miss Teen Namibia and her future plans.
“I was born in Windhoek, but I lived in Ongwediva up until 2016 when my family and I moved to Windhoek. Then we relocated to the coast in 2021 – where we stayed on Longbeach. A year and a half later, my family and I moved back to Windhoek, and now it’s safe to say we’re settling here,” Ribeiro said.
Reflecting on family life, the teen explained that she grew up with both her parents as well as five other siblings. Ribeiro added that her father is biracial, whilst her mother is Aawambo. The young woman adds that her first language is English but that she could only speak Portuguese in her formative years.
Touching on her future plans, Ribeiro added that she would like to study Psychology because she struggled with her mental health, but once she started seeing her former school’s guidance counsellor, Martella Diedricks, she learned so many transformative things. “I became inspired by how she changed my life, and then I wanted to impact people in the same way,” Ribeiro said.
Queried on why she joined Miss Teen Namibia, the young model explained that she initially joined Miss Teen Namibia simply because she wanted to do something fun and make new friends. “Once I realized that there is so much more to this platform, I used it as an opportunity to better myself and inspire selflessness within me, so I could start greatly contributing to our nation. My favourite part about pageantry is being on stage – in those moments you’re a performer and (other than answering the on-stage questions) can only communicate with your body movements and facial expressions – which I find quite exciting,” Ribeiro said.
Commenting on the social causes closest to her, Ribeiro highlighted that people’s mental health struggles are something that she would like to work on, with Namibia having the fourth highest suicide statistics in Africa.
The teen model further gave advice to all teenage girls to understand that physical beauty is subjective, but true beauty is dependent on the character of a person. “Physical beauty is dependent on what each individual personally finds attractive, but true beauty is reflected when a person is confident, has integrity, and shows those that they interact with unwavering kindness. And with that understanding, I encourage all teenage girls to start actively pursuing self-acceptance as soon as possible because it makes navigating through your teenage years a lot easier – as you’re establishing your sense of worth and therefore will not allow anyone to bring them down,” Ribeiro said.
The teen concluded that at the Miss Teen International Competition, she will highlight the fact that one of her core values is intentionality.
“This means that I believe it is extremely important to have a purpose and take strategic action towards living out that purpose. As for Namibia, I want people to realize that our country holds a lot of potential and that our people are of the same calibre as other countries,” Ribeiro said.
