Hello y’all and welcome back to the blog! I just wanted to first give you a couple little updates on what has been going on here at the Blessed Brilliant Beautiful blog. Last Thursday we released our very first monthly newsletter that went out to all subscribers. Yayyy!!! Included in the September newsletter was a Fall reading challenge, scripture of the month + journal topics, August favorites, current and upcoming sales from my favorite places to shop, and so much more! (If you are interested in having access to those resources, click here to sign up!) Blessed Brilliant Beautiful is going to be posting twice a week from now on unless there is monthly newsletter going out! On those days we will only post once a week. You can expect posts to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week! That is all the updates for now!
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Now that we have gotten those logistics out of the way, I feel a need to take a deep breath. Wheeeewwwww. What a week last week has been. My faith was totally tested. There was so much going on with Hurricane Florence hitting my hometown, assignments piling up on each other, and becoming overwhelmed with the fact that in a couple of months I will be pressing the submit button on applications for graduate school and officially registering for the MCAT. In times like this, there is only one thing that can help me put things into perspective and thing is spending some quiet time with God. I took a step back and started to realize two things: the first is that God’s got my back and I need to chill and the second, regardless of what is going on in my life, He is still good and I am still blessed to even have some of these “problems.” This brings me to today’s post about a special organization that is near and dear to my heart, Kurandza. Working with them this September has made me realize not only how blessed I am to have an oppurtunity to have access to higher education but also, the power that my voice (and yours) has to make a change.
Without further ado, blessed brilliant beauties, meet Kurandza.
So as most of you know, I am title holder in the Miss America Organization where I currently hold the title of Miss Cumberland Valley 2018. As a title holder, you are required to have a platform in which you dedicate your service to. When I first started competing as a miss contestant, I had no doubt that I wanted my platform to involve improving the access and quality of education for girls all over the world. I truly believe in the power of heart, passion, and hardwork. This September, I am standing with Kurandza in efforts of providing scholarships for 200 girls to attend school in Mozambique!
Kurandza is a non-profit social enterprise that invests in the future of women and girls in Mozambique. The name Kurandza means “to love” in the native language of the Mozambique. Through education, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development programs, women learn to become leaders in their villages, sharing their skills and knowledge with the rest of their community, and creating an opportunity for thousands of people.
What makes them different from other organizations? They listen to the needs of the people on the ground in Mozambique. Local needs drive the projects we create and fund, which ensures that our projects generate the most impact possible.
Kurandza specifically works with girls and women in Mozambique. Mozambique is a beautiful country located in Southeast Africa that is bordered by the Indian Ocean. It is rich in natural resources, is home to a vast number of cultures and biological species, and has a tropical climate. The country’s economy heavily relies on agriculture but is growing other industries such as chemical and petroleum engineering. 
Kurandza was first born during Elisabetta Colabianchi’s work with the Peace Corps in southern Mozambique. At the time, she was living in Guijá and working at a local hospital. At this hospital, Elisabetta’s job was to counsel HIV-positive women on the prevention of HIV transmission to their children. She was quick to notice the negligible treatment that often occurred due to lack of transportation or resources to pick up necessary medicine. Elisabetta along with her friend, Percina Miocha, decided to do something. Not long after they decided to start an income generation project for those HIV-positive women with hopes of teaching them a skill that would earn enough income t pay for the monthly transportation costs to the hospital. Though she returned back to the United States, Elisabetta’s heart of service remained in Mozambique. She continued to develop her ties with the village she worked closely with and later created Kuranda with Percina as a way of continuing the support of the community through education, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development programs. One of their programs that occurs every year is the #IStandForGirls movement.
The #IStandForGirls movement is driven by a collection of influencers, bloggers, business owners, and purpose-driven women (and men) who want to encourage communities to get involved in spreading awareness about the importance of girls education while raising funds to provide girls in Mozambique with access to a life-changing education.
#IStandForGirls because when girls are educated….
…they are less likely to marry early, have unplanned pregnancies, and contract HIV.
…they are more likely to earn a higher income compared to individuals who did not go to school.
…they are more likely to be financially secure and economically empowered.
…they are more likely to change the world around them for the better.
If you believe in directly helping girls in Mozambique, I encourage you to become part of the movement, too! You can help spread the word or even sponsor a girl! I encourage you to stand with girls with me this September in hopes of using our voices and resources to give girls the education they deserve to empower their families and communities.
Click here to become part of the movement, sponsor a girl, or find out more about Kurandza!
Thank you all so much for reading! I know this post was a little different, but I know you all have such hearts of service and would want me to share. Have a wonderful week! Catch the next post this Tuesday. You are not going to want to miss it! Always remember, you are blessed, brilliant and beautiful!
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