Last week’s BET Awards official nominees announcement revealed
Millen Magese as the first person to be honored with the BET International
Global Good Award. She will receive the award at the annual live ceremony held
at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on June 28, 2015.
Global Good is a BET International initiative highlighting
the humanitarian efforts of global personalities and celebrities in communities
around the world.
Although known mostly as a model, Millen’s award comes as recognition
of her philanthropic and humanitarian work throughout Africa in the fields of
health, education and girl/women issues. She has been advocating for schooling
and healthcare in her native Tanzania, but collaborating with the government to
build a school and improve education and skills amongst healthcare
practitioners.
One cause very close to her heart has been raising awareness about
endometriosis, which she has suffered with since the age of 13. Her social
media campaign #ManyFacesOfEndo has given rise to a wave of women standing up
and speaking about their battles with the illness and the mismanagement of it
by doctors. As the ambassador for Endometriosis Africa, Millen has undertaken
to give the illness the attention it deserves and to advocate for the reduction
in costs for treatment and fertility treatments, which so many women with
endometriosis need.
The former Miss Tanzania has set social media alight since
the announcement with expressions of pride and congratulations pouring in from
all over the world. Africa has expressed a particularly passionate brand of
pride for the achievement. Magese is the only African to be honored with the
award while Africans from various countries are nominated for awards
recognizing their work in entertainment on the night.
“I can not believe this. This is such a huge honor for me,
but it is about more than me. This award represents the millions of women who
have their lives controlled by endometriosis and other causes of infertility.
It is for all their tears and pain spent in the emergency room with confusion
and disappointment. This is for the young girls who don’t deserve to live with
chronic pain. This is for the women who never got a chance to meet their babies
due to endometriosis and infertility. Thank you to BET for hearing our voices,”
says Magese.
The star-studded awards ceremony will see Hollywood come out
to play and be honored for their achievements in music and entertainment.The
show promises to be a feast for the eyes and will air at 8PM ET.
About
Millen Magese is a model and philanthropist from Geita,
Tanzania. She was crowned Miss Tanzania in 2001 and has since become an international
model working in South Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States. As a model,
Magese is currently signed with Ford Models in New York, NY and Ice
Model Management in Johannesburg, South Africa.
She has been noted
as Fashion Icon of the Year at Swahili Fashion Week (2014), The First Face of
Delhi Fashion Week (2009) and Louis Vuitton Best Runway Model at Delhi Fashion
Week (2009). Currently, she uses her modeling platform to make a difference in
the health, education and girl/women empowerment sectors. Millen is the current
ambassador for the Endometriosis Awareness Campaign in Africa and is building a
school in her native Tanzania, which got her honored with the BET International
Global Good Award in 2015.
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