Miss Liberia International, Telena Cassell '06, traveled to Liberia from California Monday and will spend the next two weeks helping Liberian women and children, at which time she will distribute $3,000 worth of school supplies and personal items that she has collected from donors.
Cassell will hand out clothing, first aid supplies and personal care products in small villages and will deliver school supplies to grade schools and the University of Liberia. She also plans to visit several orphanages.
Cassell, who won the title of Miss Liberia International last spring, said she began entering pageants in order to express her love for, and desire to help, Liberia.
"I decided to do pageants because I felt it would give me a platform to launch a campaign to aid Liberia, promote awareness of Liberia, as well as show the beauty of Liberia," she said.
While in Liberia, the pageant winner will give talks and meet with Liberian youth in an effort to document their personal stories for a website she will launch next month. She is also scheduled to meet with Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
Cassell, who is of Liberian descent, founded and currently leads the Team Liberia California campaign, which aims to promote awareness of Liberian issues, provide aid to Liberia, and foster relationships within the Liberian community.
"Liberian issues have always been something that I've known about but sometimes I've been really busy with school," she said. "After my junior spring, I decided to look more into them and get involved in my culture."
Cassell said that an integral part of her work is educating others about Liberian issues.
"The mission of Team Liberia California is to enlighten and inform about Liberia as well as strengthen the sense of collectiveness within the Liberian community and foster bonds with other communities," she said.
Liberian Girls United, a subdivision of Cassell's organization, will run a website designed to serve Liberian teenagers and young adults who live around the world, Cassell said. Through LiberianGirl.net, which is scheduled to launch next month, the Dartmouth student aims to provide positive role models for young Liberian women and create a space for relevant issues and information that can be viewed by all.
In addition to Miss Liberia International, Cassell holds two other African pageant titles and is an involved member of the Dartmouth community. When on campus Fall term, Cassell was captain of the cheerleading squad, a member of Sheba dance group, a hip-hop aerobics class instructor and a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. In addition to these commitments, she left school for a week to compete in the Miss Africa International pageant.
A 2007 calendar will feature photos of Cassell and the proceeds will aid Liberia.
While at home in California this term, Cassell coordinated discussion forums, gave talks and made radio appearances. She spoke with the Interfaith Council at the University of Southern California, met with the Los Angeles Inter-Alumni Council and gave a talk at an event hosted by the Liberian-American Community Organization of Southern California.
Cassell hopes to gain youth involvement in her commitment to help Liberia.
"I think of the youth as the brain trust for the people of America," she said. "We're trying to galvanize youth to start the movement."
Currently, Cassell is looking to set up discussion forums and talks at colleges throughout America, including Dartmouth.
"I seek to bring awareness to all people about Liberia. It's a very beautiful, rich culture," she said. "Aid for Liberia goes beyond color or religion. It's a humanitarian issue."
Cassell hopes to make future trips to Liberia and is already planning to return in June. This summer she also plans to hold charity runway shows in Los Angeles as part of a "Fashion for a Cause" campaign.
