PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Pride of the Universe

Beauty School gives a hearty "Pula!" to Botswana's Mpule Kwelagobe, Miss Universe 1999, for her remarkable reign.

Following the trail blazed by Trinidad and Tobago's Wendy Fitzwilliam, Miss Universe 1998, Mpule devoted her year to HIV/AIDS education and awareness. In doing so, she became the first Miss Universe to speak at Harvard (Harvard AIDS Institute) and was appointed United Nations Population Fund goodwill ambassador to Botswana.

She also established the Mpule Kwelagobe HIV/AIDS Trust Fund and Children's Centre. The trust fund and children's centre recently received a five-year grant from the U.S. pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb, through its Secure the Future Fund to assist five African countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, including Botswana. Close to 70% of the global total of HIV-positive people live in sub-Saharan Africa, making it the leading cause of death in this region.

In her final message as the reigning Miss Universe, Mpule said, "In my travels, I carried a message of hope, that as we are faced with the HIV/AIDS pandemic, we should remember that one day the war against HIV/AIDS will be won. One day, it will be a sad, but distant memory. That is why I dedicated my year to the men and women who are researching tirelessly on HIV and its subtypes, in the hope of finding a vaccine."

Mpule, you did the Universe proud.

Thanks to our Esteemed Benefactor for sharing this photo with us.

Sources: Daily News (Botswana), May 15 and 16, 2000; and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.