A 21-year-old girl from Essau village has emerged as the 'Miss NAYCONF 2012'. Mariama Ndow, who represented the North Bank Region (NBR) in the NAYCONF 2012 beauty pageant, was crowned during the closing ceremony of the event on Wednesday in Bansang, Central River Region.

Speaking to the Daily Observer shortly after the ceremony, Miss Ndow thanked her parents for allowing her to participate in the beauty pageant, and the people of NBR for their support in making her dreams come true. "I studied the NAYCONF theme, 'Directing and re-orienting youth participation towards the productive sector of the economy', for about one week ahead of the national youth event," she disclosed. She said she chose the theme because she knew its importance particularly to the young people of the country.

She went on: "So, I was prepared for the competition and my objective was to make my region and my parents proud. The competition was not easy, as all the contestants were excellent, but in any competition there must be a winner and a loser." Miss Ndow used the opportunity to call on Gambian youths to participate fully in national development. She also thanked President Jammeh for empowering the youth.