PURPOSE
Opportunity Through Education An Interview with Flaviana Matata, Founder, Flaviana Matata Foundation (FMF) and Founder and Chief Executive Officer, LAVY Beauty EDITORS’ NOTE Flaviana Matata and/or start their own businesses – ultistudied Electrical Engineering mately helping them to fulfill their a t Arusha Technical college in dreams. Flaviana Matata created FMF Tanzania. In 2007, she won the first as her way of giving back to her commuedition of the Miss Universe Tanzania nity. FMF has grown from initially and went on to represent Tanzania pr oviding scholarships to pay for in the Miss Universe pageant, where school fees, to supporting the multiple she finished in 6th place. She then needs of girls so that they can feel safe moved to South Africa in 2009 to thr oughout their entir e education start her career in modeling and and have the skills and support they need was scouted and moved to the U.S. in to get a job or start a business. Since 2012, 2011 to pursue modeling. Alongside FMF has reached over 5,000 students in Flaviana Matata her modeling career, she pursued her Tanzania. This has included providing passion to give back to the commustudents with needed school supplies as well nity by founding her nonprofit organization, as renovating and refurbishing school infrastructure. Flaviana Matata Foundation, and her beauty Other accomplishments include distributing toiletry company, LAVY, with one goal in mind, to create boxes to girls to use during their menstrual cycle and future leaders by teaching them how to empower purchasing desks and chairs for all students. FMF has themselves. She is determined to ensure LAVY also been able to provide girls with full scholarships to products become available globally. stay in school. The next phase of FMF will be to ensure that these same young women have the support they INSTITUTION BRIEFS The Flaviana Matata need to go to university or vocational school. Foundation (flavianamatatafoundation.org) LAVY Beauty was initiated with a vision is a 501(c)(3) that works to ensure girls and young of establishing a trustworthy beauty brand in women have the resources and opportunities they the market whilst making a long-lasting social need to complete their education, find employment, impact. Initially offering nail polish, to fill a gap in
the market as there was no locally owned nail care brand and the industry was dominated by male nail technicians, the LAVY Beauty brand was created.
FMF provides much needed clean water to students in Tanzania
Flaviana Matata with some of the students supported by FMF 44 LEADERS
H o w d i d y o u b e c o m e i n v o l v e d with Miss Universe Tanzania and how did this experience impact your life? After graduating from college, a good friend of mine urged me to try out for Miss Universe Tanzania. I had no expectations and was participating for fun. I didn’t even think I would make the top 10, let alone win. I only had two weeks to prepare for the worldwide competition where I made the finals and placed sixth overall. When I flew back home, I thought about my friend who saw the potential in me and made the decision to pursue modeling as a career and from there, the rest has been history in the making. It was an epiphany for me and truly the experience that changed the trajectory of my life. What was your vision for creating the Flaviana Matata Foundation and how do you define its mission? VOLUME 45, NUMBER 1
