By Amin Kef Sesay
Housemates Salone Season 2.organised and sponsored by Africa Young Voices (AYV) and Africell-Sierra Leone provides the enabling environment to help young people discover their talents, as well as expose them to the wider world, thereby fostering youth empowerment in the country. Whilst a couple will emerge as winner of the show, all participants will benefit from the exposure and be possible choices by corporate bodies for the promotion of their brand.
It should be noted that both AYV and Africell are known for promoting and empowering young people. Their engagement goes years back when they supported sporting activities, the entertainment industry, incorporating young people as Brand Ambassadors, offered job opportunities and rolled out mapped out programmes that have seen growth in those sectors. During their promotion programs, both entities have made millionaires and promoted entrepreneurs out of unsuspecting youths. To further contribute to youth development, the bar has been raised by AYV and Africell Sierra Leone, with the Star Prize of Le250 million for the winners of this current Reality TV Show, Housemates Salone Season 2, dubbed ‘Quarantine Drama’.
Mindful of the fact that Youths constitute 70% of the country’s population and are the leaders of the future, the organisers of the show is determined to make the participants in this show discover their hidden talents and provide the enabling environment to allow them to develop those skills and talents and in the process prepare them for the future contribution to society, as well as their own personal development. This is what Housemates Salone seasons 2 seeks to do, provide POSITIVE EMPOWERMENT that will sharpen their skills, improve their potentials and make them productive citizens in society.
AYV and Africell-SL, in the Housemates Salone Season 2 show, have fused entertainment and youth empowerment, to not only give exposure to the participants and its accompanying benefits, but to provide a lively show that will keep viewers glued to their TV sets, especially during this period of social distancing, where many Sierra Leoneans and viewers across the world will be staying at home.
With 20 housemates from both sexes staying under the same roof for 60 days, physically cut off from the rest of the world, socializing, learning useful skills like cooking, singing, going through trials on how to articulately express themselves in different situations, setting goals they want to achieve, learning how to resolve conflicts, playing games, swimming and so on, will provide the necessary experience needed to go through life. Whilst in the house, theses housemates will cultivate positive attributes that will help shape their lives in their future endeavours, and has the proclivity to positively influence young viewers.
Housemates Salone will also provide the platform for influential people to spot their talents and bring them on-board to foster their respective projects and may even lead to sponsorship of certain projects of these participants. In this regard, no better reference is needed than that of the winner of Housemates Salone Season 1, Kenchin Palmer, whose exposure by the show, resulted in his staging of a show in the UK, with support from other stakeholders, as well as his signing as Brand Ambassador for the Sierra Juice Company in Freetown and now advertising the company’s products. Furthermore, other participants in that Show have been eye-marked to feature in documentary films that depict societal ills, especially those relating to young people. Their inclusion is expected to make the desired change of the producers on society.
Apart from bagging the Star Prize of Two Hundred and Fifty Million Leones (Le250M), the winner will also undertake a round trip to Dubai on the expense of the organisers and will be expected to develop a personal project that will be rolled out to impact the lives of other young people. Though the winners will get the Star Prize, all other participants will have their daily allowance of Le100,000, whilst they still remain in the house.
As was stated by the pragmatic and result oriented Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AYV, Ambassador Anthony Navo Jr, who was recently recognized as one of the most reputable Africans out of one hundred African personalities assessed by Reputation Poll International, a leading global reputation management firm, during the closing courtesies of Housemates Salone Season 1 in 2018, “Housemates Salone Season 1 is an amazing show which has brought a sense of direction and uplifting in the entertainment industry in Sierra Leone. The show has brought social cohesion and unity to Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad devoid of their political, cultural and other biases.”
He furthered, “I feel very proud to have provided this platform to give opportunity to our young men and women to rediscover their potentials and add meaning to their lives, and I wish on behalf of the entire team, to register our thanks and appreciation to everyone who has contributed to this success.”
Ambassador Navo continued, “Firstly, I would like to thank our amazing housemates- who have been true role models; we are proud of their great time in the House. They have demonstrated the true meaning of Youth empowerment. I appreciate that everyone is a winner and we stand ready to work with all the housemates on a long term basis beyond Housemates Salone and support them to achieve their dreams.”
Application forms are now available at a price of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Leones (Le150, 000) and could be paid for via Afrimoney and transaction IDs will be given to access the forms. It is advisable for those who have plans to secure forms to do so now, as time is running out, especially as it is anticipated that it is going to be a hotly contested show.
For interested participants in Sierra Leone, the number to access their forms is 088 201020 (Afrimoney number) and a ‘fast track’ for those in the diaspora is available on line. Interested persons can apply on line through Africell and AYV websites; do their videos and send them to the judges on line. Interviews will be conducted on line.
And for the benefit for those in the diaspora who may want to participate in the show they may contact the following www.africell.sl or www.ayvnews.com.
The closing date for receipt of all applications is the 21ST August 2020, and audition will take place in the first week of September. On 21st September 2020, auditions will close and 40 finalists will be chosen who will then battle for the final 20. The final 20 will go into the House on the 14th October 2020.
For voting through Africell network, the lines or numbers will be announced or disclosed in due course.
Meanwhile Sierra Leoneans are eagerly awaiting the commencement of Housemates Salone-Season 2, describing the show as the long awaited platform to promote Youth Empowerment and transform the youths into productive individuals.
