Meet Miss Israel– Breakfast with Titi! (and a giveaway)

Meet Yityish “Titi” Aynaw, the first Ethiopian-born Jew to win the Miss Israel competition (2013).  After losing both of her parents at a young age, she and her brother moved to Israel from Ethiopia at 12. In Israel, she was raised by her grandmother, and upon finishing high school, served in the Israeli army where she was made an officer. In the same year that she was crowned the first Black, Miss Israel, she also started college! #BossTho

I had the honor of sitting down with her for breakfast on Friday.  She shared a little bit about everything and I thought I’d share it with you.

Read On>>>
On her skin regimen…
She usually keeps it simple with water and mud masks from the Dead Sea but two weeks ago she had her first microdermabrasion. They told her it would take 2-3 days to heal but when she was hitting on day 5 with no signs of improvement, she freaked!  Luckily, she was back to her beautiful self by the end of the week. She has naturally gorgeous and clear skin so she doesn’t plan to attempt anything new in the near future!

On meeting Obama…
Titi has long considered President Obama a role model, and did a project about him while she was in school. She said, ‘he means a lot for me and Black people everywhere—all people, actually. He came from the bottom with a dream to make an impact, and he did. If you can dream it, you can get it.  That’s the lesson he teaches us. Yes you can!’ So imagine her surprise after only weeks into her Miss Israel reign, when she received a call from the White House. She thought it was a prank so she told the staffer to call her manager. Lo and behold, a couple of days later, her manager called her screaming and shared that President Obama wanted to meet her.   She said he was very tall, and handsome and remarked- “You are very beautiful. Michelle would be very happy to be your height.” #SheIsTho  That’s when he asked to see her shoes to make a better estimation!

On Israeli conflicts (internally and externally)…
‘Israeli’s are open for new beauty ideals- black beauty. Ethiopian girls are starting to feel more confident to pursue modeling and acting. I get lots of questions from Ethiopian girls about my career—I provide them with hope and motivation. I am the first Black Miss Israel, I was the first one to be put on a huge billboard on the major highway and it has inspired these girls. I leave politics to the Prime Minister and I represent Israeli beauty, culture and education.’

On Project Titi…
“The mission of “Titi’s Project” is to keep the children off the street who live in the Azorim neighborhood in Netanya and to enable them to participate in educational after-school enrichment activities. The program includes five enrichment activities for fifty children in the Neot Shaked Community Center in Netanya. Every child can choose two, two hour long activities in things ranging from art, dance, English, jewelry design, music, and more. The cost per student is only 100 nis per year, which covers the cost of the snacks they provide”.  As always,  prayers and funds are welcome!  Give, HERE.