If you looked up the word fabulous, right under the definition, the picture of Flaviana Matata would be there. When she walks into a room, her strides are effortless. She is the human form Aphrodite with sun-kissed skin, light on her feet, and emission of light that transcends beyond the human eye. Yes!! She is a model. She has been recorded as the highest-paid model by Forbes Africa. Flaviana has strutted on so many runways across the globe including Milan, Paris, and New York Fashion Week.
She is also known for working and aligning herself with infamous designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Jason Wu, Tory Burch, and Rachel Roy to name a few. Flaviana has been around the world and has done so many amazing things in her career. Her accolades are astonishing. However, that is not the only reason that she is being called a fabulous fuzionista. I had the pleasure with speaking with her at the Hot in the Summer Hamptons Charity Event and that’s when it struck me…her inner beauty.
Flaviana exudes intoxicating energy that no one can deny. Her best quality is her philanthropy. She has this need to aid others. She expressed, “I owe my community to help them.” She founded the Flaviana Matata Foundation (FMF) that has helped over 4500 students in Tanzania, East Africa. After getting this amazing platform from her career she knew that she had to support the girls from her country. “I thought of the girls back home that want to go to school but they can’t afford it.”
Flaviana’s foundation has provided full scholarships for girls so they can continue their education, provide school supplies, and refurbished the school’s infrastructure. “We started off giving scholarships to these young girls, but when we started visiting them, we realized that there were no structured schools,” said Flaviana. “The kids are learning from under the tree and there’s no clean water or toilet; So we started providing these things to them” She also realized that most of the girls were missing school at an alarming rate.“A lot of girls were missing at least 4 or 5 days of school because they were on their period and they could not afford sanitary napkins. So we started providing these things to the girls” Flaviana’s foundation mission is to ensure that Tanazian girls and young women are provided with the right resources to complete their education and find employment.
The need to help is not a strange concept to her. “To be honest this is not new, I saw my Dad doing this. He made sure that my siblings and I were good and he bought supplies for my extended family and the kids around me that needed help.”
Flaviana is not done yet, the next step for FMF is to secure the young women that she helps to acquire higher education. Her story is a success story for the ages. Out of her many outstanding qualities, her kindness and generosity is what shines the brightest. Raised in a family where giving back is an instinct, not an option, this fuzionista was destined for greatness.
