‘Winning Three Crowns mum of the year was an amazing experience’

With the aim of enriching every family through their mums, Three Crowns milk instituted Mum of The Year contest, a platform that celebrates mothers in particular and the family in general. Last year, Mrs. Olamide Olaleye won Mum of The Year out of 30 contenders, through her daughter, who emerged winner in a competition to prove that her mother deserves the honour. Ahead of the 2016 edition of the project, where Mrs. Olaleye will eventually hand over to a new winner, the mother of two spoke to CHUKS NWANNE on her reign as Mum of The Year and her experience during an all paid expense trip to Dubai with her daughter.

How did you get involved in the competition?
I never knew about the competition until my daughter told me. She did the competition in my name and only came to announce the good news after the final result was out.

How did you feel when you were announced winner of the 2015 Three Crowns Mum Of The Year?
It’s very difficult to actually express exactly the way I felt, but I will say it was a mixture of surprise, excitement and gratitude. It felt like a dream to me because I never expected to be the winner. So, when my daughter announced the good news, I was speechless; had to catch my breath for some minute before I hugged her and also thanked her for her effort.

Did you at any point feel that you couldn’t meet up or win the competition?
Well, there is nothing 100% certain in this world, but I would say that God made it possible for me to win, because if God does not have a hand in anything, you can’t succeed. Out of 30 mothers, I was selected to wear the crown as the Three Crowns 2015 Mum of the Year. That’s surely an act of God. Winning Three Crowns Mum of The Year was an amazing experience.

How has the competition affected your life?
When Three Crowns team came to my house to crown me and also present us with the Dubai trip ticket, my neighbours were all around, peeping to see what was happening. When they left the premises, my neighbours came and asked me “Mummy, what is happening?” It was then that I told them the good news and they congratulated. As the Three Crowns Mum of the Year, I’m entitled to a constant supply of Three Crowns Milk every month. What I do is that I take part of the milk to the Children’s department in my Church, and I tell them to tell their mothers to always give them Three Crowns Milk. Apart from the initial prizes presented to me, I was given a deep freezer as a Christmas gift last December, all the attire which I wore for the ‘Cook Like Mine Competition’ show was given to me by Three Crown, along with so many other gift packages on numerous occasions. I benefitted a lot from them.

The idea of taking milk to the Church, was it part of what you are supposed to do?
I decided to do it because that’s the right thing to do. Love is all about sharing which is why I specifically chose to reach out to our little children.

Part of your price was a trip to Dubai with your daughter, how was the experience?
The experience was nice; that was my first time to travel out of the country. Before now, I had never been to the airport; the Dubai trip was my first time to go anywhere outside of Nigeria. When I got to the Airport, people were still congratulating me. Even when I got to Dubai, they also congratulated me. My Daughter and I went sightseeing around the city.

You were part of the Judges at the cooking competition; can you share your experience with us?
As a judge in the Cook like Mine competition, my mind was set to judge different kinds of pastries from the contestants, but I was surprised and impressed by the creative meals that were prepared. Before now, I used to think that Three Crowns Milk was used for baking or making snacks only; I never knew that we could use it to cook other traditional meals like rice, porridge etc. I experienced other methods of cooking at the competition and since then, I have put what I have learnt into practice to the delight of my family.

What would you say was the most exciting moment for you?
My most exciting moment was getting into a plane for the first time; I had never been to the airport before, not to mention travel outside of Nigeria. My first overseas trip was because of Three Crowns Milk. When I entered the plane, I felt like I was in another world. A lot of people were sleeping including my daughter, who travelled with me. But I could not sleep at all, I was scared that something would happen to us while we were flying so I started to pray and didn’t stop until we got to Dubai.

As your reign comes to an end, what’s your advice to all mothers?
My advice to them is that they should always remember to take care of themselves and their families. That’s one of the most important responsibility as a mother, to ensure the family stays fit and healthy. In order to achieve that result, they have to provide their families with the right food at all times. That’s why Three Crowns Milk is good for families because it is healthy and low in cholesterol.

Has it changed the way you relate with people?
No, I can’t change because I won the competition. What happened is not by my power; its God’s doing, which I am also grateful for.