Nigerian princess named for multicultural awards

By Lee Tae-hoon

Vanessa Ossy, an eight-year-old Nigerian princess born in Korea, has been nominated as an outstanding elementary student for the 1st Korea Multicultural Youth Awards to be held in the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Dec. 13.

Her family nearly lost their lives when their house in Itaewon, Seoul caught fire on Dec. 29 last year, burning nearly everything except for some remains of their royal legacy, such as crowns, thrones and pictures of the coronation ceremony.

Ossy fought for her life in an intensive care unit for a month and stayed in the hospital for another two months along with her mother, Beauty, to undergo reconstructive plastic surgery.

Her terrifying ordeals and burn scars — much of them will remain the rest of her life — could not take away her smiles and passion to serve others.

“Vanessa is a promising student always full of positive energy. She takes the initiative and sets an example for other students,” Lee Sun-kyu, principal of Bogwang Elementary School, said in his nomination letter.

“She is a precious person who will make great contributions to society.”

Ossy topped her school’s math and story-telling contests in 2011 and won an English speaking contest in July this year.

Her father Eze Mescon Chike Ossy was crowned in 2005 as the king of the Nigerian expat community in Korea for his distinguished efforts to help an ethnic minority group preserve their African culture.

Ossy’s father works for Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical as a sales representative in Africa, while her mother runs a Nigerian restaurant in Itaewon and her five year-old brother attends a Christian kindergarten.