Meet a PNB Ambassador: Okawa Shaznay, Actress

Okawa Shaznay

I am Okawa Shaznay. I was born and raised in Bamenda and I am a native of Oshie in Momo division.

I currently reside in Houston, Texas. I am an actress affiliated with Nollywood USA and recently I have branched out into doing movies in different parts of Africa. So far I have done a little over 10 movies or so. Just to name a few: “The Bet”, “Husband’s desire”, “This is Houston” , ” High Endz”, ”Blind Pursuit” (which was  premiered in Houston, Texas, this past February 2013). Just recently, I was blessed to have the opportunity to work with one of Africa’s best directors, Frank Rajah, in Ghana for a movie titled “Refugees” which is in production. That is my biggest film project to date and I am quite excited and very much grateful to God Almighty for it.

What I like most about the North West region is the fact that not only are the people hospitable but they equally are always striving to excel with little or no governmental help, I take for example the rise of many private elementary, secondary and vocational schools over the years has made our region one of the most sought after places for education in the country. Many Cameroonians from different regions of the country usually send their children to school in the North West and with education being a powerful tool for any society, I see this as a major plus for the North West Region.

As Someone who is involved in the entertainment industry in the area of film, I am determined and working hard to excel to higher heights in my acting career which will eventually bring the lime light to the North West Region and eventually to my country Cameroon. But most especially by the grace of God, I hope to be able to produce my own movies in our region which will in turn help bring out promising talents in the North West.

More so, I have been researching and looking at getting into real estate and property management at some point, which is another area through which I can help contribute to the economic development of the North West in the future; even though this vision is still in its baby phase, I know it will materialize successfully with determination and lots of hard work. I believe our region has unexploited areas that have a promising future business-wise.

I think Project New Bamenda is a great idea to help in the enhancement of our region especially in the economical and arts/cultural sense. It’s always great to see great minds at work gearing not only to better themselves but their society as a whole.

As earlier stated, one of my biggest dream is to contribute in bringing out our film industry to make its own mark in Africa as our other sister nations are doing.

One Last One:

My favorite dish from Bamenda is Katikati (don’t laugh) and favorite place to visit or hang out is Savannah Botanical gardens and  the Saddle Hill Ranch Resort.