Support contestants on global stage — Abena Akuaba

THE winner of Miss Grand International 2020, Evelyn Abena Akuaba Appiah, has bemoaned the lack of support for Ghanaians who represent the country at international beauty pageants, a situation which goes a long way to negatively impact their performance on the global stage.

Abena Akuaba believes the nation makes very little or no effort to encourage people who travel across borders to compete.

Speaking to Graphic Showbiz, the Ghanaian-American who has participated in a good number of pageants said the occurrence was not limited to just beauty pageants but other fields such as sports, fashion, among others.

“Lack of support for those who participate in various international competitions on the ticket of Ghana has become a growing source of concern but it seems it is worse when it comes to pageants.

“While other countries boost the morale of their nationals and support them financially, Ghana did very little or even nothing. As a result, contestants are unable to advance in their quest for the competition's grand prize.

“We don't have the support in terms of votes, adequate preparation, sponsorship, outfits, etc. All these come to play in one’s performance on the global stage.

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“At international pageants, you will see for example contestants from countries such as Venezuela in designer clothes while we from Ghana sport just anything. How can you compete with such a person? It is a problem because you don't measure up to the standard.

Ms Akuaba disclosed that such a situation largely affected her performance at the Miss Universe pageant where she represented Ghana in 2014.

According to Abena Akuaba, support for participants on the international front would go a long way to boost their confidence and motivate them to fight even harder for the ultimate prize.

“I strongly believe it will be a rewarding moment for Ghana if her nationals won international contests.”

Abena Akuaba who is also a singer and a model has retired from participating in pageants. She is at the moment helping shape beauty pageants by creating a forum for young women who are interested in gaining confidence in order to compete at the international level.

"It takes people like me to know what to do to help aspiring contestants succeed, and so I am doing all I can to make sure our girls build themselves up to a point where no amount of intimidation can stop them," she said.

Ms Evelyn Abena Akuaba Appiah won Top Model Ghana(2013), Miss Universe Ghana (2014), Miss Earth Ghana(2019), among others, and participated in the respective international versions too.

She was adjudged Miss Grand International in 2020, making her the first Black woman to win the title.