Miss-Delectable
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Deaf beauty queen to fight for the disabled - News |nation.co.ke
When she strode on the stage alongside other beauty contestants, her radiant smile and confident pose was an assurance that Vivian Awuor was headed to modelling stardom.
Vivian acknowledged the applause from the crowd, even as she could not hear what her fans were saying. Vivian can neither talk nor hear.
But one thing is for sure: she has the beauty and the will to be a model. At least that was the verdict of the judges after the beauty contest at the School of Monetary Studies auditorium last Sunday.
The 22-year-old who lost her hearing in childhood is the Miss Deaf Kenya 2011. She will use the position to champion the rights of all disabled persons in society.
“People are yet to get information about the deaf, so with my position, I will ensure the public is informed of what we want,” said Vivian, who relies on sign language to communicate.
While some deaf people, especially those who can utter some words are able to read the lips of the communicator, this is not the case with Vivian who lost the ability to hear following a malaria attack when she was two years old.
Vivian was born and raised in Ahero, Kisumu, and did not go beyond primary school because of what she terms lack of a conducive environment.
According to her, disabled persons are yet to get full support to compete alongside normal persons.
“All this is as a result of ignorance. People need to be educated on the challenges we go through,” Vivian told the Nation through volunteer sign interpreter Douglas Okeyo, a University of Nairobi sign language student.
Beauty pageant
The rare beauty pageant brought together dozens of people with hearing impairment, which saw 10 men and 12 women from different towns in the country battle it out for Mr and Miss Deaf Kenya titles.
Ancent Kioli, a 25-year-old student at Karen Technical Training Institute in Nairobi, won the men’s title and says he wants to model to international level.
“I admired the models on television, although I was not keen about modelling because of my condition,” says Ancent, who was born normal, only to lose hearing at the age of four.
He says he had hearing problems even in primary school, but didn’t know he would later on become deaf.
“I went to a primary school with normal children and because I could only hear partially, the teachers had a difficult time with me. At times, they spoke and I didn’t respond.
“They would beat me up thinking I was rude,” says the model, who later on joined Machakos School for the Deaf when his condition worsened and he lost his hearing completely.
Despite this, he counts himself lucky because he can utter some words beside reading other people’s lips and so communicate with them.
“There are people with our problems and their relatives have failed to understand how to help. We will be their ambassadors,” Ancent says.
According to Timothy Liani of Deaf Agenda — an NGO that cares for the deaf — there’s need for a forum to bring together the deaf.
“The two will be the role models of the deaf society and other Kenyans at large, as they champion their rights,” said Timothy about the contestants who were picked in an event sponsored by Ashleys, Haco and School of Monetary Studies.
According to Miss Kenya organiser at Ashleys Sammy Kinyua, this was a unique event that will ensure the disabled are recognised.
When she strode on the stage alongside other beauty contestants, her radiant smile and confident pose was an assurance that Vivian Awuor was headed to modelling stardom.
Vivian acknowledged the applause from the crowd, even as she could not hear what her fans were saying. Vivian can neither talk nor hear.
But one thing is for sure: she has the beauty and the will to be a model. At least that was the verdict of the judges after the beauty contest at the School of Monetary Studies auditorium last Sunday.
The 22-year-old who lost her hearing in childhood is the Miss Deaf Kenya 2011. She will use the position to champion the rights of all disabled persons in society.
“People are yet to get information about the deaf, so with my position, I will ensure the public is informed of what we want,” said Vivian, who relies on sign language to communicate.
While some deaf people, especially those who can utter some words are able to read the lips of the communicator, this is not the case with Vivian who lost the ability to hear following a malaria attack when she was two years old.
Vivian was born and raised in Ahero, Kisumu, and did not go beyond primary school because of what she terms lack of a conducive environment.
According to her, disabled persons are yet to get full support to compete alongside normal persons.
“All this is as a result of ignorance. People need to be educated on the challenges we go through,” Vivian told the Nation through volunteer sign interpreter Douglas Okeyo, a University of Nairobi sign language student.
Beauty pageant
The rare beauty pageant brought together dozens of people with hearing impairment, which saw 10 men and 12 women from different towns in the country battle it out for Mr and Miss Deaf Kenya titles.
Ancent Kioli, a 25-year-old student at Karen Technical Training Institute in Nairobi, won the men’s title and says he wants to model to international level.
“I admired the models on television, although I was not keen about modelling because of my condition,” says Ancent, who was born normal, only to lose hearing at the age of four.
He says he had hearing problems even in primary school, but didn’t know he would later on become deaf.
“I went to a primary school with normal children and because I could only hear partially, the teachers had a difficult time with me. At times, they spoke and I didn’t respond.
“They would beat me up thinking I was rude,” says the model, who later on joined Machakos School for the Deaf when his condition worsened and he lost his hearing completely.
Despite this, he counts himself lucky because he can utter some words beside reading other people’s lips and so communicate with them.
“There are people with our problems and their relatives have failed to understand how to help. We will be their ambassadors,” Ancent says.
According to Timothy Liani of Deaf Agenda — an NGO that cares for the deaf — there’s need for a forum to bring together the deaf.
“The two will be the role models of the deaf society and other Kenyans at large, as they champion their rights,” said Timothy about the contestants who were picked in an event sponsored by Ashleys, Haco and School of Monetary Studies.
According to Miss Kenya organiser at Ashleys Sammy Kinyua, this was a unique event that will ensure the disabled are recognised.