<\/p>\n
The winner\u2008of 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.<\/p>\n
Abena Akuaba believes the nation makes very little or no effort to encourage people who travel across borders to compete.<\/p>\n
Speaking to\u00a0Graphic , 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cLack 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don’t have the support in terms of votes, adequate preparation, sponsorship, outfits, etc. All these come to play in one\u2019s performance on the global stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt 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.<\/p>\n
Ms Akuaba disclosed that such a situation largely affected her performance at the Miss Universe pageant where she represented Ghana in 2014.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI strongly believe it will be a rewarding moment for Ghana if her nationals won international contests.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She was adjudged Miss Grand International in 2020, making her the first Black woman to win the title.<\/p>\n
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