The Sunday News
Rumbidzai Mbewe
SHE might not possess that striking and sultry ethereal untouchable goddess quality about her but she is beautiful, confident and determined.
Her dream as a little girl was to be a role model to other girls through the way she dresses and interacts with other people. She does not only dream but has the resolve to ensure that her dreams are realised as she continues to touch the lives of many young African people through her works of charity.
Bianca Simari the current Miss Africa Ireland is a big dreamer and says if your dreams do not scare you then they are not big enough. At the age of 20, the model is dreaming big and is not only an African beauty queen in a foreign country but an African ambassador as well.
“I am very proud to be representing Africa in Ireland. As an African ambassador, there is a lot I have to share and tell about the African community that I am very proud to be part of,” she said.
As the African ambassador, Simari is organising an event for Africa Day on 25 May. She said the event will see many Africans in Ireland coming together to celebrate Africa’s social, economic and political achievements and unity in peace and as one people.
“As the reigning queen, I have organised many events including a fashion show to assist a charity organisation called St Vincent de Paul. Currently I am working on summer events like the upcoming Africa Day where we will celebrate the unity of us as Africans here in Ireland,” she said.
The model said modelling is something that she did during her spare time. Dressing up and watching herself in the mirror was the order of the day until her sister’s friend from Nigeria encouraged her to take part in the Miss Africa Ireland pageant.
“Fashion is my passion and modelling was something I did as a hobby but look at how far I have gone with it. My sister’s friend told me of the past queens from Zimbabwe and I saw how great it was. She told me I had a great chance and so I entered the competition with that mindset.
“The competition was stiff and I never thought I would win as there were a lot of contestants. I just told myself that my chances were quite slim but that did not scare me. So I participated. And lady luck smiled at me and I was crowned the queen. I was very happy and it was more like an added bonus for me because I did not think I would get this far,” she said.
Speaking on the recently held Miss World Zimbabwe, Simari described the reigning queen as a calm and well-mannered person. She said she was not surprised when she found out that Emily Kachote was the reigning Miss World Zimbabwe.
“I went to the same school with Emily when I was still in Zimbabwe and she was one of those people who I knew was well brought up. I know that the people you least expect to do something like this usually win, like myself. I am not known in the modelling circles but I just did a one-off and I happened to win so it’s no surprise to me that she won,” said Simari.
She said people should realise that Emily was chosen because of certain qualities that she had which the judges were looking for. She said Zimbabweans should embrace their values and run away from the impression of thinking light skin is beauty.
“The judges saw something extra ordinary in her. I am not saying being light is not beautiful but there are many shades of black and we are the only race on earth to have so many skin tones all classified as black. We should continue to support each other and my emphasis is on unity because if we do not support our own then outsiders won’t do it for us,” she said.
Simari urged aspiring models not to give up as there is nothing too big to accomplished. She encouraged models to follow their dreams and always have something to look forward to.
“Humility and a strong will go a long way in fulfilling dreams. And when aspiring to become a model, you just have to be strong enough and never take your eyes off your target because you will get criticised and if you are frail you will easily yield to the criticism and that will just spell your end. This is not new and yes, criticism is good in a way because it brings out the lion in you to to prove to those who are pulling you down that you can do it above their expectations,” she said.
