Winfred Omwakwe

Winfred Omwakwe
Beauty pageant titleholder
Born Winfred Adah Omwakwe
1 January 1981
Nairobi, Kenya
Other names Winnie
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Major
competition(s)		 Miss Earth 2002
Miss Tourism Kenya 2002

Winfred Adah Omwakwe is the first black representative and first from the African region to hold the Miss Earth title. She is also the first woman from Kenya to hold a major international beauty pageant title when she formally succeeded Džejla Glavović of Bosnia & Herzegovina as Miss Earth 2002.[1][2] Glavović was stripped of her title for failing to fulfill her duties.[3][4]

Early life

Omwakwe's parents died when she was young—her father when she was 10 followed by her mother when she was 12. She is the youngest in a sibling of three. Her brother, the eldest, is a lawyer, who is in cargo handling. Her sister is also a lawyer.[3] It was her older brother and older sister who acted as her surrogate parents.[5]

Omwakwe belongs to the Luhya tribe which is one of the biggest among Kenya's 42 tribes.[5]

"Winnie", as she is more popularly called, graduated from the Institute of Health Care Management in Kenya, where she received a physiotherapy certificate. She comes from Nairobi and stands 5 ft 9 in (175 cm).[5]

She was also a finalist in Miss Universe Kenya 2001, but was unable to capture the title. She later came in second in the Miss Tourism Kenya pageant and flew to Manila to represent her country at the Miss Earth pageant.[5]

Miss Earth 2002

Omwakwe, 21, became her country's representative to the Miss Earth contest, after she finished as one of the winners in the 2002 Miss Tourism World Kenya pageant.[5] She participated in the second edition of Miss Earth beauty pageant, which was held in Quezon City, Philippines on 29 October 2002.[6][7] Džejla Glavović of Bosnia-Herzegovina won the Miss Earth 2002 title and Omwakwe as the first runner-up.[8][9]

Miss Earth is the first international beauty contest Omwakwe ever participated. After the pageant, she went to Canada for a vacation and to look for a school where she can take up a nursing degree.[5]

On 28 May 2003, Carousel Productions, the organisation that produces Miss Earth beauty pageant, officially dethroned Glavović "due to her failure to comply with the stipulations in her contract." First runner-up Omwakwe took over the position of Miss Earth 2002.[5][10][11] She was formally crowned as the new Miss Earth 2002 on 7 August 2003 at the Carousel Gardens in Mandaluyong City, Philippines.[3][4]

In a press conference, she was asked on her reaction to being the new Miss Earth and she replied: "I was stunned and couldn’t believe it. But then I saw the congratulatory messages in my e-mail and I received calls from all over. That’s when I was convinced it wasn’t a hoax."[5]

References

  1. ↑ Palmero, Paul (18 June 2005). "Pageant History". Pageant Almanac. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  2. ↑ West, Donald (18 December 2007). "Miss Earth History". Pageantopolis. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Yazon, Giovanni Paolo J. (14 August 2003). "Miss Kenya is now Miss Earth". Manila Standard Today. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lo, Ricardo F. (10 December 2008). "A Gallery of Black Beauty Queens". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Lo, Ricardo F.; Vanzi, Sol Jose (11 August 2003). "Kenyan is Miss Earth". Philippine Headline News Online/Philippine Star. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  6. ↑ Diaz, Illac (7 October 2002). "Around Miss Earth in 56 ways". Manila St andard Today. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  7. ↑ Couceiro, Dolores (30 October 2002). "Miss Tierra 2002". Concursos de Belleza. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  8. ↑ Diaz, Illac (22 October 2002). "Beauties walk out on Miss Earth". Manila Standard Today. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  9. ↑ Nguyen, Ha (27 October 2003). "South-eastern beauty enters Miss Earth Contest". VietNamNet Bridge. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  10. ↑ Cowing, Emma (13 May 2008). "Green Goddesses". The Scotsman, Scotland. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  11. ↑ Mutunga, Kamau (7 September 2010). "When beauty means more than the shape of the face". Daily Nation. Retrieved 19 July 2011.

External links