Mia Collis

Miss Confidence

  • “I live with my cousin in a single room in Makadara in a suburb of Nairobi. I am dreaming of having a better place of my own. When I see this picture, I think even though I’ve come so far, I still have a long way to go”
  • Miss Confidence
  • Ruth stands in her newly won sash and tiara in a beauty salon below her one bedroom apartment in a suburb of Nairobi. Ruth is three feet tall. She entered an able-bodied beauty pageant ‘Miss Fabulous Kenya’ competing against hundreds of women. After three intense rounds she walked away with one of the top three prizes ‘Miss Confidence’. Through the next lot of photographs Ruth tells us her story.
  • “I’ve always had a passion for modeling but because of my height, I was never allowed to enter any competitions like “Miss Kenya’. I dreamed of being a model and when I found there were no restrictions to “Miss Fabulous Kenya’ I decided to take the chance.”
  • “Behind the catwalk it was competitive and aggressive. Everybody wanted to be the winner and they were all comparing themselves to each other.
  • “you know, when your challenged and you compare yourself with others you start to pity yourself”
  • “people did everything to make themselves look beautiful and feel beautiful, including spraying their legs to make them smooth.When I see long legs, I don’t wish I was any taller, I am happy with my height”
  • “Most women had huge heels. I can’t find high heels for myself, so I have to buy children’s shoes with biggest heel they can give me”.
  • “ I believe in myself. You believe in yourself, you accept your self, then nothing is difficult.”“I am the only one who is short in my family and growing up my parents were really supportive. I think it comes right away from a young age that I’m beautiful and shouldn’t compare myself to others.”
  • {quote}People were sello-taping their shoes and bra straps. I remember a lady wearing a condom and bin liner dress to stand out”
  • “I didn’t know anybody in the competition, and they were all in groups”
  • ‘There were four categories and each category had it’s own costumes. For the ‘professional’ round it’s what people aspired to be.”
  • {quote}I felt courageous just before I went on stage. Your mind should be set and if you are confused before you reach the runway you’ll mess up{quote}.
  • “The good thing about the runway was that it didn’t have big steps, so I could access them.”
  • “When they called out my name, I cried little”
  • “The press overwhelmed me. Citizen came for my story, then The Nation, The Star, The People and finally Safari Africa. People wanted to know, given my height why I would enter a beauty contest?”
  • “I’m looking towards to becoming a news anchor. I’ve never seen a short person as a news anchor. Maybe it will be a change from what people are used to seeing”
  • “After the table tennis regional championships, we were given a small token of appreciation. When the president saw me, he had to come down the steps from his usual place to greet me. I took the medal for the whole team.”
  • Sunday Best at Weekend Studio
  • Worth More Alive
  • Hidden Addiction
  • Notes from a heroin den
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