I have scouted for models from the streets of Nairobi to the most remote parts of the country. People find it flattering when I stop to tell them they should model so it is rarely embarrassing.
Ford Models approached me to take on their Supermodel of the World Kenya license in 2002. It was the first time they offered this license in the region. The prestigious scouting event offers one Kenyan girl a lifetime opportunity for high-end fashion and gives many others the launching pad into the industry. The winner also acts as an ambassador of the country abroad.
Running Ford locally means new talent and models get exposure locally and internationally. Nancy Ajuma Nasenyana was from remote Turkana and she was an instant success story.
The Ford competition in New York launched her career in 2003. One of my friends, Carol Wahome of Moo Cow, alerted me of Ajuma’s potential. She was 19 years old and had just won the 400 and 800 metres track events at the Kenya Junior Championships and was the crowd favourite, not only in athletics, but for the Miss Tourism competition in 2002. She won the ‘Miss Nairobi’ title.
First black model
When I saw her picture at the Ministry of Tourism, I immediately called the organisers of Miss Tourism and they gave me her contacts in Lodwar. I called her and we spoke for the first time. Ajuma was on the threshold of pursuing an athletics career but I persuaded her to meet some journalists who were coming to Kenya to do a story on my search for a supermodel. They met at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, as Ajuma was about to board a plane to Sweden.
The journalists persuaded her to unload her bags and accompany them to Turkana with me for a photo shoot for Gala, a French magazine. The photographs taken were to provide the basis for Ajuma’s fabulous portfolio. Surazuri then sponsored Ajuma for the Ford Models Supermodel of the World Search in 2003 as Kenya’s representative. We flew to New York together courtesy of Virgin Atlantic, whose owner, Richard Branson, agreed to give us the tickets at the last minute with no publicity expected in return.
Ajuma became the first black model to win a $50,000 (Sh4million) contract in an international competition that was not aimed at solely promoting black models. She has since shared runways with other supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Gisele Bundchen and Alek Wek, and is a favourite during the international fashion weeks. She is also signed with top agencies in New York, Paris, Milan, London and South Africa.
Ford Models was sold this year to industry legend Paul Rowland and, whilst they restructure, they will not be holding the annual Ford Models Supermodel of the World competition this year. However, on a positive and exciting note, they have recently been in touch to discuss scouting in the region and reviving the Supermodel Search next year. They are sending a representative here at the end of August to meet with me.
A word of caution to aspiring models: It is very difficult for an international agency to invest in a potential model from Africa as it’s almost impossible to get work visas for Africans. It is also hard to know how a young girl will adjust to a new life in a cut-throat environment away from her family. Modelling is very competitive around the world and African models face many hurdles as many fashion designers and companies still feel their primary market is white. I don’t want to sound negative, but it is the reality of the industry. Still, it’s not impossible, as Ajuma’s story demonstrates.
