Miss Tororo: The still voice of silence
IT is a cold, unfriendly night and an ecstatic crowd has its eyes glued to the auditorium. Seven beauty contestants suddenly emerge from backstage prompting thunderous applause from the audience. But one contestant stands out distinct from the rest.
IT is a cold, unfriendly night and an ecstatic crowd has its eyes glued to the auditorium. Seven beauty contestants suddenly emerge from backstage prompting thunderous applause from the audience. But one contestant stands out distinct from the rest.
She walks in tune to the music without loosing a beat.
The contestant is Aidat Nabukalu, 18, and she can neither hear or speak. This is the girl who won this year’s Miss Tororo beauty contest, becoming the first contestant with a hearing and speech impairment to rise to win a beauty contest.
Despite her disabilities, the organisers of the recent Miss Tororo beauty contests saw no reason why this should stand in the way of the six foot-tall lass.
“She had all the qualities that we are interested in and is intelligent,†said Sarah Owar, the pageant’s coordinator.
With the help of an interpreter and occasionally communicating through hand written chits, Nabukalu answered every question put to her by the judges of the contest with precision.
Having been identified by Rebecca Akiriat, the outgoing Miss Tororo it took Nabukalu immense concentration not to permit her hearing and speech impairment to become a hindrance to her dream.
“She is a cute and charming girl. She can also read and write a factor that made communication with her much easier,†said Akiriat.
When asked why she would want to participate in an event that required participants to have all senses functioning, Nabukalu simply turned her back showing the words “Disability is not inability,†inscribed on the back of her T-shirt.
By overcoming all odds before a mammoth crowd, Nabukalu’s performance has motivated other people living with a disability.
“People should stop looking down on us. We are human beings and should be treated equally,†Nabukalu wrote.
Denis Dokoria, the manager of Rock Mambo FM in Tororo, the main sponsors of the event, said Nabukalu’s success had brought glory to the events.
People should stop looking at beauty contests as a way of becoming rich but a way that vulnerable groups can be emancipated,†said Dokoria.
He said Nabukalu had been keen during the training sessions and had put in a lot of effort.
The first born of a family of six, Nabukalu begun her education at the Ngora School for the Deaf in Kumi.
“After primary school, I joined a vocational school for the deaf in Namirembe,†said Nabukalu using sign language. Unfortunately, she is still unemployed.
Nabukalu would like to use her position as the reining Miss Tororo to champion the cause of people with disabilities.
The excited Miss Tororo says she would not mind taking on those who are eyeing the Miss Uganda beauty pageant next year, which she is currently practising for.
She walks in tune to the music without loosing a beat.
The contestant is Aidat Nabukalu, 18, and she can neither hear or speak. This is the girl who won this year’s Miss Tororo beauty contest, becoming the first contestant with a hearing and speech impairment to rise to win a beauty contest.
Despite her disabilities, the organisers of the recent Miss Tororo beauty contests saw no reason why this should stand in the way of the six foot-tall lass.
“She had all the qualities that we are interested in and is intelligent,†said Sarah Owar, the pageant’s coordinator.
With the help of an interpreter and occasionally communicating through hand written chits, Nabukalu answered every question put to her by the judges of the contest with precision.
Having been identified by Rebecca Akiriat, the outgoing Miss Tororo it took Nabukalu immense concentration not to permit her hearing and speech impairment to become a hindrance to her dream.
“She is a cute and charming girl. She can also read and write a factor that made communication with her much easier,†said Akiriat.
When asked why she would want to participate in an event that required participants to have all senses functioning, Nabukalu simply turned her back showing the words “Disability is not inability,†inscribed on the back of her T-shirt.
By overcoming all odds before a mammoth crowd, Nabukalu’s performance has motivated other people living with a disability.
“People should stop looking down on us. We are human beings and should be treated equally,†Nabukalu wrote.
Denis Dokoria, the manager of Rock Mambo FM in Tororo, the main sponsors of the event, said Nabukalu’s success had brought glory to the events.
People should stop looking at beauty contests as a way of becoming rich but a way that vulnerable groups can be emancipated,†said Dokoria.
He said Nabukalu had been keen during the training sessions and had put in a lot of effort.
The first born of a family of six, Nabukalu begun her education at the Ngora School for the Deaf in Kumi.
“After primary school, I joined a vocational school for the deaf in Namirembe,†said Nabukalu using sign language. Unfortunately, she is still unemployed.
Nabukalu would like to use her position as the reining Miss Tororo to champion the cause of people with disabilities.
The excited Miss Tororo says she would not mind taking on those who are eyeing the Miss Uganda beauty pageant next year, which she is currently practising for.