A 22-year old Kenyan girl, Hellen Ajulu was on Saturday night crowned the Miss AtekerTeso Chapter in a colourful gala event held at Amagoro in Teso North Sub County.
Ajulu, who is also the Miss Ateker Teso South, beat seven other contestants drawn from Teso Kenya and Uganda to be crowned the new queen-taking over from Alamo Winny Oprah from Uganda, who won the title last year.
Another Kenyan, Nelly Asere Opollo from Teso North was crowned the First Runners Up while a physics and mathematics teacher from Uganda- Dalfin Agwang took the second runners up position.
Speaking after the crowning ceremony, Ajulu, a receptionist at AIG Kenya in Westlands Nairobi said she will take her modeling career to the next level by championing the interests of the girl-child in the Ateker communities, besides encouraging them to guard against unwanted pregnancies.
On his part, Opollo, a third year student at University of Nairobi pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Public Administration, Tourism and Performing Arts said she will conduct motivational talks in schools within the Ateker communities to empower the youths.
Meanwhile, Miss Ateker is a beauty pageant that stands for peace and culture. It is a unifying factor of the six Ateker communities which include the Teso (both in Kenya and Uganda), the Turkana (Kenya), the Karamojong’ (Uganda), the Jie (Uganda), the Toposa (South Sudan) and the Nyangatom (Ethiopia).
The beauty pageant was graced by The Iteso cultural union, Prime Minister, Paula Sande Emolot and Busia Governor’s wife, Judy Ojaamong among other guests.
Mrs. Ojaamong appealed to participants to be good ambassadors of the Ateker nation and to respect their culture if they desire to be accepted and adored in the society.
By Melechezedeck Ejakait
