By Victor Omondi
Pamela Uba soared into history books on Sunday as the Emerald Isle’s first-ever Black female winner since its launch more than 70 years ago.
According to the Irish Times, Uba arrived in Ireland 19 years ago, when she was only 7. She originally comes from South Africa and lived in direct provision, according to the Irish Times. With time, she completed her medical-science degree in Galway, Ireland, and is now set to graduate from Trinity College Dublin with a master’s degree in clinical chemistry, as reported by the New York Daily News.
The beauty and brains queen now works partly as a model and as a frontline medic at the Galway University Hospital where she was crowned as Miss Galway last year.
As she was speaking to the Irish Independent, Uba expressed how ecstatic she was when she was announced the winner.
She said, “It was a surreal experience and I’m so delighted. I couldn’t believe this happened. Even being Miss Galway for a year and a half, it was a long time coming, I thought the pageant would never happen. I am so happy, and the outcome is amazing.”
During the interview, Uba talked about how hard life was during the 10 years of receiving direct provision. Being the eldest among 6 siblings, she said she strived to become the best version of herself even when she had so little.
“It was 10 years of my life, and it’s 10 years that you’re left in a standstill, you don’t know if you’re ever going to get out of it or what life is going to be,” she said. “At the time, the rules of going to college and working were that you couldn’t really do either so it’s very hard, especially on young girls.”
The 26-year-old also explained what life was like, being a girl with fewer privileges. Some girls end up in early marriages or early pregnancies, which blurs their vision toward their goals, says Uba. She, however, went against all odds because she had known what she wanted, a different life.
“I wanted more for my life so I really pushed to get there,” she said.
