THE partner of a Wellington man is looking to help a cause close to her heart and her father through two beauty pageants later this year.
Sarah Kana-Ah, 28, whose partner Josh Pollak lives at Thomas Place on the Longforth Farm estate in Wellington, entered the world of pageants and commercial modelling to help with a lack of confidence.
Earlier this year she took part in her first pageant, Miss Galaxy in Lancashire, and plans to enter Miss Royal UK in July in Blackpool to help her father, Ahmed, who had cancer two years ago but is now in remission.
The disease started behind his nose and moved to his glands, and meant he had to have all his teeth taken out. Sarah said: “I would love to be able to raise money for him to have teeth implants to take away the constant reminder he has every morning and night of what he went through. I know he suffers a lot with this and it upsets him most days. Seeing my dad happy again would be great.”
Sarah also plans to enter Miss Inspiration South-West in Exeter in October, which will benefit Little Bridge House, Children’s Hospice South-West in Barnstaple.
Sarah, mother to Ethan, four, said she was told she was ugly, could not do anything and was not good enough for anyone when she was 16, and so lacked confidence and self-esteem.
She added: “I decided to change my life around and do something I have always wanted to do, and ignore what others had said. I challenge my confidence now by taking part in things I don’t think I can do – once I have done it, it’s a real confidence boost.”
Sarah also wants to organise her own South-West charity pageant to raise money and inspire other women and help them realise they can do what they want to do.
Sarah is sometimes a freelance broadcast assistant – the voice behind the traffic bulletins on BBC Radio Somerset – had a bit part in a recent episode of Casualty on BBC TV and models for brands, among other things.
Sarah’s sponsor for both pageants is “Somerset-based make-up artist Grace Barnett of Grace’s Faces.
To help Sarah with her fundraising visit her Just Giving page at https://crowd
funding.justgiving.com/helpourdaddy