Women Who Inspire
The Black Entertainment, Film, Fashion, Television and Arts Awards (BEFFTA) are fast becoming the most talked
about event in the United Kingdom’s black community. Founded three years ago, the awards honour the best, yet unsung personalities in these fields. The awards
founder, Kenyan-born Pauline Long tells NAW how it all started – and much more.
Pauline Long “I have always wanted to do something that gives back”
Q Can you tell us briefly about what the BEFFTA is and the concept
behind it? What prompted you and why you are very passionate about it? Briefly, BEFFTA speaks for itself actu- ally, it’s the Black Entertainment, Film, Fashion, Television and Arts Awards, it’s simply an awards ceremony that ap- preciates and recognises achievements of black and ethnic personalities in those fields. I know I’m very passionate about this
and a lot of people might think I just woke up one day to start just another project, but it’s not just another project. Te journey really began when I set
up the Mr & Mrs East Africa UK beauty pageant aſter I leſt my full-time job when I became a mum. I have always wanted to do something that gives back to society and the beauty pageant was one way of doing that.
82 | NEW AFRICAN WOMAN | AUTUMN 2011 Q do then? What did you
When I set up the Mr & Mrs Africa UK, I worked with the youth, to make it work as a beauty pageant
that gave back. I’ve worked with a lot of charities in Uganda, Tan- zania, Kenya, where I helped the Feed Street-Children campaign. Of course, I did not work on this project alone, I worked with a lot of people. I had DJs when I needed them, I worked with presenters who presented the beauty pageants, I worked with mu- sicians who performed at the pag- eants, I worked with promoters who promoted my beauty pageants but then I found that many of them wanted to give up because they felt no one ap-
Q passion about this show and zeal to give back to the commu- nity, this is not something that just happened, you must have got that from somewhere else? Who is Pauline Long?
For someone with such u
Te first thing I would say is I’m a mother, for me as a mother I have to be caring full-stop. Caring and the love for people – I have that nat- urally, but I think I got that from my grandfather, you know I had a dad but I would say my grandfather was more of a dad to me.
Q home in Kenya? And was that back
Yes back in the village. My dad worked with the local government and it meant that he moved from one city to the next
preciated them or their talent. I was also struggling as well but I funded the Mr & Mrs East Africa by myself. Tat was not easy. Just when I was about to give up I was awarded. My first award came from the UK Kenyan Achievers Awards – I was awarded the most innovative Kenyan in the UK for my contribution with all these charities through the beauty pageant. Tat’s when I said to myself, wait a minute, you mean somebody has been appreciat- ing what I’m doing and I want to give up? As soon as I won that award I thought
hang on, I can do something for these other people that want to give up, and that’s it, that was the birth of BEFFTA.
Q What happened next, you must have known that was a huge task?
I said OK, I’m going to bring all these people under one roof. I’m going to ap- preciate all these promoters, I’m going to appreciate the musicians and the produc- ers that make the music, I’m going to ap- preciate the designers that actually design the clothes that these beauty pageants are modelling on stage, I’m going to appreci- ate the make-up artists that make them look beautiful, I’m going to appreciate the presenters that present my shows, and it all just came together, and we put the film and the people in TV and everybody in it and it’s just about appreciating these people and helping them to go to the next level, and to show the world that our black communities are not the stereotypes – you know the drugs and the gun popping, we are better than that and the talent is there for all to see.
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