Christiana Afia Yeboah shared about being deeply moved during her participation in a charity event for the children of the Ati tribe on Boracay Island that was part of the Miss Universe Philippines 2023 pageant.
The feeding program organized by Aqua Boracay took place on April 12, 2023.
Christiana told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) in an exclusive interview, "Actually, the feeding program for me was very emotional because we did not just feed kids, we fed kids from the Ati community,"
Her encounter with the Ati children struck a deep chord within Christiana as the whole experience brought home to her the sensitive issue of skin color bias, a perception rampant in many societies that correlates light skin tone to beauty.
She said, "It just hits home because of the hair and the color, but I'm really happy that I got to inspire the kids.
"I'm really happy to hear them compliment my color because it's also their color, and I'm really happy when they tried braiding my hair because it's also the texture of their hair.
"So I really felt like I have a sense of purpose that time."
OVERCOMING INSECURITIES
Christiana recounted to PEP.ph her many insecurities growing up about her physical attributes.
"I think when it comes to insecurity, it's really hard to pinpoint because there's a lot.
"It would probably be my nose, my color, my hair, everything that people say that is not beautiful.
"In general, there's really not much inspiration when I grew up."
Fortunately for her, she overcame her insecurities during her maturing years and not only that, she gained the confidence to become proud of her skin color.
She sees hope in that the cultural obsession over fair skin versus dark skin issue is now gradually being taken over by the enlightened mindset of beauty beyond color.
She said, "When you look at pageants, when you watch pageants, there's no black beauty queens that time. So it's hard to convince yourself otherwise.
"I'm really happy that as the society progressed, I now see representation.
"I now get compliments for the things that I previously cried for. So I'm really happy with the progress.
"And I hope that, eventually, we'll have a society that is more inclusive for the future generation and for many kids."
Having gone through the process of self-acceptance, she had a lot to say about it.
Christiana advised focusing on building confidence gradually, one step at a time.
The UP cum laude graduate said, "For the kids who think they're not pretty enough because of what they see on social media, I hope that step by step, you get to encourage yourself that that is not true.
"You cannot change your mindset overnight, especially if it's been inculcated by the society for a long time. So just take it one step at a time.
"For example, today, you can convince yourself that your smile is pretty and your teeth is awesome.
"And then tomorrow when you wake up, you can now convince yourself that your color is actually golden and it's envied by a lot of people.
"So one step at a time until one day, you look at the mirror and then you realize that you are actually really beautiful."
JOINING MUPH 2023
Christiana also conveyed her gratitude to the team supporting her Miss Universe Philippines journey for the second time.
She expressed special appreciation for the designers she had the opportunity to work with, emphasizing their understanding and support regarding her financial situation.
She said, "I'm really happy that I got to collaborate with local designers from Quezon.
"So, and I'm also really grateful that they extended their help for me without putting much pressure on me, especially on financial aspects.
"So I'm really grateful for that."
Currently, Christiana's main focus is on organizing her affairs to ensure she can fully concentrate on the competition.
"I'm trying to manage my schedule one week at a time because it could get really overwhelming.
"So what we're trying to do is to itemize the clothes that we're gonna wear... I'm just trying to itemize everything so that I don't miss out on anything while still enjoying the journey."
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