Nancy's journey from the runway to literary world

The 2005 ‘Miss Tanzania’ and ‘Miss World Africa’ - who is currently a social entrepreneur and author - Nancy Sumari, sits with The Beat’s Lilian Ndilwa to discuss her career. She gives advice to aspiring folk in the beauty and modeling industry.

QUESTION: You have recently launched your third book ‘Samia.’ Can you tell what it is about - and when its ideation started blooming?

ANSWER: I started idealizing about my book ‘Samia’ after she was sworn in as the sixth President of Tanzania on March 19, 2021. A friend told me that the swearing-in of Samia as Union President was worth remembering, and narrated to children - especially African girls. I then came across a short clip of the president sharing a bit of her life when addressing the public. She told of the failures and successes she went through before climbing ranks in the politics arena. That clip went hand in hand with Tanzania and the world at large, witnessing our country get the first female president ever. All these ignited a zeal in me to assist the girl-child and people of all ages in general to know what it means in our history.

I wrote my book ‘Samia’ to celebrate the president - and also remind young girls that they can be whoever they want in life despite a bazillion barriers. I believe that when girls read ‘Samia’, they will understand not only the president’s life history, but that they can also get a wholly different perspective of how a person can succeed - despite multiple challenges - by having the right support system to back them up.

It is a tradition in the beauty world for contestants and beauty queens to be positively impactful in society. Do today’s beauty contestants, or queens, still have that impact?

Many beauty queens - the famous and those who are just as soon forgotten - take part in bringing about positive changes in society. The changes come in different forms: tangible and intangible.

Despite participating in the yearly beauty competition at the world level, Tanzania has become more of ‘a participant’ than an award-winning country. What are we not doing right?

Truth be told: there are many challenges in this industry in Tanzania. There was a time when the industry’s management faltered - which took its toll on the whole industry in terms of conducting its activities and drive it forward. With a new management in place now, Tanzania should look forward to development in this sector. But, it will take time and hard work to revamp the sector.

How is the current beauty and modeling industry different from your time?

The industry has gone through drastic changes. If you look at the current landscape of modeling, you’ll find that people can get a-hold of a modeling deal after simply posting a picture of themselves on social media. In our days in the past, skilled casting agents were mandated with looking for a particular kind of model. But, in this day and age, one can choose the kind of modelling one wants to be - and be seen in accordance with your profile. In today’s world, a person can get a modeling deal from agents inside and outside Tanzania after their pictures are exposed on social media. It’s really fascinating - and has opened windows of opportunity for many people.

What have you been doing to assist in reconstructing and developing the modeling industry?

Since I brought the crown of Miss World Africa home in Tanzania, I have been directly assisting models and beauty queens in terms of training, exchanging ideas and sharing experiences with the objective of instilling confidence in prospective participants. As it is, I usually share useful insights with fellow Tanzanians. This, I am certain, is an eye opener, as whatever my challenges were during those days can be useful lessons for other people.

Since you brought home the ‘Miss World Africa’ crown and chose the career path you are walking on today, you have many young people looking up to you. What would you tell a person looking up to you as an inspiration?

I would tell such a person that, to have a vision of themselves in terms of success - a better one than what I currently am, because I am still working on myself, and have not reached the stage where I would be exemplary for someone to reflect on me career-wise and success in general - I had to surmount a lot of challenges to get where I am today. I would, therefore, not want another person to walk over the same thorns that I did!

When did you know that writing books was your next calling?

I never knew I would one day become a writer. It all started from the time I was a primary school student. There was a time when my parents were going through hard times paying my school fees. So, I - along with other students who had similar problems spent much time in the school library. This almost automatically made me feel connected to a whole other world that felt like an informative escape for me. I turned to writing partly because I wanted children to experience what I experienced during my childhood.