Prince Albert’s Laeticia Mwayuma is hoping to inspire other immigrants to follow their dreams now that she’s following hers—the 26-year-old is set to compete for the Miss World Canada 2020 title.
The pageant was originally planned to take place in Toronto in July. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been tentatively postponed until October.
Mwayuma is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She’s always dreamt of being a model, but as she grew up, she was led to believe she wouldn’t be successful as an immigrant.
“It’s like a dream come true. It’s my dream, like even as a child, I wanted to be a model, but the more I grew up, I kept hearing ‘No, you will not be a model,’” she said.
“Even if you are an immigrant, you can still achieve your dreams,” she emphasized.
“You still have hope….Just keep believing and moving forward.”
That’s why Mwayuma has chosen to bring awareness to human injustice using her platform.
Mwayuma applied to compete for Miss World Canada after coming across the link on Google. She wasn’t so sure, though, if it was a realistic idea.
“I went ‘Oh, maybe I’ll try’ and I googled if you’re an immigrant, can you be a Miss World?” she questioned. “I just applied.”
“I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting,” she said, until they contacted her to do an interview over Skype and just over a week ago told her she was officially chosen to represent her region.
Mwayuma works as a facilitator at The Association of Fransaskois Parents and is involved with the French-Canadian Society of Prince Albert. She’s also a student at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
The winner of Miss World Canada, who wins over $15,000 in prizes, will spend three weeks in Thailand competing for the international title. Only 60 women from across Canada are chosen every year.
