Reigning Miss Eco Universe in Kenya for pageant

Julia Njoroge, who won Miss Congeniality title in the just conduced Miss Eco Universe 2016 which was held in Cairo Egypt last April .Miss Njoroge was among a few Kenyans living in Belgium, who was given a chance to address a gathering that hosted President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Kenyan Embassy in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday night.PHOTO:KIBATA KIHU/STANDARD

A Belgium-based Kenyan model who won Miss Congeniality award in 2016 has returned home to help organise the Miss Eco Universe beauty competition locally.

Julia Njoroge, 25, arrived in the country on Monday night, where she was received by her parents, Marcel Pierre and Susan Wanjira Kimotho, the proprietors of Tandala Lodge in Jua Kali, Laikipia North Sub-county.

Ms Njoroge is in the country to help popularise and organise a similar event for the first time in Kenya.

"I am willing to see Kenyan models participate in the global event and it is my hope that a Kenyan will win the global beauty pageant. I am also looking forward to hand over the Miss Congeniality title which I won last year to a Kenyan," she said.

She continued: "After a successful run during the Miss Eco Universe pageant and being crowned Miss Congeniality, I have decided to come back to Kenya to crown the 2017 Miss Eco Universe Kenya. The prestigious award presentation will be held in Laikipia County on February 11, at a venue we are yet to disclose."

In the meantime, Njoroge said she will be focused on mentoring 10 models from Laikipia in preparation for the big event.

She represented Kenya and Africa in last year's competition, alongside Egypt's Kholoud Ezz and Nigeria's Nan Seing Lein Kham.

During the beauty pageant finals in Cairo, Egypt, Natalia Carvajal Sanchez of Costa Rica floored Brazilian Lais Berte and her Chinese counterpart who emerged first and second runners-up respectively in the competition that attracted 54 participants.

Reigning title holder Patricia Peklar from Slovenia crowned Sanchez during the event.

Miss Eco Universe is an international beauty contest founded in 2015 by the 'Set Up for media Production Company "Beauty for Eco" and whose aim is to awaken the world, through the theme of economic and environment.

The main objective of the contest is to choose the best Eco queen for the marketing of eco-tourism all over the world and promote the principle of agreement in a bid to save the planet environmentally and culturally.