 my name is Cheryl blessing and you are watching the power talk show we're coming to you live from Nairobi Kenya and I hope you've enjoyed your day this is the very last day of November and as we're getting into December and wrapping up the year I want us to discuss second chances we all want second chances ever add something that you want to pursue for your career and even in our personal lives there is something that we always wish we had a second chance at and I want us to discuss this with an agency that has created that opportunity for the youth and particularly in the pageantry industry so joining me this evening is Dr. Samson Misango who is the CEO of a second option agency Karibu Sanadaktari. Thank you for your kind introduction. Yes you're welcome and right next to Dr. Rhee we have the very lovely Miss second option Africa Wanji Olasa Karibu Wanji. Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to have both of you in studio so as you've heard he runs the agency second option which basically gives the youth second chances at pursuing their dreams and focusing on their talents especially in the modeling of the pageantry industry because as we all know so many people pursue this and in the past we've had some very strict qualifications now the world is expanding and new and more agencies are coming up to redefine what the pageantry industry means so I want you to go to our social media platforms which is at Y254 we've posed a question for you we want to rewrite destiny how are you rewriting your destiny and if you had a second chance at anything today what would you do with it so talk to me on our platforms at Y254 that is on Facebook Twitter and Instagram and I'll sample some of your comments as we progress with the show so I think to kick start the conversation I want to understand what in particular made you Dr. Samson want to start this agency because you focused on second chances and giving people an opportunity to pursue their talents and develop new skills what inspired the idea behind it that's a good place to start from I am a doctor by profession a surgeon actually with a medical center called MESU medical surgery and neurology center right here in Nairobi and among one of them the ideals behind this medical center our mission basically is to be able to to combine what you call social responsibility okay corporate social responsibility called ACSR that basically touches on disadvantaged people, plants, the environment and basically just being a responsible human being and in line with that initially I used to do a lot of community service that was giving medical services to people outside them but this was so cliche everybody's doing it politicians are doing it and one day there's this young person who had finished school who came and was looking for a job and I knew her past life in college she was a model and I asked her you are a very good model why don't you do modeling you instead of looking for a job and she said the modeling industry is wicked so I asked what do you mean she said it's very exploitative nobody really wants to make you advance they all want to take advantage of you I said oh that's a sad story what if with your experience you have an agency which basically does things differently from how it was done for you she said having an agency costs money and right there I saw a CSR so I told her why don't you run an agency I'll sponsor it make it be done in a different way from how you'd have wanted it done okay and that's how it be done the agency and we said you're going to give it a name because we are giving people second chances okay we're giving we're calling second option because according to her and the story which was there all the modeling agencies that she knows in other words the first options which are available are all basically lost so I said we are going to present ourselves as the second option which will do differently to redefine the modeling industry and that is how we defined our mission and our vision because we we basically want to identify these people who are talented but they have a story which basically has made them basically either stop in what it is they're doing and we calling them disadvantage not because there are many physical disabilities or others but because they have been exploited and they are neglected and nobody talks about them so he said we will give you that second chance in the entertainment industry give you a platform to do things that entertain others and you get rewarded as you do what it is you are doing okay and that's why we call it second option agency and right below there we call it grab that chance because when you're given a an opportunity you're saying it embracing second chance as you're calling it grab that chance yeah so that's how I found myself in this industry of the modeling world I was an outsider I mean I was a sponsor operating from behind and these ones who are running it so how did I get myself into the front line now that's where the story changes are beta because we had I don't want to know maybe what here exactly did you start I began this in 2018 we register the agency on 10th of May 2018 okay after having had a discussion for about three months and looking at what would be best what would best capture our logo what would best capture our motto what would best capture the name so this was something very authentic very generic okay we didn't go to somewhere on some social media or some G for to Google which name should we use it came we developed our mission generically and our vision okay so we want to be that beacon of hope to people okay going forward anybody looking around we'll see this glamorous people outside and want to know what's their story and then they get to hear the story from each of these different people and when you are training the first modus used to recruit in that year 2018 we should subject them to interviews okay wanted people who have a story somebody would come and say I have been selling this I've come from broken homes so everybody had a very powerful story before we recruited not just about money okay then we had our first page in in the year 2018 which we called face of second option agency and during that year of course we had only female models who are there contesting I even remember we had our first pageant in a club called Avenida because that was the easiest way to organize a pageant okay with the drunkards shouting and screaming okay but it worked and the male models for that year we actually had to give them an incentive to turn up because we had no pageantry yes okay because it was it was an unknown phenomena for many the modeling industry they were just there to here and there so the these managers that had tuned up with for that years the one who made me open the agency they taught me some they did some character development for me okay because you know I was outsider looking insider and I trusted them with everything but they exploited our models the same people who wanted to do things differently they took money from the models they never registered them they took them for some jobs somewhere where I never had no idea because what we thought was we would be giving them 80 percent from any job they get we remain 20 percent but they would be going around so it was a bit disappointing and I I nearly shut down the agency in that after that pageant of 2018 because it didn't look worth it so I actually closed the agency in December and said this is not my thing I thought I was trying to build people but these are actually people who are just there but in towards the end of January the models who were in the agency they began looking for me and asking me now you promised us we are going to be a different agency we believed you you you've had a problem but now we feel like orphans what do you do because you've left it yeah and that touched me I said okay I will get another manager I think she came in 20 in 2019 around February she had no information on modeling I just said just manage these people okay because they're with us but I'll be a bit more involved so we went through she we because normally in our program as an agency we conduct trainings every two weeks okay because you said you are going to give models who have registered something of value not just to come and go for pageant or just a pretty face somewhere want to teach you values so we would have training every two weeks would arrange for photo shoots every every two months during those days for the ones who registered we would try and send you for activations among some of my friends companies we just go and do something get paid some pocket money and we would give you a chance to participate in our end-of-the-year pageant but during the year they it is to develop your character to build you as a model with a purpose and the thing which we have been very very very very much strongly on as an agency is CSR so we used to do once a month and we have a community project as an agency we go we will tell the modest identify in the regions where they come from a child who is needy in a public school who requires school uniform so we'll mobilize ourselves I would have a budget every month we go to a particular house we donate we get uniforms for that child in a public school we give the family some refreshments some meal and just have a sometime with them so we would call we used to call it a touch one child at a time in a public school so that was our campaign for the all of that year that's 2019 and I feel like maybe we can talk more on that and especially this processes that you're talking about we can dive deeper in that as a progress and I love the fact that you've really mentioned so many things that have personally touched me the fact that you're in a very different field you're a surgeon in the medical industry and you've gone into a whole new scope of industry because you want to help people you're driven by the fact that you're compassionate and you want to give people the opportunity and the second option name I like that because you know every other person will go to the maybe the most famous most popular agency and they may not really take care of their needs in the best way possible so I want to touch on that as we progress and maybe some of the things that you've mentioned especially with the developing the skills and the talent and getting people with a story those are some of the points that I've really loved so maybe we can talk to the crowned winner of this year Ms. Swanjee so you there was a pageant in Eldore on 11th November and you won that pageantry I know you're so happy about that you're so pleased so I just want to ask you how did you get here maybe you can tell us your story briefly how you got to even pick second option why you felt like it was the best option for you and why you stuck with them to where you are right now so the journey of the conduction began in May but before that I used to be a student at the Technical University of Paya Pasurian Journalism and Media Center I wanted to be you basically and I studied for three years after which I realized I don't really I'm not well I was into it but I was kind of not loving it at the time so I decided to quit I feel like I'm sorry that sounds very interesting so I feel I've been told your mic has a slight issue so I want us to fix that because I want us to get this story right it's someone who's come from a diverse field as well and gone into something completely different so I want us to fix that and then we can continue with that so meanwhile we can talk about some of you've talked about the process you faced challenges and obviously it's been a journey it's been a whole journey yes and the fact that you were inspired from just being a sponsor behind the scenes to actively taking part in the process let's talk about that how do you vet people and how do you ensure the manager that you put in place in 2019 how are you sure that this manager was now capable of handling the needs of the the models and really carrying forward your vision effectively how have you done the vetting process good there's just one comment you made about the name and how people perceive the name there are many people who come from marketing and tell me oh doctor is this name second option it can't sell people will not people aren't the best people do not want to hear about you know what people normally say and people don't want to hear about the second they want the first is your name this brand but I say no our identity is in the name the name is not supposed to be for publicity for whatever we believe it represents something very deep for us so I don't care what the market has said it is that interest that you have why second option it's a philosophy that you have correct okay so uh yes we believe in actually having structures in the agency because since I began going into that modeling world I began meeting with friends who have been in the modeling world and I would ask them what motivates you to actually go and contest a page enter and when you win what do you do with that crown they say oh it gives me a chance to now go I feel good I can dress and I can go and feel good but I say no but what do you represent there must be something that you represent for that year of your reign and they say no it's an opportunity to make money and I like that because you see you're being realistic most people want it for the aesthetics yeah I just want to like personally I was just telling her earlier I love the crown and I would love to just participate for the crown but it's very important for you to stand for something because you're representing a whole generation you're representing a whole agency and there are people who are looking up to you so I feel like before we continue her mic has been fixed so she can tell us her story you were just telling us you were a mass communication student at technical university how did you make that move I I got lucky enough to do this job when I was in school I got a chance to work in an online media type of thing and I worked for some time I got a chance in some small radio well I quitted the job this interviewing job and I got another chance to do some radio presenting and I also didn't love it so I was like well then why am I studying journalism to be a journalist but I don't like the job so I decided to just quit or not go to school just because I didn't feel aligned and that is when I reached out to Dr Misango and after some time I mean we started like hanging out and after some time he introduced me to the agency he told me he has this agency and he thinks I fit for it and to be honest I told him no way I'm not doing I'm not doing the runway stuff because I'm an online girl I love social media and I've seen so much stuff with the models people are people asking you are you a model for some favors sexual favors you know and sir him telling me that he wanted me to be a model I'm like no I'm not doing it after some time he managed he told me the same story he told me this is what I stand for and this is what we're doing the agency and I was like well let me give it a try because after all I'm just at home I'm 19 years so I'm just like chilling and that is when I the auditions were going on at the time so it was I think in Eldorette and in May I remember May the 13th it was supposed to be Nairobi auditions and best believe I had started training two weeks before that I didn't know anything about modeling I didn't even have a heel I didn't even know the right heel to use and I coached I mean I had some trainers for the two weeks I trained and I went for the audition I chose to go to Nairobi I mean I knew there are some other counties which were a bit not so hard to win but Nairobi is the most competitive county and I chose it intentionally to be honest with you but he also pushed me he also pushed me because it was hard imagine being being a new person and trying to pursue this new thing not knowing anything and you're going to audition of course you're like I might fail and I'm scared of failure and people that's a very valid fear the fear of failure so many people miss out on opportunities because they're so afraid but I like the fact that you're saying he pushed you because sometimes we do not see our potential and people around us can see what we have the capability of doing and the fact that he went to somewhere that's challenging with zero experience that's another thing that I find interesting about your story because most people will go to maybe Mandara and decide you know if they're going to be five people and they're picking three at least I can imagine number three so that is also very inspiring so what happened after you went for the auditions in Nairobi how many people were there first of all probably like more than 30 and um I my my walk was terrible at the time it was terrible but at least I'm confident that was one at least because like I can answer questions and that is what made me pass the audition I was in position four and I was so I was so proud of myself Christ because like everyone else has been doing when they were being asked questions everyone is saying I've done modeling for five years I'm here done it for two weeks and I'm passed the audition of like Christ what is happening and um after that now it's online challenges because now we had been the first five in Nairobi well every county we had to do online challenges which were three different things well there were all videos but the no the first two are videos the last one was voting wep will have to vote for you the first two were not so hard for me because it's just like being on camera and talking yeah it was not so hard but now the voting one wep will have to vote for you well let me not lie it was not so hard clearly you're popular you have the numbers that you've been on social media so it's very easy for you to engage with the the masses and just activate them to support you but I understand it was a challenge for you know the other contestants because one vote is 10 shillings and people are there with 2000 votes you're having a hundred it was it was a bit challenging so I managed to be position one in that um online thing online voting and I got a sponsorship to the bootcamp so position one the girl and the position one the male we got sponsorships and actually won't believe where they were okay never mind where the people who won say the thing is it's crazy because they ask who got the sponsorship myself and another guy where they were the ones who won oh yeah you'll get his story anyways I like this I like this so it was you really worked for it yeah from the very get go it wasn't the like a last minute thing when going to November 11th and then that's when you're popping out you had to start from May onwards you are actively working and trying to pursue this so we are past now the online challenge thing I know now I have two more tasks the bootcamp and the runway the main day and um in the event was in November so around September mid-September I decided to work on winning because now I wanted to win at the time because now now I'm in position I'm in position one and I remember okay there was a group chat where people the contestants were talking and I remember telling them how people well this is not how I phrased it but it was something to do with um position one last year had the highest votes and they told me that doesn't mean this year because you're gonna have the highest votes you're gonna win and it it went through my heart I was like y'all you think so and now I decided to work on mid-September I started going to the gym every single day and training every day I was training every day and gymming every day so like a bit like five hours of my day were dedicated to this thing and I did it became better and better I became like proud of myself every day and now we went to the bootcamp but I had done lots of research lots of research I knew what to do in the bootcamp what not to do and now it came to was it 5th 5th of November we went to Eldoret and now the bootcamp had started I knew you have to be disciplined you have to keep time you have to be at your best you know and uh yeah I was doing good at the gym because I was training so I was so happy because I felt like my my training that you know the things I was doing before the event were coming to how do I phrase it like they were they were changing and transforming you and they're aiding the entire process it's not just like aiding the process that's the thing and so I was I think I was doing okay in the bootcamp keeping time if it's presenting I'm presenting like I'm here you have to listen and basically just being at your best because now it's a camp you being awarded you don't even know the judges first of all you want to like look at you want befriend anyone oh it's just like do your best you don't know who's judging you I like that I really I feel like personally I want to join the agency because just aside from the pageantry you learn discipline you're learning skills you're being motivated and another thing I've taken from that your haters will push you like someone can say something thinking they're breaking you down but they're motivating you so I'm really inspired by that I want to read some comments from Facebook then we can take a short break and come back and continue with this conversation I'm very fascinated by all the things that you're saying so this is from Facebook we have Dondada who says Niko Insana and Julius Murege who says he's tuned in thank you guys for watching us it's very lovely for all of you to tune in I want you to ask questions I want you to ask our winner and the director if you if you may be curious about you want to model you want to be a pageant winner one time what questions do you have you can write even if it's a comment an opinion share that with us on our social media platform I want us to go on a very short break but we're talking about rewriting destinies and embracing second chances so stay tuned to Y254 TV I am Sherri Lee blessing and this is the part of show