Beauty pageants have long provided global platforms for models from diverse backgrounds, amplifying their voices through talent, advocacy, and purpose. Among the rising figures redefining this space is Trisha Ahwera, a professional Ugandan model who recently emerged as first runner-up at the Miss Environment Beauty Pageant 2025, making history as the first Ugandan and one of the first Africans to place in the top two.

Ahwera’s pageantry journey includes participation in Top Model of the Universe, Best Model of the World, and Miss World Next Top Model. With growing international recognition, she is now setting her sights on Miss Universe 2026, determined further to elevate Uganda’s presence on the global stage.

Beyond the runway, Ahwera’s story is deeply personal. She comes from a small family environment where she was not accepted or treated kindly during her upbringing. She endured significant childhood trauma, which forced her to leave home during her Senior year vacation in search of safety and belonging. Rather than allowing these experiences to define her negatively, she chose to transform pain into strength. This journey shaped her purpose to become a voice of hope for children facing similar struggles, reminding them that survival is possible and that their past does not determine their future. This purpose ultimately inspired her entry into the world of pageants.

Ahwera is also a manager at B2C Restaurant and a student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics at the International University of East Africa, embodying ambition, resilience, and discipline.

At the core of her advocacy is clean energy. Through her initiative, the Green Crown Campaign, Ahwera champions solar energy as a sustainable alternative to unsafe cooking methods. Her passion was sparked by the loss of her father to lung cancer caused by prolonged exposure to toxic fumes. “His loss opened my eyes to how lack of clean energy silently destroys families,” she says. “I stand in his honor so that no child loses a parent due to energy poverty.”

Inspired by herself and Olivia Yacé, Miss Universe Côte d’Ivoire, Ahwera looks ahead to a future of lighting homes through clean energy, establishing a pageantry school rooted in purpose, and raising confident, empowered children, firmly believing that pageantry, when used intentionally, can be a powerful tool for change.