Kenya’s star in UK makes mark with awards

Pauline Long is founder of Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts (Beffta) Awards in the United Kingdom. Beffta has become a popular annual event in the UK that attracts black models, singers, movie producers, thespians and stylists. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • At 37, Pauline has achieved more than she ever imagined, including hosting a talk show — The Pauline Long Show — aired on Sky Channel 182 in London, and having a fashion line, Pauline Long collection
  • But life took a different turn as her parents struggled to pay for her education. Pauline made a decision to discontinue her studies to allow her parents to educate her 10 siblings
  • The decision to found Beffta years later, she says, was catalysed by the sadness she felt after the death of pop star Michael Jackson in 2009

Kenyan-born Pauline Long, who holds her African culture with tenacity, has made a mark in the UK as the founder of Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts (Beffta) Awards.

This year’s event, which is scheduled for October 24-25, hopes to honour Oprah Winfrey for her contribution to the showbiz industry.

At 37, Pauline has achieved more than she ever imagined, including hosting a talk show — The Pauline Long Show — aired on Sky Channel 182 in London, and having a fashion line, Pauline Long collection.

Her charity work has also earned her numerous community awards in the UK, with the Universal Peace Federation recently naming her an Ambassador for Peace.

On a recent humanitarian visit to the Rafiki Children’s Home in Nderi Town, Kiambu County, the mother of two, who is married to Keith Long, told Lifestyle of her resolve to serve the community. 

Amid the individualism that defines the British way of life, Pauline — whose command of her native Dholuo remains impeccable despite staying in the UK for two decades — still believes in communal living and generously uses part of her income for charity.

GREAT SACRIFICE

When she left Kenya as a 19-year-old to study in the UK, she thought she would return in just a few years.

“My father always believed that one had to go to Britain for studies, and that is what took me there,” she says.

But life took a different turn as her parents struggled to pay for her education. Pauline made a decision to discontinue her studies to allow her parents to educate her 10 siblings.  

At 20, Pauline secured a job in the hospitality industry, beginning her career as a chambermaid in London, and patiently working her way up to being a guest relations manager, mostly through self-study and dedication to duty.

“I was born a leader, and even if I were a street cleaner, I would be the leader of the group, so climbing the ladder to be the guest relations manager was easy,” says Pauline.

INSPIRATION

At the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel, she rubbed shoulders with high-profile guests.

The decision to found Beffta years later, she says, was catalysed by the sadness she felt after the death of pop star Michael Jackson in 2009.

Initially, when she was planning for Beffta in 2008, the pop star was on top of her award list in the Lifetime Achievement category.

“When MJ died, suddenly people rushed out to buy his music and praise him, yet when he was alive, he struggled with debt and addiction.

This was so wrong! Why not appreciate people when they are still alive?” she asks.

Besides, Pauline believed that East Africa oozed with talent that needed to be appreciated.

 “I wanted to open doors even for the least known artiste from Kenya,” she says.

SUCCESSFUL VENTURE

Five years later, Beffta has become a popular annual event in the UK that attracts black models, singers, movie producers, thespians and stylists.

Beffta has, over the years, honoured celebrities like Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade Ekehinde, American producer Tyler Perry of the Madea comedy series, Kenyan gospel singer Emmy Kosgei, Nigerian rapper Wizkid and pop sensation Rihanna among others.

In 2002, after having her first child, she left her hotel job and sought the flexibility of time to raise a family. That was when she settled on organising events. 

Pauline would pour her energy for four years into East End Studios, a family-run production company that shoots movies and music videos. Being a motivational speaker brought in extra income.

In 2006, she had made enough money to start a Mr and Miss East Africa event — targeting youths living in the UK. Proceeds from the event, that included rigorous mentorship and entrepreneurship training programme were used to buy food for an orphanage in Kampala.

DIFFERENT JOBS

In 2008, the Kenyan High Commission in London recognised her efforts with a special award as the most innovative Kenyan in the UK.
“I discovered that I had three hands: one for me, one for my children and the other for the community,” she says.

Between 2000 and 2008, Pauline’s life oscillated between being a wife, a mother, and a production house manager to being a patron for more than 17 organisations.

Her three phones — the studio phone, official phone and the private phone — ring constantly, a fact she does not like but knows is unavoidable.

She says her day begins at 4.30 a.m. when she responds to e-mails and strategises for the day, after which she will write her journal —  which she hopes to turn into an autobiography.

She says she cannot miss the opportunity of preparing her children for school when they wake up at 6 a.m. and drop them to at 8 a.m. Her day then shifts to the studio until 5 p.m. when she has to go back to school to pick up her children.

MEDIA-SHY
But on Tuesdays and Wednesdays her husband takes over the school run because these are the production days for her talk show.

Pauline is a teetotaller who has an aversion to noise and avoids clubs even though her work with celebrities sometimes takes her to such places.

“Some of my friends call me boring, but that is me,” she told Lifestyle.

Pauline, who admits she is media-shy despite being surrounded by cameras most of the time, sees nothing extraordinary or newsworthy about living a life dedicated to many.

Being born to a family of 11 children meant she had to learn to share. Her generosity, she adds, was also ingrained in her by her elders.
“My grandfather used to give out everything and sometimes left us with very little,” she says.

COMMUNAL SERVICE

Pauline believes living in different parts of Kenya whenever her civil servant father was transferred helped to widen her world view and inspired the spirit to help others.  

“I grew up partly in Mombasa, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Kakamega, Nyeri, Athi River, and Nairobi. I learnt a little bit of Kikuyu and Luhya,” says Pauline who spent most of her childhood in Rapogi, Migori County an attended Ulanda Girls Secondary.

Over the weekends, Pauline says, she slips into her “boring” personality.

“I take my children outdoors, and I talk to the young people fate has brought my way in form of mentees through Skype and phone calls.

That has been my life for as long as I can remember,” she says.

Is she about to slow down?

“I will die serving the community wherever I am,” she says.