Nigerian model Favour Rufus was diagnosed with glaucoma at the age of seven but she still had a clear vision of becoming a beauty queen.
Favour recently competed against 18 other models for the crown in Miss Port Harcourt City, the biggest state beauty pageant in Nigeria.
She finished second and, in a subsequent beauty contest, was crowned Miss Port Harcourt City Humanity 2022.
“A lot of people discouraged me from contesting. Most were not even family members,” Favour told the BBC.
She says it was one of her teachers who first noticed that she had eye problems after her performance in school dropped.
A visit to the eye clinic confirmed her worst fears.
“The doctor at the clinic told me it was too late. I had lost my left eye.”
She was told her right eye was still fine, but would need regular use of eyedrops.
Favour said her right eye is extremely blurry at the moment, and she depends only on the mobility training she got from rehabilitation.
Despite the odds, she is determined to pursue her career as a beauty queen.
