Who is Miss Earth Ghana 2019 Evelyn Abena Appiah?

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos are fans of beauty queens – and that includes candidates from different countries. At the ongoing Miss Earth 2019 pageant, one candidate is slowly becoming the favorite of many Pinoy fans, thanks to her sense of humor.

Ghana’s Evelyn Abena Appiah first went viral when a clip of an interview with ABS-CBN News made the rounds online. “Ang batang malakas kumain… ay laging may gana!” she said, laughing.

The line is a staple in comedy routines and sketches. Gana (pronounced almost the same way as Ghana), in Filipino, means appetite. 

And during a recent event, Evelyn once again flexed her apparent expertise when it comes to Filipino comedy.

She ended her answer to a question about water conservation with: “Gumamit ng tabo, timba at palang-ghana!” (Literally: Use a dipper, pail, and basin!) 

Diosko dai ikaw na talaga ang galing mong humuli ng kiliti ng mga Pinoy pageant fans… Chugog na chugog sa pasabog si Miss Earth Ghana 2019. You are the One.. #MissEarth2019 pic.twitter.com/7Y3Dm5UinO

— Team Tan Roncal (@TeamTanRoncal_) October 15, 2019

Abena is no stranger to pageantry. She was a delegate at the Miss Universe 2014 pageant. In an interview, she mentioned that she was supposed to join a reunion in Mexico with the other 2014 delegates but did not make it due to the Miss Earth competition. She also said that she’s been learning Filipino and that MJ Lastimosa, who represented the Philippines in the 2014 tilt, also taught her some words and phrases. 

According to her Miss Earth bio, Evelyn is a flight attendant. She wants “to promote my campaign ‘Educate to Eradicate.'”

“This is a project I have been working on for the past five years and plan to use my platform as Queen to continue to teach, motivate and create awareness, so we all understand the importance of raising equipped earth warriors. This project strives to introduce environmental teachings in the classrooms to educate our youth on environmental matters. ” — Rappler.com