BEING a professional model doesn’t only make you a celebrity. It can also earn you a good pay cheque. Christian Murinda, a Photographer/Designer is on a mission to make this dream a reality for many.

The member of One Shot Photography/Design company, located near Kimironko market started a project where models are trained to levels of international standards, in May last year.

Murinda, who joined the company last year, feels there is a lot to be done in the field of modeling as a source of income.

Though he is a practicing engineer, Murinda has a passion for modeling and tries to juggle the two occupations. He is passionate about promoting culture through modeling.

"What most of us don’t get is that our culture can be promoted by simply dressing our models in outfits that showcase our culture, like our own stunning bitenge on runways. This is one of the best ways of showing to other countries, how we value our tradition,” he added.

The company is also the organiser of the annual runway event, known as Ndabaga Pan African Fashion. The show aims at sharing Rwandan culture with other fellow Africans. Last year’s event attracted participants from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

According to Murinda, "the run way shows are meant to promote our culture and improve the industry of modeling as a whole.”