In the dusty streets of Durban stands a tall, slim woman. She smiles and then stops. She changes her pose and then changes it again. The photographer in front of her gives direction and she does his bidding. “And cut….that’s a wrap!” Shouts the photographer and the model relaxes, taking off the heavily Kashmir coat she was wearing.

Jennifer Abubakar Ekua is 26 and very beautiful. Her career as a model has recently taken an uphill journey as she was offered a front cover on a large magazine. She speaks three languages and lives in Koln, Germany, with her husband Thomas Reinhold.

“We met on an internet chat room about five years ago,” states Jennifer. “I knew he was a kind man and he was also very thoughtful and remarkably talented. We got along very well and ended up meeting. He flew to my home town in Durban and we spent the weekend together before he had to leave again. I ended up moving to Germany and now we are having our first child,” said the model, proudly tapping her belly. There are signs of a pregnancy, but the heavy Kashmir coat was a good disguise. “I have decided that this will be my last gig for a while because the baby is due in December. We are hoping it won’t be Christmas in hospital though,” she smiles warmly.

On the subject of her recent foray into the design world, Jennifer explained, “I decided that I wanted to try designing clothes targeted mainly for black women. They will be revealed in a fashion show in Spring. They are geared toward black and ethnic women and there will also be maternity clothing which still has style.” Her radiant face smiles and she gets up from her seat to go home.