Two different creative women with the same goal: to make the world a better place.
Beth Pearcey, a professional dancer and NHS emergency department healthcare assistant, uses her talents to better the lives of the less fortunate. The 21-year-old hosts dance workshops to raise education and medical funds for villages in Ghana.
While Scottish/Nigerian model, activist and environmental campaigner Eunice Olumide MBE works closely with the ADB Foundation (which gives Afro-Caribbean communities the tools to achieve economic stability and excellence), as well as Zero Waste Scotland in the hope of creating a society where resources are truly valued and nothing is wasted. Having shown her own climate-change film at an international summit, Eunice is convinced we must change the way people think in general, rather than just relying on economists, scientists and politicians.
We got the pair together at The Castle Cinema in Hackney, London, before driving over to one of Beth’s dance studios in the fully electric and eco-friendly Kia EV6 car. The Kia EV6 felt like a natural setting for these two changemakers, considering it has a 328-mile range which makes it a total gamechanger for the eco-friendly, electric car scene. With the brand's ethos being all about creativity and movement, dancer Beth and creative Eunice fit perfectly together. Here's to setting new standards and taking steps to make the world a better place.
‘I’m an artist,’ Eunice tells us. ‘Some call me a Renaissance woman, which I quite like, as this was a period in time in which it was essential to study multiple disciplines to university level before specialising in a field. Back then, you would have scientists who were also excellent painters, as well as able to play instruments.’
‘People often think I do more than one thing,’ Eunice continues. ‘I tell them I just do me in different situations. Yes, I’m a fashion model, an author, an art consultant and curator, a broadcaster and presenter, a producer and director, as well as a DJ and many more things. It’s nice knowing I have so many skills and can adapt to any situation – it suits my personality and supports my mental health.’
‘I’ve been dancing since primary school,’ Beth tells us. ‘I attended the Groovement Project Street Dance Company in Plymouth and it really taught me to embrace diversity and different cultures. A lot of people doubted me when I said I wanted to pursue dance as a career but it just fuelled my determination. Success to me is being able to live my passion for as long as I can.
‘I’ve been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, Beth shares with us. ‘Volunteering in Ghana gave me another vision for what my purpose in life is, which inspired me to get into healthcare when I returned home.
‘I established a community outreach program in 2018, providing clean water, health insurance, healthcare and education to several villages in the eastern region of Ghana,’ Beth says. ‘And I set up the Help Support Foundation, a series of dance workshops where dance teachers and choreographers give their time for free with all the income raised donated.
‘I wanted to blend my passion for dance with my passion for changing the world for the better. Having the ability to use what I love to fundraise for the work we are doing is a privilege and drives me to continue to do more. Our next set of projects involves construction, education and the continuation of health education and insurance.
‘What’s something we’d like to see change in our world? Wow, that’s a very big question!’ exclaims Beth. ‘Well, even if I change just one person or one child’s life at a time, it’s worth it. Ultimately, I’d like an end to poverty. I’d like to live in a world where we’re all equal and have the same opportunities.’
‘I don’t believe in cancel culture but I do see the new world as extreme,’ Eunice begins. ‘I would like to see more tolerance of “the other”, and more acceptance of responsibility where it can be proved that crimes have been committed, but right now I think it would be nice to see more appreciation for those who have sacrificed their careers to contribute to society. The way it is now is that if you are 100% narcissistic, vain, greedy and focus solely on yourself, you will be more successful and revered by society. Whereas if you have beliefs, stand for something and make sacrifices because you know a brand or company is destroying the planet, people don’t commend you, they just think you are not good enough or were not offered the opportunity, and that’s a shame.’
‘My favourite quote by Queen Victoria is, “Beware of artists, they mix with all classes in society and are therefore the most dangerous,”’ Eunice shares. ‘Throughout history, creative work has been the only challenger to capitalism as we know it. Back in the day, poets, artists and filmmakers were regularly killed or exiled simply for creating art that made people think.’
‘Being a creative is challenging in itself,’ Beth reveals. ‘The arts is a challenging industry, never more so than now, as a result of the impact of Covid-19.’
‘My passion for sustainability started around eight-years-old,’ Eunice shares. ‘Every year, we’d travel to the village in Nigeria that my mum is from and, one day, we came across rubbish bearing familiar logos that no shops stocked anywhere near the village. I asked my mum and she told me they had travelled all the way from places like the UK.
‘Seeing the rubbish suffocate the environment, hurt creatures and completely ruin the local people’s livelihoods made me realise that there is a human cost to the way we consume and dispose of our waste. By the time I was 15 and became a fashion model, I worried so much about how much I would travel that I pledged never to drive a car. It was so hard but it was my own contribution to society. Until this day, I have never owned one – but with advances in technology, I have decided to start learning! I absolutely love Kia and I'm so happy to see that we are all finally understanding the importance of moving into the future of electric.'
Invest in a greener future by learning more about electric vehicles such as the fully electric Kia EV6
Climate Action Needs Culture video by Picture Zero Productions
