Miss World delighted to be part of ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ Project
By Naa Betty Mingle
Miss Ivan Lunasol Sarcos, reigning Miss World, has said she is delighted to be part of Miss Ghana 2010’s Beauty with a Purpose project on educating children in the Sodom and Gomorrah slum.
This, she said, would bring smiles and joy to the hearts of these children and their families.
The Miss World 2011, who is in the country for a five-day working visit, was speaking at a media conference organised by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly in fulfillment of its promise to help Miss Stephanie Adwoa Adjeiwaa Karikari, Miss Ghana 2010, achieve her project.
Miss Stephanie Karikari jointly won the Beauty with a Purpose honour with Miss Indonesia, following a unanimous decision by judges in awarding her with the prestigious award for her documentary on the challenges of the children of New Fadama in accessing meaningful education.
Miss Ivian Sarcos thanked the people of Ghana for the warm hospitality given her, and promised to put her full support behind the team to see the successful implementation of the project.
The Chairman and Chief Executive of the Miss World Organisation, Julia Morley, said beauty pageant contestants like Miss World teach women to be confident and perform better.
She praised Miss Karikari for the mammoth innovation she had tirelessly worked towards, and said, “This effort indicates that we can love, even in sadness.”
She, however, identified that with the problem faced by the children who would have to travel daily to the new school site at Ayalolo, they were making strides at acquiring a bus to help in their transportation.
On his part, the Mayor of Accra, Mr. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, reiterated his passion to support the education of young persons in the pursuit of their dreams.
He said the Assembly joined the train because “Accra is a millennium city of high standards, and any effort at achieving this target is always of consequence to us, because we want to transform Accra into one of the world’s finest cities.”
He added that beauty pageant contestants, from his experience with his daughter who made a decision to participate in a similar pageant in South Carolina, had taught him that a lot of ideas are unearthed from them.
“We at AMA will not only be supporting you acquire land and build a block for these children, but we will ensure to provide the best teachers and materials to enhance better tuition,” he added.
Chief Mandela, a grandson of Nelson Mandela of South Africa, who was with the delegation, extended his grandfather’s well-wishes to the team for championing the cause of change of children living in harsh conditions.
He called on the youth to be inspired by the work of Miss Stephanie Karikari, so that the struggles of their forefathers in seeing a better Africa are realised.
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