–introduces encampment period for delegates

THE Miss World Guyana Organisation is really pulling out all the stops to ensure the ten finalists in this year’s pageant are as prepared as they can ever be.
So, if any of these girls don’t bring their full ‘A- game’ to the fore come pageant night, it definitely won’t be for the want of training. I can tell you that much!
Taking things up a notch, the organisation has introduced an inaugural encampment period which began last Saturday, and will culminate with the hosting of the pageant on June 25 at the Mariott Hotel.
The girls are staying at a posh house at the swanky Windsor Estates, a major sponsor of the pageant. Furnishing for the house was provided by Kissoon’s Modern Industries Limited, while the groceries are being provided by Massy Supermarket.
The MWGO wrote the girls’ respective employers requesting time off for each finalist so they could be a part of the encampment, and the respective employers have all been rather supportive so far, for which the Organisation is eternally grateful.
The delegates were given quite the welcome by residents of the gated community, who came out for a ‘Welcome to Windsor Meet-and-Greet’. Making the event all the more appealing was Sueria Manufacturing, which was there to share their Daily’s Cocktail with the residents.
Organisers want the encampment to serve to help bring the delegates closer together, and develop themselves.

“When you place people in the whole in an environment to inspire, leadership happens,” related franchise holder, Natasha Martindale.
“This encampment is part of the judging segment; what we want to judge is progress. How has she developed since she started this journey? What is her attitude like? How well does she work with others? What leadership qualities is she displaying? Is she improvising? Is she a problem solver? Those are some of what we hope to achieve with an encampment.”
Natasha has been at the helm of the pageant some three years now. The New York-based financial analyst has since led Guyana to place in the Top Ten of the international Miss World Pageant two years in a row. She now hopes to make this encampment an annual feature of the pageant.
“It’s something I wanted to do from the inception, and I wish I can continue year over year. Encampment is a vital process to self-discovery. It’s time we stop putting women against women, or girl against girl; we need to find a way to support each other, and this is what pageantry should be,” she noted.
The girls are definitely enjoying their little mini-vacation. Who wouldn’t! Right?
“Honestly, it’s a bundle of fun!” declared young Crystal Wills, Delegate #8.
“I’m 17 years old, so I’m the youngest in the pageant, and it’s great to have a sisterly bond with young ladies you never even thought about meeting. We motivate each other, and push each other to be the best, even though we are all going for that one crown. The House Mother, she’s a darling and she is like a real mother to all of us actually.”
While at the house, the girls are under the watchful eye of House Mother, Rohsanne Butcher. As they go about bonding and preparing for the pageant, they will have a few activities to help sharpen them up.
This includes being a part of a sports and fitness challenge held at the National Park in collaboration with Space Gym on Wednesday. There’s also “Tower’s Talent Challenge”, which the girls will be a part of tonight at the Tower Suites to which the public is being invited free of cost.
There’s to also be a “Beauty with a Purpose Fair” on Main Street next Friday, where the finalists will have their projects on display as they focus on fundraising, using GTT’s text-to-vote system.
All are invited to this Fair, and patrons are asked to support their favourite projects by texting the number, from one to ten, that corresponds with the delegate number of their favourite finalist’s project.
For this system, unlimited texting is available, with $20 for each text going towards a worthy cause, and back into the community through the “Beauty with a Purpose Projects”. Each vote costs $34.80, and is VAT-inclusive.