MISS Guyana World, the stunning Ruqayyah Boyer, received a Citation Award from the City of New York at a recently help fundraising event in her honour at the Richie Rich Banquet Hall in Queens, New York.

Ruqayyah was nominated for this award by the Caribbean American Domestic Violence Association (CADVA) for her exemplary work in Guyana with her anti-domestic violence and bullying campaigns.

Councilman Ruben Wills commended the ambassador for taking an international stand against both issues, particularly highlighting how bullying is often a precursor to domestic violence.

He spoke to the small gathering at the Queens location on the importance of dealing with these issues, as well as on encouraging young people to stand up and speak out.

Councilman Wills encouraged Miss Boyer to continue her campaign and be the inspiration and role model to many others. He said his budget has $20,000 allocated specifically to fight domestic violence and bullying, and he would like to see it depleted to zero in the fight against these causes.

The congressman invited Miss Boyer to aid in the fight against the issue, now a worldwide plague, by taking advantage of a US$20,000 grant allocated to his budget to further her campaign needs.

Miss Boyer is no newcomer to this plague faced by many in her home country of Guyana, and she has shown her commitment to the cause during pageant competitions.

The Flight of Phoenix Domestic Violence March was the brainchild of Miss Boyer in November 2012, when she inspired young people to take a stand in the streets of Georgetown, Guyana against domestic violence.

Miss Boyer understands the need to develop a resource in order to serve the community, her country and the world. As a result, she launched the HopePhonix.Org website as part of her Beauty with a Purpose Project for the Miss World competition on September 28th 2013.

Miss Boyer thanked the councilman and his office for the surprising and prestigious award. She also thanked the contributors at the fundraising event, and promised to continue her efforts in the fight against domestic violence and bullying, and to continue being an inspiration to others.

She is currently in flight to Indonesia to represent Guyana at the Miss World Pageant, where she will compete with 129 other women in a series of competitions for the Miss World 2013 title.