ALWAYS extremely busy as she strives to spread love and goodwill around the globe, the delightful Katherina Roshana took time out to have a little ‘chat’ with us; and as always, she created a buzz, as she customarily does.The achievements of this classy woman include the Miss Guyana Universe 2013 title, International Ambassador for World Peace Award, Miss India Guyana 2013 crown, Miss India Worldwide’s Most Beautiful Skin Award, and the coveted Media Choice for the Woman of Substance Accolade.

During a whirlwind tour of her beloved country of birth and citizenship, I embraced opportunity to interview her, and have learnt that she has taken Guyana to some of the world’s greatest catwalks, and has created international stir, respect and interest in our country. This is quite aside from the sterling work she is doing marketing Guyana as a great country for tourism, while representing Guyana at international pageantry.

She has reportedly placed Guyana on the international map as a national beauty queen of the tropics. While in Moscow and Malaysia, she took hundreds of Guyanese trinkets as gifts and tokens to assist in marketing our rich tourism potential. In interviewing this vivacious beauty, I was taken aback by her love for country and all the people that inhabit this beautiful land of ours.

She says it is painful to see political marksmanship and ambition for power create ethnic and social divisions in a land where the national motto is: One people, One Nation, One Destiny.

Kate, as she is more popularly known, grew up in a home where national love and deep patriotism are practised by her parents. As her father, Roshan Khan, would always say, “Judge people by their character, their speech, never by their colour or social status…”

Katherina emotionally encourages youths and all citizens to adopt this same principle for personal enhancement. The beauty queen recognises that most people commiserate with each other in decency and respect, and she says that from this we can truly build according to the philosophies of our national motto.

Touching lightly on the issue of governance, Katherina says that all Governments have been mostly good in many ways, from the history she has studied. “Now, with the new President, David Granger, I listen to his words. I look at his emotions. I can see he is a good person and wishes good for Guyana,” she said.

She notes that all presidents are humans and cannot know or do it all, and that mistakes have and will be made, but she assures that there is definitely need for political leaders to foster true unity, since it’s a driving factor that can take any nation to great heights.

She believes that for Guyanese to truly enjoy growth and development in a truly glorious manner, and forge ahead in steam and power, a Unity Government will certainly do the trick; and she feels in her heart that this can certainly be achieved.

Autism and Suicides
During her reign as Miss India Guyana and Miss Universe Guyana 2013, she dedicated her reign to making Autism a household name and knowledge. She says she is satisfied, because the campaign became truly national by walks, talks, television programmes and newspaper publications in which she was involved. The then First Lady also spoke on the this scourge, which caused much suffering among families, mostly the children, because people’s lack of knowledge on the subject caused them to think that children affected by the disease were mentally ill or were possessed by some sort of demon.

Suicides:
Katherina has written two dynamic articles on the causes of suicides, and those were published. The beauty queen says there is no quick-fix or band-aid system to eradicate the scourge of suicides from Guyana. It is both a national and international problem, she says. She says that youths sometimes build up ‘pain-bodies’ in themselves, and this could be likened to an alien force within them, pushing them to commit suicides.
Some call these pain bodies all kinds of things, including Jinn. Imaginary monsters are within, and they push youths to hurt themselves or hurt others. It can start with negative imaginations, annoyances, and bad experience in a home or family, but it grows from there.

It can also begin when parents do not listen to their children, do not talk and pray with them, do not play and give them love. But, she said, many other factors can cause people to lose faith in life. A broken heart can cause a youth — male or female — to think life is useless, she says.

She particularly wished to compliment Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud for establishing a suicide information desk and line to help those who may wish to take their own lives. She desperately hopes the line would help suicidally-inclined persons to call and ask for help.

She opines that it will be helpful to publish the names of the Police Stations, the Districts, and also the telephone numbers, so it sinks into the heads of depressed persons who wish to take their lives.

Addressing the very touchy topic of pageantry in Guyana, Katherina said she feels that international pageants and participants need Government subventions.

“To suddenly call young ladies within two weeks’ time to get ready for the national competition, and one week for the international competition, is truly unfair, and even wrong, but the franchise holders have limitations. To be prepared and ready is not magic.

“It is very unfair for our young ladies to present themselves in what may be less than a week’s mental and physical preparation for an international pageant, where others have been trained for months, and some for even years, as the case with Miss Venezuela.

“It is so wrong to our Guyanese queens. And it’s time that they are viewed as international beauty ambassadors. As in the case of Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, the United States, Europe, the Philippines, some African nations, the Government of India etc… They provide a salary to the queens for at least a year to (enable them to) prepare, stipend for make-up, etc. In this way, the queens can dedicate themselves without looking for a salary from their jobs. Some support to the franchise holder is also necessary, so the queen can travel first class and be provided proper clothing for cold weather when needed; and proper clothes for a queen to present herself to dinners, meetings, interviews and the actual pageant itself…

“Then the Private Sector needs to step in and provide gifts of quality…” she offered.

Her experience in the world of pageantry was extraordinary. It is one she would never forget. She said she learned to be strong; to be competitive, yet to respect; to be a fighter, but not a tyrant. She is much more developed in self-confidence, poise and charm. She said she discovered, in her years in pageantry, the oneness of humanity.

She related that she saw struggles, pains and hurts — even tears — when people who should win in the international pageants could not place for reasons she would not now say, but she encouraged all talented young ladies to never sell themselves short; never become a tool of false promises and grandeur. To know that they were there, they did it, and they have learned. That is her advice for the newcomers, especially from the poorer Third World states, which cannot afford the large franchise fees.

“Do the best you can do; Be the best you can be always……”, is her final advice for pageantry participants. “Make it a hobby, not a lifelong career. Know when to quit; do not get caught in the glitz and shadowy glamour. And do not fall if you do not place. Be a better you,” she advises.