REIGNING Miss World Guyana, the 24-year-old beauty Nuriyyih Gerrard, has paid a visit to the youngsters of the Juvenile Holding Centre in Georgetown, and has offered them words of encouragement and wisdom, received by an audience of giggling girls at the institution.Reminding them that they also are beautiful and should not be limited by their circumstances, past or present, Ms. Gerrard said at the end of the visit: “Basically, I spoke to them on pursuing their dreams; learning how to cope with challenges; developing a resilient attitude towards life; ensuring that they are supportive towards each other; and that they communicate how they feel, and that they seek the support of an adult if they feel that a challenge is too much for them.”

The Friday visit formed part of the beauty queen’s “Beauty with a Purpose” initiative, which focuses on mental health issues in Guyana.

Following the visit, Gerrard expressed desire to continue collaboration with the facility through her NGO, One Act Foundation. “I certainly do feel motivated to continue the work that I’ve started. I feel as though I need to visit more often, because they do crave that sort of attention. They need more role models appearing at the facility to give them hope,” she stated.

The beauty queen said she was initially drawn to visiting the institution because she felt she could connect with the youths, given that she knows what it feels like to be faced with difficulties growing up. “I do feel a lot of empathy for those young people in that situation, and I basically wanted to go there to encourage them: let them know that this is not the end of the world, and they don’t have to give up on themselves. I, too, would have faced certain challenges in my life; maybe not as severe or as extreme as that, but I can relate to them because we all face challenges, and I know that unless you have a firm voice of wisdom helping to shape your perspective of the world in a positive way, it can become an overwhelming situation whenever you’re faced with difficulties,” she explained.

The visit was part of a string of activities this queen has planned ahead of her representation at the 2016 Miss World Pageant in Washington DC, USA on December 20.

Ms. Gerrard said plans are afoot to visit some 14 orphanages across Guyana; while a mental awareness outreach is planned for next month, and a mental health summer camp is planned from August 29th to 31st at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.