–as Miss World 2016 gets off to grand start in DC

MISS World Guyana, Nuriyyih Gerrard, has officially begun competing at the Miss World

2016 pageant in Washington DC, United States of America (USA), in her quest to become a world changer.

The stunning Guyanese beauty joined the party on Sunday for this spectacular competition, which ends in a grand finale on Sunday, December 18. She hopes to relive the successes of her predecessors of yore, while not underestimating the successes of queens of recent.

The well-respected beauty, whose forte is communication and drama, has the unique facial characteristics that define a woman of beauty, confidence and strength. Miss World Guyana franchise holder, Natasha Martindale, has said the team is confident in Nuriyyih’s communication skills as a media personality, and is banking on the ‘multimedia, interview, and beauty with a purpose’ categories to push her into the final spotlight.

“Nuriyyih is a media personality, so our focus is winning and/or doing well in a few areas; namely Multimedia, Interview, and Beauty with a Purpose,” Martindale told the Guyana Chronicle in an interview yesterday.

SPECIALLY CREATED
Martindale said the competition features no national costume contest this year, but the

queen’s talent outfit was specially created by House of Pearson, while her top-model and designer gowns were fashioned by award-winning designer Randy Madray.

“I feel strongly about her participation, like I did with Rafieya and Lisa. (They) bring out their best selves and bless the world with their talents and their experience to make a difference in the world,” Martindale said.

Rafieya Hussain, Miss World Guyana 2014, emerged one of five winners of the ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ category; while Miss World Guyana 2015, Lisa Punch, shot her way to the Top 15 Special Queens collection to be named “the undisputed star of the talent show”.

Punch is named “alumni” on the Miss World record, and was one of the prominent Miss World stars who performed at the Miss World Special Awards ceremony to pay homage to Julia Morley in Sanya City, China last year.

Martindale told the Guyana Chronicle, “As long as Nuriyyih maintains her confidence and continues to be a version of her best self, she can and will be successful. I am confident in her skills and abilities.”

NO EASY TASK
She, however, said that ensuring great representation on the international stage is no easy task, and it cannot be done by just a small group of people.

“Indeed, it takes a village. As a result and on behalf of team Miss World Guyana (MWG), I sincerely thank all of you who helped in one small way or the other to make this journey possible,” Martindale posted in a Facebook message yesterday.

Meanwhile, in her introduction video posted by Miss World on ‘Youtube’, the Miss World Guyana queen said: “If we work hard and believe in ourselves, our dreams can come true.

“At 24 years old, I stand proud to represent my country, Guyana, as a young Guyanese woman, an entrepreneur, making strides in the field of communication by using my talent to bring people together; an award-winning actress and peace ambassador who is determined to contribute to the overall growth and development of my beloved country, Guyana.”

LIVE MY DREAMS
She goes on to say that, since she was a little girl, she’s always dreamt of making a difference in the world.

“Today I get to live my dreams by illuminating lives with positivity, hope and love. I am most honoured to be a part of such a great movement as the Miss World Competition, where dreams create unity by bringing so many different countries together.

“On this platform, our dreams do not only become alive, but flourish!”

Martindale said Guyanese can rally around our queen by liking her Facebook competition page at: https://www.facebook.com/MissWorldGuyana/; or by interacting with her, tweeting or tagging her competition twitter profile at: https://twitter.com/missworldguyana.

Though until today many Guyanese still hold the performance of Miss Guyana 1967, Shakira Baksh, (now Mrs. Michael Caine) as the standard of attainment for our queens, Martindale said, she never compares our younger queens with our 60s’ superstars.
This, she said, is due to the fact that “the competition is totally different now,” and each queen must be her own best self and not try to be someone else.

Instead, she said, “My question is more like ‘Would Shakira still be able to place if she was competing in this era?’ For me, we need to drum home to our representatives that they must compete with themselves and no one else.”