ELEVEN of the young ladies hoping to vie for the Miss World Guyana crown turned up for the first casting call two Sundays ago at the Cara Lodge.
And from the looks of things, even if some of them don’t make it past the first round, with all the laughs and tears, the girls are already beginning to take something away from the experience.
“It was amazing! It was fun and challenging,” said Nitifah Thompson, who admits that she decided to try out for the pageant to get a little confidence boost.
“I applied for the pageant because I was told that it can make me a better person. I was scared, but I still managed to complete all that we had to do on that day.
“We laughed, some cried, but I felt better at the end of it; I wasn’t as nervous at the end.”
The girls were taken through a number of segments to test their readiness to be the queen, including sports training with Space Gym’s O’ryan Joseph. There were also talent tryouts, modelling tryouts, and making their “Beauty With A Purpose” pitch. And the girls enjoyed every moment of it.
“It was fun for me; I learnt a lot from the couple hours I was there, and I’m looking forward to being selected,” said Hemwantie Seodat.

BEAUTY WITH A PURPOSE
Many of the girls were particularly in love with the “Beauty with a Purpose” segment.
“The Beauty with a Purpose segment really peak my interested,” said another one of the girls, who will be advocating Ending Sexual Abuse.
“I’ve spent most of my life volunteering, and I saw this pageant as an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of persons, mainly because of what it represents,” she said.
“I’ve always had a love for glamour and fashion, as well, so those other segments are just a bonus. Also, I’m into fitness and health, so, all in all, I think that I can be a positive role model, and this platform will provide me with such an opportunity.”

Nitifah Thompson is also looking forward to the “Beauty with A Purpose” segment.
“I always love being there for the less privileged, and now I have the chance to help the people in my country, and the world in general, as I make myself a better person,” Nitifah said.
“I have learned that Miss World is not just about your pretty looks, but what you can give to the less privileged, or anyone suffering from some form of trauma that may have affected them,” she added.
The “Beauty with a Purpose” platform has been a big part of the Miss World Pageant. Over the years, suicide prevention has been a recurring theme for the Miss World Guyana queens.
Reigning queen, Nuriyyih Gerrard’s platform on Mental Health Awareness speaks a lot about suicide prevention. It was also an area that former queen, Lisa Punch, focused on. Punch went on to launch her own suicide prevention organisation, POTS, short for the Prevention of Teenage Suicide.

FIRST OF TWO
Last Sunday was the first of two casting calls opened for delegates to attend as they aspire to the throne. The other is set for this Sunday, also at the Cara Lodge at 10:00hrs.
Time was a challenge for some of the girls at the first casting call, however, really giving a bad first impression.
Two of the girls arrived late, even though the need for timeliness was emphasised to them. Also, three of the girls who confirmed to come did not show up.
Judges at the last casting call were official hairstylist, Quincy Roberts; the official MUA, Renee Chester; Rohsanne Butcher; Franchise Holder, Natasha Martindale; Paul Charles; Rico Tumilang; and Brian Backer.
The pageant is opened to Guyanese girls based both locally and overseas, between the ages of 16 to 24.
Thus far, five girls residing overseas have submitted applications to be in the pageant. Measures are put in place for them to be evaluated separately before the list is narrowed down to the the top ten that will be in the final pageant.