….competing in the Miss Region three Culture Pageant
Photos by: Samuel Maughn
The West side is the best side, and come April 1 eight young ladies are going to hope to be the best of the best when they go up against each other in the Miss Region 3 Culture Pageant and After Show set for the parking lot of the Leonora National Stadium (Track and Field Centre).

The miss region3 culture pageant is the first of this level in the region, and will be featuring “Culu Culu” singer international artist Savage in his inaugural performance in Guyana.

The queen from this pageant will be representing Guyana at the Miss Caribbean Culture Pageant in 2018 in Sint Maarten. Earlier this week we sat down with the ladies, to get a little feel of what they’re like.

Delegate #1
Name: Sonia Cummings
Age: 26
Platform: Domestic Violence
Occupation: Pharmacy Assistant/Cook
Village: Phoenix Park

My last chance! This pageant will mark the second and the last for Ms. Cummings, who previously participated in the Miss Universe Guyana pageant in 2014. She’s hoping that her previous pageant experience will give her an edge when things get underway. A bubbly girl, she smilingly spoke of her love for cooking, and working as a cook at her mom’s restaurant. She has a deep love for her west side life, where she emphasized how friendly and calming life is. Sonia definitely feels like the kind of girl that’s easy to get along with.

Delegate # 2
Name: Geetanjali Nauth
Age: 16 years old
Platform: Empowering Women
Occupation: Secondary School Student
Village: Meten-Meer-Zorg

Talk about transformation! We first met Geetanjali when she was adelegate in the Miss Talented Teen Pageant last year, and my has she blossomed since then. Then shy Nauth did not place but walked with a prize for being the “Most Improved Delegate”, sitting down with Nauth earlier this week it was obvious to see that the improvement continued. Swinging her long locks, the ever smiling Nauth spoke of how doing pageantry last year helped her get out of her shell and work on her confident and public speaking. Nauth spoke to us a little about life on the West Coast, growing up with her loving family, and how much she looks forward to passing on the love and family togetherness to her own children one day. Pageantry, as well as modelling has always been a passion of hers and whether she wins or not she’s looking to continuing those aspirations.
Delegate # 3
Name: Anicia Williams
Age: 18 years old
Platform: Street Harassment
Occupation: Cosmetologist/Model
Village: Windsor Forest

Another Miss Talented Teen 2016 alum! Anicia was also in the Miss Talented Teen pageant last year, and this pageant is actually going to be her third as she works her way up to the big leagues! Anicia was also was also in a Ms. President Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) in 2015 and finished as the second runner up! On the modelling end she modelled the runway at Guyana Fashion Week (GFW) last year, and loves the how adventurous experiences of being a model. She’s passionate about being a cosmetologist because she’s totally in love with the feeling she gets when she can help another satisfied customer feel better about the way they look! She’s also big on family. She choose street harassment as her platform because she’s just about had it with all her bad experiences with disrespectful men in society, and encourages other women to stand up against the issue.

Delegate # 4
Name: Olancia Howard
Age: 30 years old
Platform Peer Pressure
Occupation: Aspiring Entrepreneur
Village: Best Village

Total model material! At 30 years old Howard is the eldest delegate in the pageant, and she’s also one of the tallest, and with some work she could do some serious damage on a runway! But what Howard really wants to do however is to open her own business and be a crochet teacher. She considers herself a shy person, and is somewhat reserved, but only until she starts talking about life on the west side, and it’s then that her face lights up. “Life on the west side is everything, this is my paradise over here. This is the place that I want to grow old in,” she expressed. She’s also avid about her peer pressure platform. The eldest of six siblings she’s very enthusiastic about advocating against peer pressure as she would hate to see her siblings get lead astray because of that.

Delegate # 5
Name: Whitney Robertson
Age: 19 years old
Platform: Environmental Protection
Occupation: Aspiring Nurse
Village: Den Amstel

Keeping it natural! If nothing else Whitney stands out in this pageant and the only delegate rocking that natural hair flow. She also gives off that model material vibe, and could be another Delesa Archer in the making. Robertson however is more looking to build on her dream to be a nurse, something she’s been inspired to do ever since her grandmother became blind, and she’s been helping to care for her. “I never got fed up of it, I enjoyed it to the best. I was like why not just do something I was passionate about,” Robertson said of her ambition. She’s also all about that sports life and has dabbled in a little cricket and football. She’s not too pleased with Guyanese and their lackadaisical culture towards pollution and that’s why she choose environmental protection as her platform to advocate for betterment. “The environment protects us and we should protect it,” she says.

Delegate #6
Name: Tonia Harris
Age: 18 years old
Platform: Child Abuse
Occupation: Aspiring Medical Practitioner
Village: Canal #1

A pretty straight up girl! Off the bat Tonia lets you know that confidence is one thing that she will be bringing to the table, even while describing herself as simple, sweet and easy to talk to. Speaking with her you could see how that would be true. “I have the experience, all the other young ladies in the pageant have the experience too yes, but everyone is different, and what I would put forward I don’t think they can bring,” she said. Tonia also comes with pageant experience, taking part in two pageants in 2015. She reigned as queen in the Miss Emancipation (West Bank) pageant and finished second runner up at the Miss Secondary Talented Teen Pageant that was held at Queen’s College.

Delegate # 7
Name: Kasherell Payne
Age: 21 years old
Platform: Suicide Prevention
Occupation: Nurse
Village: Uitvlugt

Smile a while, and give your face a rest! Nothing makes Kasherell’s day like being able to put a smile on someone’s face, and working in the health sector she gets the opportunity to do that a lot. Kasherell is all about being the change that she wants to see, which is exactly how she ended up as a nurse. It was thanks to a bad experience while one of her aunt was in the hospital that Kasherell decided that she wanted to do her part to make the world a better place, one patient at a time. “The level of care she was getting was unacceptable, so I decided to join nursing to make a change within the health sector,” she said. “I really love to see smiles on a person’s face, if I can make someone smile it would make my day.”

Delegate # 8
Name: Marcia Clarke
Age: 22 years old
Platform: Racism
Occupation: Student Nurse
Village: De Kinderen

Loving the skin she’s in! Marcia’s platform on racism is something that runs deep as she recalls her schools days as a racial minority, having to learn to rise above discrimination. She now enjoys encouraging others to not let whatever others might say about them, define them. “Not because you are being discriminated against you should do it to others. That should not determine who you should be, or whether you fall or rise in society,” she said, reminding that “Not because you are being discriminated against you should do it to others.” She decided to become a nurse because she always had a passion for caring for other people.