Miss Earth Guyana 2018

LAST week, 22-year old Xamiera Kippins was crowned the 2018 Miss Earth Guyana and the promoters of the pageant, Guyana Premier, explained that it was important that the local pageant was revived in order to highlight Guyana as a green tourism destination.
Prior to 2018, girls were hand-picked for the title but Guyana Premier Marketing Executive Dr. Omesh Balmacoon said that when the opportunity presented itself for a change in this system, the organisation took it.

The company, which is also in the business of promoting Guyanese tourism, thought that the pageant could serve to highlight Guyana’s ‘green’ potential. “We have Miss World and we have Miss Universe but Miss Earth is a pageant with a difference. It promotes the preservation and protection of the environment and we know that living in Guyana, one of our biggest pushes for tourism is the fact that most of what we have to offer is based on the environment like our eco-tourism,” he said.

Although a new queen has been chosen, Balmacoon says that there is still much work to be done.
“Xamiera Kippins, as the winner of Miss Earth Guyana 2018 will be representing Guyana on the international stage.
But, before she does that she will have to ensure that her Beauty for a Cause project is kicked off,” he said.

Kippins’ Beauty for a Cause project, Re-BUILD, means Recycle, Build, Upcycle and Invest in Lives with Dreams and is centred on solving the improper disposal of non-biodegradable waste through recycling and upcycling.
The Miss Earth pageant not only promotes the preservation of the earth but calls for action to taken, and initiative which Balmacoon believe Kippins’ project has already begun to emulate.

He also reminded that the proceeds from the pageant will be going to the Giving Hope Foundation which caters for cancer patients and will be formally handed over in a ceremony soon to come.
Added to this, it is not the last Guyanese will see of the pageant as Guyana Premier will continue its work to create more awareness about the cause.

“This is just the first stepping stone. Not many persons in Guyana know of the Miss Earth pageant in Guyana…the production that we did this year and the promotion as well, it would have given some more people a little bit more knowledge about what it is,” he said.
“This is just the first year and next year it’s going to come even bigger and better. We would have already had persons indicating their interest in joining the pageant so next year we may have even more contestants on the stage vying for the crown.”

The Miss Earth pageant took place on June 23 at the National Culture Centre and selected its queen from a group of six finalists.
Kippins won in a number of categories including best talent (gold), swimwear (gold), costume (gold), evening gown (gold), eco-friendly (bronze) and Beauty for a Cause.
She was fluent in answering the final question posed to top four delegates: ‘Technology makes life very convenient but it is also being blamed for certain environmental problems.

How do you propose to find a balance between technology and earth preservation’
In her response, Kippins began by acknowledging that the use of technology can bring about both negative and positive outcomes.

However, she highlighted that the creation of solar panels, hydropower plants, wind turbines, drip irrigation and more, prove that technology can be used positively to transform the country into a green state.
The First Runner-up for the pageant is 24-year-old Ms. Luann Pellew; the Second runner-up is 25-year-old Ms. Akisha Payne, and the Third Runner-up is Ms. Anita Baker.