MISS Universe 2011, Leila Lopes toured several wards at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday accompanied by Presidential Adviser on Empowerment, Mr. Odinga Lumumba, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Mr. Joseph Hamilton and other officials.

In an invited comment, the beauty queen said it was a pleasure having the opportunity of meeting and interacting with the patients.
“I am very privileged to have had this opportunity and to, at least, bring a little sunshine to the faces of the children,” she said.
Lopes made history for her country after becoming the very first Miss Angola to be crowned Miss Universe last year September.
The 25-year-old laughed and smiled as she hugged runner-up Miss Ukraine, Olesia Stefanko, before having the crown firmly placed on her head at the pageant staged in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The business student, from Angola’s seaside city of Beguela, dazzled the panel of judges with both her beauty and brains.
When she was asked, earlier, what she might change about her physical characteristics, Leila replied that she was satisfied with who she is.
“I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family and I plan to follow those through the rest of my life,” she had told the judges and the audience.
Of the 13 pageants in the past decades, seven have been won by Latino contestants, making Miss Angola’s win even more exciting for her home country.
She started competing in the Miss Universe Contests in 1998, with the first ever contestant from the African nation being Emilia Guardado.
Since 1997 two Miss Angolas have been semi-finalists in the top 15 and one made it into the top 10, but Leila Lopes is the first to be crowned with the title.
She is expected to tour several other places in Guyana, including The Palms, also in Georgetown and the majestic Kaieteur Falls, among others, before heading back home.