 | April 23rd A review of the 2009 Beauty With A Purpose Award |
Since Chairman Julia Morley coined the phrase Beauty With A Purpose, it has become the cherished theme of the Miss World Organisation. Over the years Julia Morley and the Miss World Organisation have worked tirelessly to raise funds for many good causes. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated to local and international organisations in aid of disadvantaged children the world over. Causes to have benefited from Miss World’s direct involvement include funding for Cleft Palate Teams in South America, Sri Lanka and Russia, working with Operation Hunger and the Nelson Mandela Trust in Africa, and teaming up with
Jackie Chan and the Chinese Red Cross in bringing aid to those affected by the Asian tsunami five years ago.
Dang Thi Minh Nguyet from the fundraising department of the Vietnamese Red Cross said “Miss World and Beauty With A Purpose has done so much to raise money and influence programs to help people in need. Thank you for bringing some happiness to the less fortunate people of our country”.
Beauty With A Purpose does not stop with just the titleholder. The national representatives and licence holders are actively encouraged to support worthy projects in their own countries. Part of the brief to applicants in each country is that they volunteer their time or fundraise. The Beauty With A Purpose Award singles out and recognises the Miss World contestant who is shown to have made a real difference to people in need in her homeland.
Their hard work is rewarded with a semi-final place at the final event, but more importantly, a guarantee of continued support for their chosen cause from Miss World.
2009 Beauty With A Purpose finalists
 | India – Pooja Chopra The 2009 Beauty With A Purpose Award went to India’s Pooja Chopra, who became involved with the work of Nanhi Kahli, a project which currently supports the education of over 50,800 underprivileged Indian young girls. She visited the largest house for unwanted girls in Asia and pledged to donate every penny she had raised as Miss India to providing them with a better education. The money that was raised went to providing teaching and recourses in the hope that they would never give up their dreams of blossoming into beautiful young women. |
 | Barbados – Leah Marville Leah Marville from Barbados was also a Beauty With A Purpose finalist. She lost her father when she was 11 years old. This tragedy inspired her to get involved with helping families that are affected by the HIV AIDS virus. Leah set up The Love Campaign aimed at abandoning the stigma attached to the HIV AIDS virus. The campaign helped to raise $50,000 with donations and celebrity endorsements including Wyclef Jean, Prime Minister David Thompson and Tom Olsen the UNICEF representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. The campaign was hailed as a reminder to Barbadians to care for their own and enhanced the country’s sense of community. Leah also visited several secondary schools and summer camps to educate children there about the virus. She said “The most fulfilling part is the success stories of the programme and knowing that you are helping families affected by the disease.” Thanks to The Love Campaign the Barbados HIV food-bank reported for the first time in 2009 that it didn’t have to close its doors due to food shortage. |
 | Guatemala – Alida Reyes The third finalist was Guatemala who focussed on projects aimed at improving education in schools in her home country. She wanted to see all the children go to school in a safe environment after she discovered the alarming figure of just 63% of children completing the 5th Grade. The first step was to develop her own ‘School Makeover Project’ aimed at helping the poorest schools bring their infrastructure and facilities to an acceptable level. The project had a double effect. As it grew from strength to strength jobs were created for locals who built and refurbished the education centres. |
