Church service opens Miss Pacific Islands 2019

A church service held on Sunday at Mahuru Gaudi Memorial Church in Vabukori village, Papua New Guinea officially opened the Miss Pacific Islands 2019 Pageant Week Programme.

The theme for this year’s pageant is: “Pacific We Are, One Step, One Aspiration" and it will be held from November 24-30.

Miss Samoa, Fonoifafo Nancy McFarland Seumanu, is competing against other contestants from various Pacific countries for this year’s crown.

“I am excited to be part of this year’s Miss Pacific Islands Pageant, representing my homeland. I am eager to meet each one of my Pacific sisters and get to know them,” she said in a post on the Miss Pacific Islands Facebook page.

“I hope throughout the pageant week, we will exemplify the beauty of each of our culture and country that make the Pacific Islands vibrant and unique.”

Ms. Seumanu hopes to convey a message to the Pacific people to take seriously the basics about living a healthy lifestyle through regular health checks, basic health education and immunisation.

“I want to connect with my sister contestants and in the Pacific spirit use our roles to make a difference however small to the lives of our Pacific youth. 

“Our every action, opinion or statement matters and can live a lasting impression on our Pacific people.” 

She said the most pressing issue affecting women in the Pacific region was gender equality.

“Women in the Pacific are some of the most vulnerable groups that are impacted by gender inequality. This includes having less access to higher education, health care (primary maternal health care) and less political representation."

Other contestants include: Epi Fania Petelo (Miss American Samoa), Terito O Ngakura Story (Miss Cook Islands NZ), Jessica Fong (Miss Fiji), Billma Peter (Miss Marshall Islands), Millenia Finch (Miss Nauru), Lucy Maino (Miss Papua New Guinea), Gladys Habu (Miss Solomon Islands), Hereva Hoata (Miss Tahiti), Yehenara Soukop (Miss Tonga), Tapua Pasuna (Miss Tuvalu) and Violene Blondel (Miss Wallis & Futuna).

Some of the events will include a Miss Pacific Islands Parade on November 29 in the PNG capital Port Moresby.