It was an emotional moment for the current reigning Miss Samoa, Haylani Pearl Kuruppu as she presented her book before the children who attended her book signing.

The event which was held at the Samoa Stationary and Books (S.S.A.B.) Megastore attracted dozens of children from nearby schools, who attended to hear about the book and the hurdles that she had to overcome to get to where she is today. 

Standing before the young audience, Ms. Kuruppu talked about her journey as a young girl who grew up with two very different cultural backgrounds, in the lead-up to her participation and crowning as the current Miss Samoa last year.

“I’m so blessed because this is definitely a part of something that I have wanted to do for so long which is to always give back to the community,” she said. “I feel over the moon and very grateful for this opportunity to be the first Miss Samoa to have written a book as well. 

"You can really do anything when you are Miss Samoa and hopefully this helps the children as well. Me being half-Samoan and Sri Lankan, as well as being Australian-born, we know that diversity is different here and this book targets that and talks about my journey to Miss Samoa and being involved in two different cultures."

The book titled "Haylanni: the journey to Miss Samoa" is about resilience and the trials and tribulations that she had to go through in order to get the crown as Miss Samoa. Originally priced at $55 the publication was on sale for a special price of $49.90 on Thursday.

“I really love this book because it targets culture, faith in God, my talents and it can relate to different things the children go through," she said. 

Ms. Kuruppu added that she is happy that her life story and journey have given birth to a picture book for young children to read and become inspired in order for them to overcome adversity in their own lives.

Revealing that her story is told through colour and words, the current Miss Samoa said she is keen on giving more back to the community and writing and publishing her book was part of her wider efforts to tick those boxes.