by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Tues. Feb. 6, 2024

By the time this article is published in Friday’s edition of Amandala, the Jewel’s very own, Elise-Gayonne Vernon and her team will be making their final preparations to depart the country en route to India, where she is scheduled to compete in the Miss World 2024 competition.

Miss World is recognized internationally as one of the oldest existing international beauty pageants, established in the United Kingdom in 1951. It is known as one of the four major international beauty pageants for women, along with Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Earth.

Vernon mentioned that Miss World not only focuses on a woman’s outer beauty like its sister competition, Miss Universe, but also touches on the intellectual, athletic and other talents.

“Miss World is all about being a beauty with a purpose, [which] means that, sure, you’re beautiful on the outside, but you’re also beautiful on the inside; and women are capable of doing so many different things, and Miss World tends to showcase that,” said Vernon.

“… For sports, I have been putting in an entire year in track and gym. I have been building my endurance and my stamina. I have been doing a lot of running, a lot of body building, and so I’m excited for the sports. For the talent, well, that has been a surprise up to now; so, I’ll let you know that I’m playing the pan and singing a Belizean song,” she said.

As a tradition for Miss World, an award is given to one of its participants with the most relevant and important charity project in her nation entitled, “Beauty with a Purpose,” and Vernon’s project is called, Cultivating the Future, which focuses on using agriculture to combat and decrease world hunger.

Vernon, who has a background in farming and is a certified beekeeper, uses the platform to educate others in agriculture.

“My grandfather was a farmer, and I had to move up to the farm and learn everything from scratch, from the very bottom; in this way, I know how it is to not know about something, and be able to share that with the world; and that is why I work with several different organizations, to be able to teach young children along with other adolescents about agriculture,” she shared.

The Biscayne resident secured the title over five other Belizean women back in late 2022, when she competed in the local competition and became Miss World Belize 2021, successor to Markeisha Young.

About 116 countries and territories will be in the running for this year’s Miss World title.