Aspiring teacher wins Miss Berbice “I am a Big Deal” pageant

…$1.2M given to contestants for own home project

Rameshwarie Devi Jairam of Islington, Greater New Amsterdam was on Sunday declared winner of the Miss Berbice “I am a Big Deal” beauty and empowerment pageant for 2018, for which eight contestants had been vying over a three-week period.
The 21-year-old obtained the judges’ nod following a close battle with Cintiana Harry of Kilcoy Village, Corentyne, who copped the 1st runner-up position. Omgila Bindha was declared the 2nd runner-up.
Jairam also won the Talent, Intelligence, Best Smile and Miss Congeniality awards; while Harry won the Best Costume, Best Evening Gown and Miss Impression

awards.
The contest had seen participants competing in a costume segment, which was held on the road in Rose Hall Town; and a swimwear segment, which took place at the poolside of the Skeldon Estate Pool. The scores from those segments were tabulated and added to the scores on pageant night.
On Saturday night into Sunday morning, the contestants showcased their talent and evening gowns, as well as their intelligence in the question-and-answer segment.
Organiser of the pageant, Tracy Khan, explained that there were four different judges for each segment, and five judges for the final segment.
The final question asked of Jairam, who aspires to become a teacher, was to explain the term women’s empowerment to a high school student.
“Women’s empowerment is having a woman recognise her capabilities and her strength; and to explain to a high school student about women’s empowerment, I would say it is a way of finding a way and a solution to empower yourself in every way possible, whether it be education or work. It is a mindset on your capabilities and your strength,” Jairam told the judges and the crowd at the Albion Sports

Complex.
The runner-up, Harry, was asked, “Can poverty be eradicated, and how?”
She answered, “I believe that poverty can be eradicated by educating our students at school, and also having educational outreaches in our communities.”
The contestants had embraced platforms such as suicide, domestic violence, cyber-bullying, and women’s empowerment. Before the various winners were announced, contestants were surprised when they were told that Fabulous Homes Reality was going to give to each of the delegates $150,000 towards a new home project.
Organiser Khan said Fabulous Homes Reality had promised to assist the contestants, but she was unaware of the input the company was making towards development of the contestants.
The “I’m a Big Deal” pageant was promoted by RD Production. The contest is now in its second year.
According to Promoter Royston Drakes, one of the main aspects of the pageant is to “empower young women” in everyday aspects of their lives. The pageant focused on education, empowerment, discipline, talent, and building self-confidence and leadership qualities.
The pageant was also aimed at encouraging women to take up roles as leaders in society. Moreover, it geared the contestants to become role models, and equipped them with the necessary tools to build Berbice as a cohesive county. (Andrew Carmichael)