All Saints’ Day, also known as the Feast of All Saints or Solemnity of All Saints, commemorates the powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven and the living. It revolves around “giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of His saints,” both “famous and obscure.”
Individuals throughout the Church Universal are honored. Among them are Paul the Apostle, Augustine of Hippo and John Wesley, in addition to those who have personally led one to have faith in Jesus Christ.
But one need not be canonized before they could help people. Anyone can do saintly deeds, including beauty queens.
Bulletin Entertainment caught up with Miss Earth-India Nishi Bhardwaj, Miss Earth-Mauritius Kirty Sujeewon, Miss Earth-Philippines Celeste Cortesi, Miss Earth-Belgium Faye Bulcke, and Miss Earth-Portugal Telma Madeira recently.
Here, they talk about their “saintly deeds,” as well as their advocacies.
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Helping even in small ways means much to others
Miss Earth-India–Nishi Bhardwaj: “One time, on my way to dance class, I saw two little girls having a hard time crossing the road because the cars won’t stop. So I went up to them, held their hands, and said, ‘Let’s go together.’ It was overwhelming seeing them smile. I was happy to help them.”
Miss Earth-Mauritius–Kirty Sujeewon: “I had a day with kids who have autism. I helped them because their parents were not present. It was very challenging for me because the kids needed special attention and I needed to understand them. I’m glad I was able to make them happy.”
Miss Earth-Philippines-Celeste Cortesi: “Everyday we can do something to help other people. Like we can help an old lady cross the street, we can give direction to strangers. We can send good vibes by greeting people ‘Good morning.’ I don’t really do memorable ‘saintly deeds,’ because I don’t count every good deed I’ve done. I’m just happy I was able to help other people in the way I can.”
Miss Earth-Belgium–Faye Bulcke: “I’m a social person. If people need something, I’m there to support or give whatever they need. Also, I’m an honest person, so if something is wrong with you, I will tell you. I think, helping is also about being honest and true to the people around you.”
Miss Earth-Portugal–Telma Madeira: “I did fashion shows to help people with disabilities, people who don’t have money, food, and clothes. I did a lot of this in my year as a beauty queen.”
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Protecting the environment is good
Bhardwaj: “My advocacy is to fight air pollution which is man-made. In Asian countries like India, polluted air (negatively) affects our throat. I want to make people aware of this, and give them knowledge on how to take care of air.”
Sujeewon: “My advocacy is about the use of plastic in order to preserve Mother Earth. Plastic is man-made and it can’t return to earth in a good way.”
Cortesi: “Mine is about plastic innovation because nowadays, it’s really hard to avoid using plastic because it’s already there. The challenge is to become innovative and encourage everyone to recycle.”
Bulcke: “I want to focus on education like teaching little ones the right way of living.”
Madeira: “There are many simple ways we can adapt in our everyday life that could make a difference. We could just save water, less consumption of energy. It may be small ways but these have big impact.”
(The five contestants, along with other gorgeous Miss Earth candidates, join Connext Insurance Agency, an insurance provider, and FPG Insurance, known for insurance coverage, in pushing the envelope to move towards “paperless” insurance policy)