When Bb. Pilipinas Intercontinental 2022 Gabrielle Basiano competes for Miss Intercontinental 2022 in Sharm El-Sheik Egypt next month, she's likely to espouse once again her advocacy for mental health and grief support.
The beauty queen from Borongan, Samar has taken it upon herself to respond directly to followers who message her on Instagram, especially if she senses they are suicidal or depressed.
She recalled that one time she replied to someone from Thailand. "I didn't know he was suicidal already. I just found out about the situation when I was contacted to receive a global recognition award for being one of the inspiring beauty queens because of the case."
"In my own way, I lifted the spirits of the person from Thailand and gave him hope to live again. That's when I realized the impact that my advocacy has on others, and now I just want to pay it forward," Gabrielle stated.
She noted that taking up the cause of mental health and grief support came from her own personal experience, having lost her mother and brother in the same year. That was in 2019.
"I was so down during that time. Doon ko nakita ang importance ng mga tao sa paligid ko. Importante pala na meron kang nakakausap about how you feel. It's not easy losing your loved ones and the people around me....what they did was to keep me busy. I felt less of the pain just by being busy," Gabrielle revealed.
Even while reeling from her sad experience in 2019, Gabrielle still managed to win first runner-up honors in Bb. Pilipinas 2019. For the Miss Intercontinental 2022 competition in Egypt, Gabrielle will still use her time-tested formula of having focus, being dedicated and working hard for the trainings.
"Most importantly, I really instill it in my mind to just enjoy everything. I give it my best, I train hard for it, and I enjoy the journey. I believe that when I do all these, the positive results will follow," she affirmed.