Miss World's First World Tour
 | 4th February Alexandria reflects on her experiences |
          | Miss World Alexandria Mills has completed her first international tour of the year, which saw her travel from her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky around the world, across Asia and on to Australia. Having reached the end of her current trip, here is a look-back over some of the incredible fund-raising events, visits and experiences of the tour, with Alexandria reflecting on some of the highlights of the past month. First stop was New York City, and a chance for Alexandria to show Miss World Africa Emma Wareus around some of the world-famous sights of the Big Apple on her first ever trip there. Together, they made the short journey on to Buffalo in support of Variety, The Children's Charity, with visits to the Buffalo Women & Children's Hospital and the Lt Col Matt Urban Centre, which had benefitted from Variety's fundraising work. The charity work continued with the Mother-Daughter Meet and Greet session and a Gala Dinner, where Alexandria met this year's Telethon Celebrity Child Gracie Joyce: "She had been through so much, yet even during our final evening in Buffalo, she was so full of energy!" Another special moment was when the County Executive declared it Miss World Day in the City of Buffalo and the County of Erie, a real honour. Los Angeles next, and a chance for Alexandria and Emma to unwind with a trip to Santa Monica Pier before the long flight to China, and to Haikou. Miss World returned to Hainan island for a ceremony presenting 1.6 million RMB to the Hainan Provincial Government on behalf of both the Miss World Organisation and the Shanghai More Love Foundation. Miss World 2007 Zhang Zilin joined Alexandria and Emma for the occasion, with the donation going towards relief projects and reconstruction following the storms and floods which had caused such devastation across the island in October last year. This added to the 3 million RMB already raised last year through the Shanghai Charity Auction at Miss World 2010. On to South East Asia, and Miss World arrived in Malaysia for the official launch of this year's competition in Kuala Lumpur. Also in attendance were Thanuja Ananthan (Malaysia 2009) and Manasvi Mamgai (India 2010), as the event also saw a presentation of 150,000 RM on behalf of the "Hope For Children" program to launch the "1 Million Sewing Machines for India" campaign. Launched in August 2009 by Paul Ting, the "Hope for Children" charity project has set a target to raise at least $10 million over the next 5 years to help improve the lives of needy and underprivileged children around the world. Their journey continued to Manila, with a fabulous Philippine welcome and the launch of this year's national competition, with Ruffa Gutteriez (Miss World 1993 2nd runner-up) and Evangeline Pascaul (Miss World 1973 1st runner-up) also present. New licence holder Cory Quirino is one of the Philippines' top TV and radio hosts, and a successful beauty and wellness guru, and through "Beauty With A Purpose", this year's Philippines competition will work to raise funds for the Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation and the Tuloy Street Foundation. Miss World paid visits to both of these incredible organisations, with memorable experiences. At Philippine General Hospital, Alexandria and Emma visited the maternity ward to meet some of the new arrivals and see first-hand the contributions made through the Medical Foundation provides. The Tuloy Street Foundation was founded by Father Marciano "Rocky" G. Evangelista, a safe haven for street children which has provided education, accommodation and facilities for over 10,000 kids since 1993. Having changed the lives of so many young people for the better, it was a particular highlight for Alexandria during her travels: "Visiting the Tuloy Street Foundation was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. I am a really emotional person but it was an experience that really touched me. All the children there had been through so much and had been given a second chance, and I felt such a positive energy there. When they sang for us and blessed us, I could feel my eyes watering and I tried to hold them back, but I couldn’t stop myself from crying! And then some of the children started crying – tears of joy – so the little girls gave us big hugs and offered us tissues!" But before heading on to Australia, Miss World completed her Asian leg of the tour in Singapore, with the launch of this year's national finals under way to find a representative for Miss World 2011. Miss World arrived in Melbourne for a photo-shoot on St. Kilda Beach before going on a tour of the city, visiting some of the historic sights, including St. Patrick's and St. Paul's, the Shrine of Remembrance, and Cook's Cottage. But their final stop was in Sydney, where they enjoyed a lunchtime harbour cruise before taking in the view from the Sydney Tower Skywalk and taking a stroll through Sydney Wildlife World: "Sydney was amazing – we managed to do so much sight-seeing, that between me and Emma, we took 1000 photos just in Sydney. I was ecstatic to go on the boat cruise around the Harbour, and visit the wildlife park. Since I was a little girl, I had always wanted to see koala bears. But I wanted to see all the lizards and snakes too! And I also loved the kangaroos, and the butterflies – I find them so calming." But it was their journey north-east of Sydney that proved to be the highlight. The South Narrabeen Surf Club hosted Variety's "Bush to the Beach" program, and Alexandria and Emma joined the kids, many from poor and troubled backgrounds, who had travelled 850km overnight by coach for a weekend of beach-based fun. "It was great to be part of the “Bush to the Beach” program, and meet everyone that was involved. Some of the little girls made us bracelets which we got to take home as a special gift." Looking back at her trip, Miss World Alexandria Mills remarked: "It has been such a jam-packed schedule, but it is the best thing in the world, raising money for good, and if we change even just one life for the better, it is worth it." |
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