Beautiful and confident with outgoing personality, these models are a group of bubbly and energetic young women one will easily warm up to.
But, most of them reveal that prior to joining the World Supermodel PNG, they have always lacked confidence, particularly with public speaking.
The models have credited this positive change to Philma Kelegai, the national director and founder of World Supermodel PNG.
Kelegai is a woman with a vision.
She is co-founder for The Leniata Legacy, a group that advocates for gender equality in the workplace, leadership, politics, business, health, talent, and sport for Papua New Guinean women.
This time, she has brought a global brand that aligns itself with empowerment, health and fitness and opportunity to the shores of PNG.
She spoke with Loop PNG about the difference she aims to make and what has been achieved:
“The idea is generally to empower them, and to talk to them about confidence, about expression. I want them to know that they can say no because young girls are afraid to say no, they are afraid to move around freely.
“If you see some of the girls, they’ve grown from little shy flowers to confident women. I’m really proud of them, they’ve grown with speed and it’s not just something I’m talking about, I actually see the growth. That’s why I’m more encouraged to keep doing it.
“So that’s my idea, to bring something here, to bring out young girls, to talk about issues that are not spoken off, to tell them they are beautiful, and tell them they can do anything that they want to do and give them a platform where they can expose PNG, not just to the Pacific but to the world.”
The young women also expressed great admiration for their mentor:
“She’s taking in young children who are trying to take this up, not only as an experience but also as a profession. It’s a really good initiative she has brought,” said one of the models.
Photo: Silversoul Studios