Abigail Havora

Family, close friends, colleagues and the public were present to pay their last respect to the late Ruby Ann Laufa.

Her sister, Sherridan Laufa took to the podium to give her sister’s eulogy to the congregation.

A line of tributes were given by some of her close friends from the University of Papua Nrew Guinea, the Legal Training Institute, the Pageant, colleagues and friends.

Present also to pay their last respect was former Miss South Pacific Queen, Abigail Havora and the Patron of Miss Pacific Islands Pageant PNG, Lynda Babao O’Neill.

Havora is a 25 year old medical student of Papua New Guinea.

“It’s been great, I got to travel and represent not only my country Papua New Guinea in regional and even global conferences,but the Pacific as a whole by being an ambassador for many things from Climate Change resilience to raising awareness on proper health care,” she said.

At the end of the week, Havora will crown the new face and ambassador for Pacific island countries.

Havora believes being crowned Miss Pacific Islands isn’t about having a beautiful face or charismatic behavior.

These young women are setting the standard of what it means to be a leader by getting involved in charity work and giving back to the community. 

It can be through representing the country as Miss PNG or as a youth participating in hosting the FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup in the country, next month. 

As its yearly tradition, the pageant began with a church service today at the St John's Anglican Church downtown, Port Moresby.  
This year's six contestants and the committee, including reigning Miss PNG and Miss Pacific Islands Abigail Havora, joined the fellowship, led by Bishop Danny Guka.

And as we count down on the days, Loop PNG asked her about her reign and how she feels about ending it.

Here’s the brief interview:

How has it been juggling the responsibilities of Miss PNG as well as Miss Pacific Island and your personal life?

It’s been really stressful. I think the reason why it’s very stressful for me is my timetable with my studies is really full on.

I’ve had to compromise either one, sometimes I had to compromise my studies or pageant duties to fit in.

NGCB believes in women empowerment and has been backing the pageant for several years now.

Presenting the cheque on behalf of the company, Chief Executive Officer, Imelda Agon, acknowledged the efforts put forward.

She said for one, this prestigious event allows young Pacific women to showcase their individual nation’s cultural diversity and sets the platform for them to intellectually and wisely contest against each other for the crown.

On the back of winning last year’s pageant, PBF will this year sponsor 19-year-old Melody Leke

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the National Gaming Control Board national junior netball championships this morning, Havora told the 70 participating teams that netball has a huge potential to empower women in the country by breaking down gender barriers.

“The championships are a chance to showcase your talents but at the same time, it is a vehicle to interact with each other, make new friendships and build networks. This is the essence of the event,” said Havora.

When congratulating Abigail, she said let us as a nation support whatever steps she takes next and raise the bar for the Miss Pacific Islands title.

Miss Pacific’s role is to contribute to regional affairs and promote the Pacific Islands as an ambassador of the region for the next 12 months.

She will promote the region’s tourism to draw attention to our challenges as third world peoples and to be role models for our region’s young girls.