There will be no lasting change until people change their attitude!
This is the message of the newly announced Miss Queen Emma, Lois Ilave.
She is the fourth contestant into the Miss Pacific Island Pageant (MPIP) PNG and this is, in fact, her first pageant as a contestant.
Showing confidence at 18 years of age, she has a fitting message following PNG’s 41st anniversary: “Cultural pride isn’t just a celebration that occurs once every year. It is something that every Papua New Guinean must carry within them, to make the country a better place”.
She stands to remind every Papua New Guinean that cultural pride goes beyond just the singsing and dancing on cultural days.
“I would like to promote that cultural pride is an attitude,” she said.
Ilave, first year law student at the University of PNG, is from a mixed parentage of Gulf and Malaysia. She particularly credits her mother (of Malaysian origin), as her biggest motivation in life.
After several years of being just a staunch supporter of the pageant, Paradise Foods under the Queen Emma Chocolate brand, is sponsoring Lois as their first contestant.
MPIP PNG deputy chairperson, Molly O’Rourke, thanked Paradise Food for supporting the pageant this year, admitting that it has been challenging for them to secure sponsors.
“We have young women volunteering to be contestants but we do not have the same enthusiasm from corporate organisations to be sponsors.
“Therefore, we are very grateful to sponsors like Paradise Foods who believe in what we do to empower our young women.”
General manager of Queen Emma Chocolate Factory Company, Karina Makori, expressed similar sentiments.
She said just like MPIP PNG, Queen Emma stands to empower women and therefore, is proud and confident to support Ilave.
The Queen Emma Chocolate Company also presented a K15,000 cheque to the pageant.
(The newly-announced Miss Queen Emma, Lois Ilave, with MPIP PNG deputy chairperson, Molly O’Rourke.)
