BEING a contestant at the 2018 Vodafone Fiji Hibiscus festival is not all about beauty for Sainiana Sova.
The 19-year-old lass who hails from Naboutini, Serua with maternal links to Ravitaki, Kadavu is one of the 12 queen contestants vying for the coveted Hibiscus crown at this year’s pageant.
Sainiana who is Miss Soko Beauty said what prompted her to enter the pageant was her family members and friends who thought that she has what it takes to be a contestant.
“As a kid growing up I loved watching contestants strut their stuff in pageants locally and internationally; I came to understand that being in a pageant is not only about beauty but is a good platform to promote certain beliefs and important issues that needs to be emphasized to the public,” Sainiana said.
The University of the South Pacific student said integrity is the one personal characteristic that she believes will take anyone a long way in life.
“It’s simply the wholeness of one in living life right and doing things the right way without wavering. I believe in integrity because I grew up around people who do not only preach it but live it and they are my maternal grandparents, aunties and uncle who have vastly contributed to my upbringing to be the young woman I am today,” she said.
She said the experience so far in being a contestant has been challenging especially time management and meeting requirements from the coordinators and pageant as a whole.
“But overall, I think of it as an experience that will only leave one with a lifetime memories especially working with the other contestants, making new friends and learning to work together as a team.”
Sainiana said her preparation so far is made up of all aspects and that is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
“I have my family and friends who are very active in supporting my preparation especially my beloved mother who is miles away from me yet is always attentive to most of the things I need,” she said.
Sainiana is also thankful for the contributions by her aunties and friends from abroad that has really helped her and boosted her morale as a whole.
She said a challenge for her in the pageant is answering the questions correctly during public judging.
“To conquer that, I am doing my bit of research on current affairs and all related issues of this year’s theme and that is the 5 Rs of waste management or care.”
Sainiana said the most exciting thing about being a Hibiscus contestant is tapping into her talent side and realizing what she didn’t know she possess as an individual, the ability to showcase her personal talents and interpersonal skills as an individual and to be able to communicate well with the public at large.
She added that she found it surprising that they had to be trained together as a team in presenting themselves as individuals in being ambassadors of their various sponsors.
“It comes as a good surprise because we establish good friendship amongst us as contestants and learn from each other as we continue this journey together,” she said.
Sustaining our natural environment for our future generation is the message that Sainiana will be advocating at the festival.
“This is one area of concern that hit me when growing up and travelling the Sigatoka – Suva corridor and observing the careless waste disposal and other negative practices of communities and business operators along the Coral Coast.
“It made me realize the importance of conserving our natural environment and help saving it for our future generation.
“So far, I have been using my social media pages to share important issues with regards to this topic and given the theme of this year, it’s only a bonus because better management of the 5 Rs can be easily related to this advocacy message and lead to saving our environment as a whole.”
