Even before competing at the 2019 Miss Universe pageant, Miss Philippines Gazini Christiana Jordi Ganados of Talisay City, Cebu has already received two international awards from the United Nations and ASEAN Youth.
Miss Universe Philippines 2019 received the ASEAN Youth Leadership Award 2019 and ASEAN Youth Icon Award 2019 from the Global Youth Parliament and the United Nations on October 17 during a community visit in Marikina City.
The Filipina-Palestinian beauty queen was cited by the international organizations for her valuable contribution in the youth sector, peace and social movement, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and elderly care.
Dr. Daniel Dasig Jr., Global Youth Parliament Country Coordinator, handed over the awards to the 23-year-old model and beauty pageant titleholder during a brunch with the elderly at Luwalhati Ng Maynila Home for the Aged in Marikina.
The self-confessed “lola’s girl” Cebuana beauty embraced elderly care as her advocacy for the Miss Universe pageant, declaring it is close to her heart after being raised by her grandparents while her mother was working as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW).
“I saw my grandmother die without getting all the medical help she needed. We couldn’t afford to take her to the expensive hospitals. I’ve seen the lack of facilities in the ICU, the emergency room, and I was thinking, ‘Where do our taxes go?’ So that’s when I took it seriously and wanted to be a voice for elderly care,” Gazini Ganados said in a media interview about why she chose elderly care as her advocacy.
“We’re all going to get old in the near future. If we take steps to help our elderly now, we will also be able to save our future, because the laws we pass today might benefit us when we get older. Yes, the children are our future. But always remember that the elders paved the way,” Ganados added.
Aside from her community work with Luwalhati Ng Maynila, the Health Care Services and Tourism Management graduate of the University of San Jose Recoletos is also actively working with another organization for the aged and abandoned, the Gasa sa Gugma in Cebu City. Ganados is an active advocate for HIV/AIDS education and prevention and is an ambassador of Sustainable Development Program Building with a pledge to “Leave No One Behind”.
Gazini Ganados was earlier scheduled to be awarded on November 30 during the ASEAN Global Youth Summit at the Manila Grand Opera Hotel but was given the awards ahead since she will leave for the United States in the middle of November to compete at the Miss Universe 2019 pageant on December 9.
Ganados’ predecessors in the Binibining Pilipinas, Miss Universe queens Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray, have been championing HIV/AIDS awareness, equality, anti-bullying, and children’s welfare in their advocacy work.
SEND congratulations in the comments below to Miss Universe – Philippines 2019 Gazini Ganados for championing the welfare of the elderly in her community work!
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