CDO proud of another beauty queen

MISS Earth England 2015 Katrina Manaya Kendall JIGGER JERUSALEM/INQUIRER MINDANAO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Like reigning Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, another beauty pageant titleholder has made Cagayan de Oro proud by calling the city her second home.

The mother of Miss Earth England 2015 Katrina Manaya Kendall, Floramae Manaya, was born here and had lived in Barangay Bayabas, a coastal village in the eastern part of the city.

Filipino-British Kendall, 26, has toured countries in Asia—Singapore, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and the Philippines—after winning the title in Vienna in December last year. She took the time out from her hectic schedule to visit the city and do some charity work and an environmental awareness campaign.

“I believe that the key to protecting our environment is to promote environmental awareness, particularly among young people. Here in Cagayan de Oro, I have focused on doing just that,” she posted on her Facebook page.

Green advocacy

During her stay here, she spent most of her time spreading her advocacy by getting in touch with the local youth. Last week, she made a courtesy visit to Mayor Oscar Moreno.

Aside from organizing a group of young eco-volunteers, whom Kendall encouraged to plant trees, she visited the Boystown Orphanage in Barangay Lumbia, where she donated supplies, held tree planting and taught the shelter’s residents on cleaning up their surroundings.

She met with students of Bayabas National High School and talked about environmental awareness, sharing some eco-friendly tips.

Kendall said educating the younger generation on the importance of protecting the environment and doing something about it was on her agenda. Even when her reign as Miss Earth England ends, she will still be doing what she loves to do best, she said.

She said caring for the Earth has always been her passion since she was a young girl growing up in London.

Kendall graduated with a first class master’s degree in chemistry from University of Edinburgh, specializing in environmental and sustainable chemistry.