Annual May Queen pageant on May 11, proceeds to be donated for child welfare
Times News Service
MUSCAT: The annual ‘May Queen’ pageant will be held on May 11, according to officials at the Indian Social Club (ISC)-Goan Wing.
The pageant will be held at Sheraton Hotel from 7 pm to 1 am. The proceeds will go to the Child First Association non-governmental organisation (NGO) .
The pageant will be open to women of all nationalities, and participants who finish in the top three will be awarded prizes. The popular Goan band, ‘Tidal Wave’, will perform at the event. The convenor of ISC Goan Wing, Anthony Lourenco, said the organisation had three goals in mind when they organised the pageant.
“First, we want it known that Goans exist in Oman. The second purpose, which is very important to me, is to enhance the talent and confidence of the women who will be part of this event. The final mission is to help two entities – one is the Goan community and the other is Child First,” said Lourenco.
Children first
“Whenever you support a cause, you think of children first. Even when we did something to help victims of drug abuse, we thought of children first. For meaningful social change, you need to take care of children and their educational and health needs,” added Lourenco.
Nihad Al Hadi, head of the media and executive committees of Child First Association, said her organisation was thankful to the ISC-Goan wing. Child First focuses on the health and safety of children in Oman.
“We focus on a host of children’s issues and help both expatriate and Omani children, but this time we will use the funds to buy baby seats for cars. This is because the Royal Oman Police (ROP) has made it a rule for guardians to install car seats for their children when they ride with them,” Hadi said.
The May Queen contestants will have a grooming session on May 4 at the Majan Continental Hotel.
The first runner-up of May Queen 2017, Betsy Watson, said the pageant provided a platform to the young generation to become confident and to be themselves.
ISC-Goan wing members said that the event was becoming better every year, and that they expect more than 500 people to attend this year’s event.
Lourenco said that a survey had shown that there were between 9,000 and 11,000 Goans living in Oman. “Goans in Oman are doctors, businesspersons, CEOs and even domestic help. It is a vibrant community,” he said.