There are over 1,000 prisoners at the Hattieville Correctional Facility and about 90% of them are men. And when you are locked up there isn't much to look forward to, there aren't many surprises, and really you don't get to enjoy much of life's pleasures and quite honestly most would say prisoners shouldn't. Well for a couple hours yesterday, all that changed when 4 Miss World beauties from as far south as Venezuela and as far north as Canada visited the prison. They were guests of Miss Belize World Dalila Vanzie and her charity effort to help the elderly and HIV/Aids victims through the Oncor Foundation.
Just one station was there when the queens came face to face with the men and women at Hattieville and Keith Swift has the story.
Keith SwiftReporting, [From Hattieville Prison]
Put 4 certified international beauty queens in a room filled with riled up prisoners and what do you get?
[Prisoners hooting and whistling]
Well not what you might expect because yesterday at the Hattieville prison, it was more than just racing hormones, heartfelt songs were shared.
[Beauty Queens Join Prisoners in Singing “Lean on Me”]
And while that song was being shared there were also a few tears, yes, real tears from Miss Venezuela for whom the moment was simply too much.
[Tears coming to her eyes as they join prisoners in singing, “It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday”]
Valentina Patrana, Miss Venezuela
“It was really special. I don’t know if you saw me crying…”
KS: Yeah you were crying, why?
Valentina Patrana,
“I was crying. I was so touched by all the things they have done. It was great. I really want to thank all of them for doing this and everybody is special so I’m glad that we came here.”
And along with the tears there were of course the cheers, in fact make that standing ovations which almost brought the house down.
[Crowd Cheering and Whistling as queens are introduced]
KS: 4 beautiful women in a room with prisoners. Most of whom haven’t seen the outside for a while. What was it like?
Valentina Patrana, Miss Venezuela
“Yeah you know I was a little nervous in the beginning but then they did so many beautiful things for us that they made me feel very comfortably and very very welcome. So I want to thank all of them for doing all the talents, the poems, the singing, and the flowers everything.”
Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Miss Canada
“It was very special. I didn’t know what to expect at first because you hear the word prison and you automatically have certain stereotypes. But as soon as we walked in the door everyone was very courteous and friendly, the smiles on the face of prisoners really reassured into knowing we are here for a reason and that’s to show that all of us are God’s children.”
Maria Eugenia Vargas, Miss Dominican Republic
[Translation] “I feel very happy most of all for being here like i said before, its one of the first times that a miss world contestant has taken the initiative to visit prisons and share and give a little more of ourselves because they need us and our mission is to help others.”
But as much as Miss Canada, Miss Belize, Miss Venezuela, and Miss Dominican Republic were front and center, the visit was about the prisoners and is the part of the work of the Oncor Foundation started by Miss Belize World Dalila Vanzie.
Dalila Vanzie, Miss Belize World
“Its something very special. I’ve come here before and I just wanted to share with my friends the experience of being here, the warm welcome I had previously, and the warm welcomes that we are having today. So its not related directly to the Oncor Foundation but its something personal that I wanted to share with them.”
And Kolbe Foundation Chairman John Woods says the visit to the central prison of four beauty queens was more than historic, it had purpose. He explains.
John Woods, Kolbe Foundation
“Probably something has happened here this afternoon that’s never happened nowhere in the whole wild world and it reinforces what we are trying to do here. These guys when we took over the prison didn’t think much of themselves. They said I’m an outcast from society and it was them against society. And we kept with this thing that hey we are all brothers and we are all in this world together and this goes to re-enforce that because now they know that they are special. The beauty queens came and visited them.”
And for all those tears and cheers shared, Miss Venezuela admits a greater purpose was served by the visit.
Valentina Patrana, Miss Venezuela
“I’m glad that we came here.”
KS: Now you’re pretty, very pretty. Why are you doing this? Why do you care? Most people think pretty girls don’t have a heart or a mind for that matter.
Valentina Patrana
“Yeah well that’s the important thing. The Miss World is beauty with a purpose and I think that says it all. Its not just the beauty, its just the physical beauty, it’s the beauty inside of you, your inner beauty that counts and that’s the one that’s going to last forever.”
You too can meet the queens tonight at the vogue nightclub inside the Princess hotel for what they are calling a pre-Halloween party. The Oncor Foundation's masquerade ball is tomorrow night at the Maruba Resort and Jungle Spa. At the ball they will be joined by Miss Puerto Rico Joyceline Montero. The Oncor foundation hopes to raise $25,000.
To find more about Miss Belize World and the Oncor Foundation visit DalilaVanzie.com.
7NEWS produced for broadcast by News Director Jules Vasquez
Edited for the internet by Keith Swift