MANILA, Philippines — Miss World Philippines 2018 Katarina Rodriguez continues her advocacy to help Marawi through her Project Become, as shown in a “Beauty with a Purpose” video posted online.
In a video posted on the Miss World Philippines Facebook page, Katarina can be seen visiting the city’s ground zero and interacting with the war’s survivors, students and soldiers.
Katarina’s Project Become aims to build schools in the war-torn city, to invest in educators, and to provide instruction materials for the children.
“Project Become invests in the future of Marawi by investing in its children. It believes that a dream makes people love life even if it can be painful. It believes in the children of Marawi, the future peace heroes by investing in peace education to help Marawi rise up again,” Katarina wrote.
Katarina also said in the post that for the last 26 years of her life, she has been looking for her purpose because she felt like she is still lacking something, even though she has achieved so much in her career as a model, athlete and beauty queen.
“I desired for a bigger platform, one where I can reach a lot of people. From being a model, I became a beauty queen. From being a beauty queen, I became an advocate, an advocate for peace,” she said.
She continued her post by saying she “felt the hate that permeated through the walls” when she visited Marawi.
“It was disheartening to see blood spilled from both forces - the government and the terrorists. My heart hurt because I was walking through a place where hundreds lost their lives,” she shared.
“The silence is deafening but when I finally heard the voice of the survivors, I felt their hope. From their eyes, I saw strength. This is not just the indomitable Filipino spirit but the very core of our humanity. To everyone supporting my #ProjectBecome, thank you. This means the world for me and the children of Marawi,” she added.