Miss Singapore World 2006

I've been appointed the spokesperson of Light a Million Candles campaign, to raise awareness for the problems of online child pornography.

Look out for the the video that has just been launched on MTVand Starworld. A staggering fact is that this churns 7X the revenue of online music. It takes the Internet to propagate this evil. We can use the Internet to propagate the good. The innocent victims of online child abuse cannot speak for themselves. But you can.

Watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA2h5Gog8_g, then light a candle of support at www.lightamillioncandles.com to encourage governments, politicians and banks to eradicate the commercial viability of online child pornography.

Thank you and please pass the message on.

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(3786.jpg )Last month, I did an interview along with a photoshoot with Esutra magazine. It was their first issue and I really enjoyed working with them. Such warm and friendly people, I'm looking forward to working with them again. Here' s the Q&A from the interview:

Latté with a Beauty Colleen Francisca

1) Who are you in real life? Could you please tell us about yourself and about your family.

When the cameras are off, when the curtains have closed, all I really crave is the comfort of my home and the company of my family. If the saying goes ‘’there is no place like home’’ I say ‘’there is no one like family’’.

As I grow older, I realise how grounding and centering the family unit is. It is always humbling to be reminded of where you come from, what you stand for. My family does that for me, they personify reality. No matter who I am, who I strive towards being, my family will always see me as the youngest child, the baby of the family and will always act as that circle of protection for me and I hold that very close to my heart as that is part of who I am.

2) How supportive are your loved ones of your undertakings?

I can’t even begin to explain how supportive my parents and my sister have been. Let’s just say they have always believed in me and that has largely contributed to what I have achieved today.

3) What are your hobbies? What do you do during your past time?

I bake! It’s therapeutic for me at the same time it acts as a channel that helps release my undying desire to create pretty things. I could spend an hour perfecting a cupcake creation, fussing over it’s frosting that has to be the right colour, consistency or piped shape. I love dessert, and enjoy just as much creating them as I do devouring them!

4) Apart from modelling, do you have another career?

Oh yes! It’s all I really focus on nowadays. It’s called The Cupcake Boutique; it’s an online business which I run as a sole proprietor. As a dessert chef who can whip up a storm in the kitchen, the business naturally specializes in dessert catering and offers through its many product lines, Wedding Favors, Baby Products, Luxurious Spa Products, Dessert Perfumery, Pet Accessories, Golden Jewellery and a Stationary Line. The theme is indulgence without the guilt, quite literally actually, as most of my product lines are affiliated with non-profit organizations which receive up to 50% of the profit from sales. Charities like the Action for Singapore Dogs benefit from The Puppy Parlour line. To date, I has supported through The Cupcake Boutique, the Tabitha Foundation and The School Pocket Money Fund and The Children’s Society of Singapore.

5) At what age did you start your modelling career?

I started professionally when I was about 18, and now I’m 24 so you do the math!

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It's over. I have been so busy during the final two weeks of the Miss World Beauty Pageant I haven't had time to eat or sleep, never mind write this blog! In the days after the event I just slept, my body finally reacting to the fact I had deprived it of sleep and nourishment for so long.

What of my time in Poland?

Poland is a country full of history, which is reflected in its architecture, charismatic people and wholesome food – which I very much appreciated. I thoroughly enjoyed my time visiting so many great places and meeting so many interesting people. The highlights include meeting Lech Walesa, Westlife and Robin Gibb, who played at the finals, and the Miss World judges including Dame Kelly Holmes.

I made friends with 6 girls in particular, which I will continue to keep in touch with, namely, Miss Sri Lanka, Miss Hong Kong, Miss Philippines, Miss Korea, Miss Indonesia and Miss Mongolia. We are all planning a trip to meet up in Singapore soon, in fact I am hopefully going to persuade them to support some of my charity work across the region!

And so now what? Well I plan to be back in Singapore on October 10th or 11th. I have the New Paper New Face final to judge and then I start some serious Charity work with Project Innocence, HIV Aids Foundation and Salvation Army.

I am also involved in a property development in Krabi, Thailand, and whilst in Manchester recently I met up with the England football team. John Terry, the England captain and Rio Ferdinand are investors in the project, and their idea is to being soccer schools to the underprivileged children of the Krabi area. Rio in particular feels it is his duty to give back, driven in the main because of his own roots and upbringing. Because of this great cause I am happy to lend my name in support and will work with Asian Tropical homes as they promote the development. I met the players and will attendmy first ever football match, England against Macedonia, not bad for a first game!

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On the lawn by lake Oswin in the brilliant morning sunshine we battled through the knockout stages to determine which four contestants from each continent will represent them in this afternoon’s finals.

The day started with a fabulous aerobic warm up session with all of us 80 girls on the boardwalk over the lake stretching, dancing and kicking in time with the music.

Next we were put through their paces with a series of tests to find the twenty-four finalists, these included in this order: steps, star jumps, burpees, sit-ups and press-ups.

Supporting our athletes, we from the Asia Pacific continent were the most colourful cheerleaders. I took charge as the lead cheer leader and decided on Pink and black as our cheer colours. We also stayed up making banners and pom poms in the same colours. We came up with chants as well.as having various body paints emblazoning Asia on our faces and chests.

Girls from Asia Pacific that made it to the final:
Indonesia - Japan - Korea – Mongolia

The winner of the Miss World Sportswomen and a fast track place to the finals went to Canada with Puerto Rico in second and Latvia in third.

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(Gdansk - 3779.jpg )Marauders landed in the northern Poland resort of Gizycko on Tuesday, as we looked on in an impressive re-enactment of similar assaults on regional Galindian communities.

The artistic display by enthusiasts from the Mazurian region, was the sunset finale to a three-day visit to the lakeland town on Gizycko. We sat through a play about life in a local village under attack from the sea, before several other girls rode a striking black stallion around the grassy banks of Gizycko.

We were also entertained by traditional dance and song, and ended the night by dancing to live music as the sun went down across the lake – and the failed marauders left in their ship.
This was also the close to a day of sporting prowess in the Miss World Sportswoman event. Tomorrow (Wednesday), we leave on a private train trip to Katowice.

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(3788.jpg )It shouldn’t hurt to be a child. Every week, there are 20,000 more pictures showing sexual abuse of children online.

19% of child pornography pictures online show children below the age of three.

Child Pornography is the fastest growing internet business with revenue that is seven times that of the online music industry.

The internet has helped spread this evil. We can use the internet to stop it.

Go to www.lightamillioncandles.com

Light a candle now to join in the fight against child abuse.

Help me to promote Project Innocence on the World Stage.

Vote for me at the Miss World Beauty Pageant before September 30th. My number is MW113. Check your local number here or vote at http://www.missworld.com Thanks a million.

Love,
Colleen Francisca

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Smiles and happiness were just the tonic for some sick children when Miss World 2005 Unnur Birna fronted a visit by contestants to Gdynia Hospital.

We visited the hospital to deliver gifts of toys, a music system and computer equipment, and enjoyed an hour meeting the young patients, their parents and staff.

Many of the patients were young babies, which presented us with an opportunity to hold the babies and pass on a little of our positive energy.

On Friday, we were brought shopping and snapped up jewellery and prints as mementoes of our visit to Poland when we strolled the famous Gdansk amber market.

It was a well-earned break from filming in the region, we enjoyed an hour shopping for gifts and trinkets in the quaint old street of the Hanseatic port of Gdansk.

I was really taken by some beautiful glass paintings and bought an apple tree painting for my new place back in Singapore.
After touring the streets of Gdansk, we returned to their hotel in Gdynia – after making an impromptu stop at a local shopping mall to pick up some essentials, like ice cream.

Later that day, Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Poland Lech Walesa welcomed the entire party of Miss World 2006 to a place of great personal and international importance: the Gdansk Shipyards, which saw so much strife and sacrifice in the 80s.

We laid flowers at the monument to those who gave their lives in the name of peace and unity under the banner of the Solidarity union movement, before receiving a personal audience with Mr Walesa inside one of the former dock buildings.

Mr Walesa addressed us and explained some of the historic importance of the Gdansk shipyards. He also asked them to carry our thoughts from the visit to our countrymen at home.

He drew our attention to one fact, that Gdansk is one of those places in this world that have experienced a lot. It was here that the Second World War started, after which Communism took over half of the world. It was here that it then waged long wars with Communism and put an end to this system.

He also mentioned that It was here that peace has started to be built, and this is a place where globalisation will be born. He is convinced that tomorrow this place will become a place of European and global identity. It was at this place that they showed the world which path to follow.

I was honoured to meet with Mr Walesa. We had each donated a stone, a piece of our homeland, to leave a memento of international unity in Poland. The stones have now been encased in glass at the museum to Solidarity. Mine was engraved with my name and country and really stood out from the rest.

Solidarity is an independent self-governing trade union founded in 1980 at the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk, originally led by Lech Walesa . The government attempted to close the union due to its broad anti-communist agenda and, after several years of repression, their activities led to talks and the eventual semi-free elections in 1989. By the end of August a Solidarity-led coalition government was formed and in December Walesa was elected President of Poland.

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