THE EARTH IN KARLA VICTORIA APONTE’S EYES

When she sat down for a short chat with #SashFactor a few days ago, she was still visibly sad but nonetheless calm and cool after staying in Manila for more than a week now.

“It feels good to be here,” Karla started her interview in an upbeat voice. “People here have been kind, humble and giving. In fact, I have never met a culture like this where people are just too warm and hospitable. Somehow, it lessens my sadness.”

Checking up on her about the current situation her country is experiencing right now, Karla couldn’t hide her fear for the damage wrought by Mother Nature. “We are still in the reconstruction stage where a lot of people are still being rescued and saved as we speak. Roads and bridges are still impassable, energy sources and water services are still cut, our natural reserves are depleted and only 7% of our islands has electricity and that’s mostly for government unit buildings who have been responding to this crisis.”

She could have given up her bid to go to Miss Earth in Manila but Karla is determined to go on with her life and show to people that Puerto Rico is willing to rise above the challenges it is being confronted right now.

“The situation in my country right now is really tragic,” Karla narrated. “As I was getting in the plane (on my way to Manila) and looked out at the window, everything was so unrecognizable. I mean, one day, I had this beautiful island. It was paradise, so biodiverse and ecologically green and when I woke up the next day, there was like a huge ball of fire that came through it and destroyed everything. Everything suddenly became  brown. Streets are flooded and even cut in half. It was so horrible. At first, it was kind of hard to believe everything I was seeing. I thought we would be fine after a few days but then weeks passed, our crisis has still been persisting. There is no food, water, fuel or as simple as ice that we could have. It suddenly became a thing of survival.”

“In the middle of that is where I had to leave for the Philippines. When I was getting on the plane, I  couldn’t stop crying,” she added. “It’s not that I didn’t want to leave but it’s hard to leave at a situation like this. I mean, all I want is to help my countrymen. Even though I am here in Manila right now and I know it’s for the best, I am still going to help my country in my own little way. As soon as I get back in my island, I will do everything in my power to help my island get back to its feet and rise again.”

It may be a blessing in disguise that Karla is here in Manila for the pageant now but now she finally sees the reason why. “Now, more than ever, I need my voice to be heard about the effects of climate change in our planet. People should realize that we need to take action about protecting Mother Earth now. I don’t think we will be able to enjoy our planet as it is today in the next coming years if we don’t do something drastic about it. And I also don’t think we will have to wait for another catastrophic disaster as big as what happened in my country to realize we need to do something.”

Karla may only be 18 years old but she attributes this calamity as an eye-opener and probably life-changing experience for her. For one, she has become considerate and environmentally conscious on the way she consumes everything coming from Mother Nature. “Just today, as I was taking my shower in the hotel, I became mindful of the amount of water I had to use. Right after taking the shower and washing my hands in the faucet, I suddenly turned it off right away. When I was in my country a few days before I left for Manila, I had to learn to take my bath using only half gallon of water. So coming here, I have become conscious and mindful of my actions towards our environment.”

Mercifully, a lot of good samaritans came to offer their help to her in preparing for this year’s pageant. “My house was flooded and I lost my phone and dresses and I am very grateful to the Filipino people for their support. In fact, Filipino designers will be dressing me up for the forthcoming evening gown preliminary competition and finals as well. Thanks to them, I wouldn’t be here right now. I’m grateful for the trust they put in me. Even the love and prayers they have been sending me is just amazing. If it weren’t for the countless Filipino social media accounts who have been tagging every Filipino designer in town, I probably wouldn’t not have found the dress I will be wearing soon.”

With this recent development, her eyes suddenly brightened up. Puerto Rico has never won Miss Earth before and it will be a huge honor for her if she will be the first Puerto Rican women to win the title. Gauging from how she has been performing in the pre-pageant activities, she is certainly on the right track. In fact, she was adjudged Best in Swimsuit in her group competition recently. “Actually, I wasn’t expecting to win Best in Swimsuit. I thought I would win in the Resorts Wear competition instead,” she chuckled.

Once the Miss Earth pageant is over, she vows to return to her country to spread awareness about reforestation and what it can do for the environment. “I totally support my government, in coordination with TESLA, in rebuilding our island based on solar energy. Besides that, we should start reforesting. As you can see, two hurricanes hit our islands one after the other. With the first Hurricane, Irma, what made the impact smaller was because of our rain forests. But since we only had a week in between Hurricane Irma and Maria, our islands were still recuperating from the damage wrought by the Hurricane Irma. So when Hurricane Maria finally came in, it was ten times stronger because are natural rain forests had still been depleted.”

Her greatest armament for Miss Earth pageant, she says, is the tenacity of her spirit. “The most important thing is you are willing to rise above your negative situation. Turn around that negative situation into something positive instead. Be resilient. I am grateful for the love and support given to me. It is what drives me to go further. After all, we are all brothers and sisters who need to take care of each other here in our Mother Earth,” she concluded with a radiant glow from her beautiful eyes.

Courage has definitely found a new name in her.

Photos taken from: Karla Aponte’s Instagram account