An avid pageant fan reminded me about how Miss Grand International is slowly climbing the Alpha list of world pageantry because of its timely advocacy. With peace and security becoming such a relevant topic in the world now, it is only imperative that people should think peace as a necessary tool, as cliché as it may sound, to combat too much conflict and divisiveness in our world right now.
And this is what Miss Grand Malaysia 2017 Sanjeda John has realized in joining this competition. In a world where pageants are a dime a dozen noawadays, Miss Grand International stands out for her because of its advocacy’s relevance in our world at the moment. “I am looking at war and violence from a different perspective where big things start from small,” Sanjeda said. “When we always think about war and violence, we always think about the wars between countries and we forget that wars could also happen between two people or even right in our home. It could be worse like child abuse or domestic violence. And I believe that if we could stop or address these kinds of war and violence starting from our home and start showing love, respect and compassion to the people around you, then there will be less conflict in this world.”
Sanjeda, 25, is of Indian descent. She is a biomedical chemist and counts our loving God as the biggest inspiration of her life. As she trades her lab gowns for shimmering gowns and heels at the moment, she never forgets to acknowledge God’s powerful presence in her life at the moment. “God has shown me how love could empower us by teaching to me to learn to forgive people who refuse to apologize to me. I have to remind myself that God, through His Son Jesus, went through worse situations in His life but He still showed love and compassion to everyone. And that inspires me to be like Him, what I would like to do as a child because I believe with His love, we will have eternal peace.”
Such eloquence coming from this 5’7″ stunner who loves to read, sing and watch movies during her spare time but Sanjeda also had to sacrifice some things in order to achieve her dream of being a world ambassadress of goodwill for her country. “I actually postponed my studies for one semester just to give my full commitment for this pageant and my country. I hope it pays off soon.” She could have continued working for her current occupation but the call to make a difference in humanity is what really made her to take the risk of taking a leave of absence from her job now and conquer the world. “Miss Grand Sabah earned me the right to represent my country to Miss Grand International but honestly, to tell you the truth, I didn’t know what MGI was all about beforehand,” recalled Sanjeda. “But as I got to know Miss Grand International more and deeper more than its “Stop The War” campaign, I have realized how its advocacy struck a personal cord in my heart. Its aim is to stop violence as much as possible. And for someone who has experienced some sort of a violent episode in life, I suddenly became determined to join the pageant and hope that I could be that someone who could help people to prevent spreading conflict or violence or even a simple misunderstanding or disagreement among people in my community.”
Asked how she feels about the positive reviews she got from pageant fans about her commanding stage skills during the swimsuit competition, she still remains humble. “When I saw the comments and compliments on my FB page, I feel good. I did my best and I know could be better but I am very grateful for everyone’s support. What you saw onstage is really a reflection of my hard work and dedication for this pageant so there will be no regrets in the end.” But she still reminds us about her purpose for this pageant. “I want people to get to know the Miss Grand International organization on a deeper level. I hope pageant fans will realize how MGI is really working hard for its advocacy. As they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. You will never know until you become part of the Grand family. And when you become part of it, you will finally see the beauty of MGI.”
There is no doubt Sanjeda wears her heart on her sleeve about her passion for the pageant’s ideals. It is girls like her who give the organization a bright hope to sail through the cutthroat competition in the pageant world. That is confident and empowering women trying to save the world, however small, one day at a time.
heyadamgenato 