Gwendolyne Fourniol
PATULOY na ipaglalaban ni reigning Miss World Philippines 2022 Gwendolyne Fourniol ang kanyang adbokasiya sa larangan ng edukasyon.
Tulad ng naipangako ng Filipino-French Negrense beauty queen sa ginanap na grand coronation night ng Miss World Philippines 2022 pageant, ipagpapatuloy niya ang pagsusulong sa kampanya para karapatan ng bawat kabataan na makapag-aral.
Ipinagdiinan ni Gwendolyne na ang edukasyon ang isa sa pinaka-powerful at pinakaepektibong panlaban kontra sa kahirapan.
“Education is the greatest weapon against poverty,” ang natatandaan naming bahagi ng naging pahayag ni Gwendolyne sa question and answer portion ng Miss World Philippines 2022.
Ikinuwento ng 22-year-old Pinay beauty queen na mismong ang nanay niyang si Sim Fourniol ay isang buhay na patunay kung paano binago ng edukasyon ang kanyang buhay.
“My mother, Sim, grew up in poverty in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental. There were seven children in the family and only one sibling was given the opportunity to study.
“Losing hope for her future, she found her way to Manila to stay with a cousin and it was there that she met Fr. Pierre T. Tritz, SJ, who founded ERDA in 1974 to give underprivileged but deserving children the opportunity to study,” pagbabahagi ni Gwendolyne.
Ang Educational Research and Development o ERDA, ay isanh non-stock, non-profit organization na rehistrado sa Securities and Exchange Commission o SEC.
Knows n’yo ba na nakatapos ngvl Psychology ang nanay ni Gwendolyne sa Philippine Women’s University. At kasunod nga nito ay nakapagtrabaho siya bilang au pair (foreign household helper) sa isang pamilya sa Luxembourg.
At sa isang park doon nakilala ni Sim ang tatay ng beauty queen na si Thierry Fourniol.
“If it were not for ERDA, I wouldn’t exist, and my mother would still be living in poverty in Negros,” sabi ng dalaga.
Sa kasalukuyan, nagtatrabaho ang nanay niya sa London bilang nurse habang ang tatay naman niya ay isang senior analyst sa Belgium.
Sa halip naman na manirahan sa France, mas pinili ni Gwendolyne ang magtungo sa Pilipinas noong 18 years old siya hanggang sa magdesisyon siyang manatili na rito para sa advocacy niyang “education for all.”
“Working hand in hand with ERDA Foundation to empower the marginalized Filipino, I believe by uniting benefactors and encouraging our children and allowing them to go back to school especially during this pandemic will make this world a better place,” ang pahayag pa ni Gwendolyne sa Miss World Philippines finals night.
Diin pa niya, “There is a misconception that women should be the ones to stay home and keep house and raise the children, and are therefore given less opportunities to study.
“My mother, because of the opportunity that was opened to her by the ERDA Foundation, was able to send her six siblings to school. This says so much about the power of women to uplift their families out of poverty. We should push equal rights for education regardless of gender,” paglilinaw pa niya.
Miss Negros Occidental Gwendolyne Fourniol itinanghal na Miss World PH 2022