Why should Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Venus Raj appear on Oprah?
She faced many challenges to get to where she is. She showed the world what “resilience” meant. Her determination gained her a lot of fans all over the globe. Her name: Maria Venus Raj, Bb. Pilipinas-Universe (Ms. Philippines-Universe).
Why is it that after several days from the Miss Universe Pageant’s conclusion does she still grace the television screens and newspapers all over? The Washington Post had a write-up about her, ABC News with Diane Sawyer touched on the question that was asked of her during the pageant. Twitter exploded with the trend word, “major, major” for several days. Huffington Post even chimed in and ran a poll to see if her answer cost her the crown. Facebook was filled with comments and support even though she placed fourth runner-up. Top 5 was a crowning glory for Ms. Venus Raj and her country, The Philippines.
To this day, support abound about her and how she made her country proud. She graced that stage in Las Vegas with confidence and pride. She walked her best with a world-class ramp model walk to show the world that there has been many obstacles in her life before she got to where she was. She came from very humble beginnings.
Raised in a small hut in a farm alone by her mother through farming who is separated from her father, Venus wanted a better life for her family. She came from a very poor family in Bicol. They lived in the middle of a rice field (where she actually walked many times to learn the craft of walking like a beauty queen!) Through the charitable help of others, she was able to obtain a college degree in Journalism. She had always wanted to become a beauty queen ever since she was in grade school. Venus pursued that dream. She joined many contests and won many pageants as well.
Then came winning the Bb. Pilipinas pageant. Right after, she was chosen to represent the Philippines on the Miss Universe Pageant. However, that dream was short-lived when she was dethroned due to complexities about her nationality and her country of birth.
Thousands of Filipinos rallied behind Venus Raj saying that she is our best bet for the Miss Universe Pageant. Facebook pages were set-up and Twitter was used to rally behind her reinstatement. Thousands and thousands of Filipinos from all over the globe supported her reinstatement.
Her Bb. Pilipinas-Universe crown was eventually reinstated and the rest was history.
During the time when she was dethroned, a TV program in the Philippines honored Ms. Venus Raj by providing assistance to her poor family. The videos are embedded below:
If the judges had known her story, would they have thought twice about her score? Would they have considered that for a person who has attained so much compared to what obstacles she’s won and her humble beginnings, an answer such as hers wouldn’t have mattered?
That is why Chuva Chienes and her “super-dooper-flight-attendant-best-friend” think that Oprah should feature her life story. In fact, her life story is a testimony about women who are empowering themselves to unimaginable heights. As beautiful as Venus was, she could have taken the easy way out of poverty. But she didn’t. Ms. Venus Raj is a beacon of light to women who have dreams. She embodies the strength and the determination any woman would love to possess.
So, please join our Facebook page and support “Feature Venus Raj’s Life on Oprah – Empowering Women.”
I am hoping the Ms. Oprah Winfrey (or one of her producers) will (if they haven’t already) take notice of Ms. Venus Raj’s Life Story as she did with Charice.
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