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Miss India Fiji 2009, Naziah Ali, will leave for Durban, South Africa on Wednesday afternoon to take part in the Miss India Worldwide pageant to be held on February 14, 2009.
She will be accompanied by the event’s main organizer, Ranjit Raju, who believes Ali stands “a fairly good chance” to impress at the pageant.
“She’s well spoken and has a broad knowledge. So now we’ll just have to wait and watch, and wish her the best,” he said.
Ali beat 11 others to win the Miss India Fiji pageant that was held on January 17, 2009 at the Kshatriya Hall in Suva.
“This inaugural event in Fiji created a lot of hype and excitement among people in Fiji and overseas. There were Indo-Fijian contestants from all over Fiji and some even flew in from the US and NZ to take part in the pageant this year,” said Raju.
Ali, a part-time fashion designer who recently organized the Fiji Fashion Flood Appeal Programme for victims of the recent floods, says she wants do more for the people of Fiji.
Ali and her friends raised more than $5000 in the fashion show.
When FijiLive met her today, Ali was packing her dresses for the week-long pageant. Most of her dresses for the contest have been created by local designers.
Ali and other Miss India contestants will undergo some training before the pageant proper and will visit places such as the nursery/children ward of Daymed Hospital, Durban which is staffed by nurses from India.
The winners of the pageant will be announced on February 14.
Contestants from over 25 countries are expected to participate in this annual event.
Bollywood Actress Kareena Kapoor is also expected to attend the pageant on the final night.
