Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 18) — Miss World Philippines Laura Lehmann’s milk bank project made it to the top five of the pageant’s “Beauty with a Purpose” program.
Miss World organizers announced in a Saturday Facebook post that Lehmann joins other Miss World bets Priyadarshini Chatterjee from India, Achintya Nilsen from Indonesia, Ade van Heerden from South Africa, and Lan Khue Tran Ngoc from Vietnam.
“Beauty with a Purpose” helps contestants raise funds for their chosen benificiary.
Lehmann’s project is to create the first milk bank for the government-run Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila.
In her video on the project, Lehmann said she wants to have a pasteurizer, an ultralow freezer and breast pumps in the hospital to provide milk for premature babies who cannot be breastfed.
Lehmann said this project is especially important to her because she was also born premature.
“You don’t choose where you’re born, but you can choose what to do with your life and you can choose to help,” she said tearily in the video.
“And by giving them something so simple as a milk bank, through that, you provide them with opportunities and you provide them the chance to be any kind of person that they want to be,” she added.
Lehmann also booked a spot at the Top 40 after acing a question and answer segment during the pre-pageant.
The Miss World coronation is on November 18, Saturday, in Sanya, China.
