The Miss England Team, including reigning Miss England “Jessica Gagen”, WASUP International Princess “India Fenwick” and National Director “Angie Beasley”, recently undertook a tour of northern India, sponsored by BOPA (British Organisation for People of Asian Origin).
The exciting trip was organised by Mr Davinder Prasad, General Secretary of BOPA and Dr. Rakesh Sachdev, owner of Sachdev & Co Chartered Accountants and President of BOPA.
The team visited organisations and children’s charities associated with BOPA which aim to empower young women and children through championing their education along with experiencing incredible sightseeing such as India’s Taj Mahal & the Golden Temple over a 2 week period.
Jessica has had the opportunity to promote her Beauty with a Purpose project in India, which highlights the lack of women in engineering fields and diminishes stereotypes of the industry by educating young children about the different varieties of the subject and what sectors they can lead to.
Jessica Gagen said “I’ve had the most incredible time exploring India with BOPA. The people of India LOVED Miss England and did their upmost to look after me whenever I arrived at a new venue, greeting me with bouquets and showering me in petals!”
“I’ve particularly enjoyed learning about the culture and history of the country, and really enjoyed my visits to the golden temple and the Taj Mahal – somewhere I’ve wanted to see my whole life!”
“Working with orphanages has been a particular stand out. I’ve met hundreds of girls who’ve been abandoned simply because they’re female, and it struck me that the only reason I wasn’t discarded myself is because by some strike of luck I was born in a different country. These girls had the upmost appreciation for whatever education they were able to receive, and I think it’s important I take these experiences with me and talk about them when I reach the UK in order to spread the message of appreciating our blessings to the children at home.”
“Big thank you to BOPA for an incredible trip full of teachings!”
Angie Beasley, National Director of Miss England says: “I would like to thank BOPA & Coventry Mercia Lions Club for their kind gesture to sponsor the India tour. The BOPA organisation has not only showcased various charitable projects the group support in various cities in India it has given Miss England the opportunity to promote education to young girls in deprived communities empowering them with quality education and capacity building”.
The Miss England tour of India included visits to ;
*Eknoor Children’s Charity –
*The Golden Temple-
*Vhagwan Valmiki Tirath Astham all located in Amritsar, Punjab
* A visit to Simba Quartz & Mandeep Kaur Tangra to promote her charitable work “shoe giving project and Tech School on Wheels” in Tangra .
*Lions Public School in Nupur Chathha founded by
Lion Lord Lali Sokhi from Coventry
*The Unique Home for girls Orphanage in Jalandhar, run by founder Bibi Parkash Kaur
*The Cordia Group of Educational Institutes in Chandigarh founded by Lord Rana UK
*Sightseeing in Jaipur
*Visiting the Rajasthan Bal Kalyan Samiti tribal school, Jhadol, Udaipur
*Hans Raj children’s home Udaipur supported by Baroness Sandip Verma UK
*A tour on the Lake Palace & meeting with Prince Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur
Taj Mahal in Agra
Along with attending the whole tour , “India Fenwick” the WASUP princess travelled to Patna to promote WORLD AGAINST SINGLE USE PLASTIC .
The India tour proudly promoted the good work achieved by BOPA and Coventry Mercia Lions Club which help people in need in UK as well as the country of their origin – India”.
Davinder Prasad JP General Secretary of BOPA said that “Ms Jessica Gagen Miss England 2022-23 and Ms India Fenvic WASUP Princess” were excellent ambassadors for women in UK and endeared themselves to everyone they met especially young girls from deprived communities. They spread the right messages for Miss England, WASUP and helped BOPA to inspire the young girls who were so proud to meet Miss England and WASUP Princess and will feel empowered and cherish the memories of this visit for a long time”.
