The Miss World pageant experience was both phenomenal and challenging for reigning Miss Guyana World Dessia Braithwaite who recently returned to Guyana from Poland after competing with 103 girls for the coveted crown.

Dessia did not place in the pageant, but said she has returned to Guyana with a wealth of experience and friends from all over the world.

Her journey was not an easy one, but the beauty said she did her best to represent Guyana and be the best ambassador she could be. Amidst various ups and downs, including not receiving the necessary support and probably not enough encouragement, Dessia managed to stand tall and never let her poise slip.

The Miss World pageant was held on September 30 at the Sala Kongresowa in Warsaw, Poland and Tatana Kuchaová from the Czech Republic was crowned the 56th Miss World. The first runner up was Romania's Ioana Valentina Boitor and the second runner-up Australia's Sabrina Houssami.

In an interview with The Scene, 24-year-old Dessia said she left Guyana not knowing what to expect on her arrival to Poland or how she would be treated. But on arrival, she said, she received a warm welcome and fitted in quite well. She said there were negative and positive days, but besides competing she knew she was in Poland to have fun and gain some experience.

Almost everyday, Dessia said, she had the task of explaining to delegates and other people about where Guyana is located and even where they can find South America.

Dessia's chaperone, allocated to her by the Miss World Organisation, was from Spain and her roommate was from Colombia. Faced with a language barrier, the beauty was forced to learn some Spanish, while her chaperone and roommate also mastered a few things in English.

All of the contestants were divided in six regional groups: Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Caribbean, Northern Europe and Southern Europe. Before the actual pageant night, four contestants had an opportunity to be fast tracked into the semi-final based on their success in four preliminary competitions: 'Beauty with purpose', 'Miss World Talent', 'Miss World Sport' and 'Miss World Beach Beauty'. The winners of those contests were Miss Venezuela, Miss Canada, Miss Northern Ireland and Miss Ghana.

Dessia competed at sports but did not do well. She also did a dance but it was not judged as it was placed under the 'traditional section'.

Another six regional contestants were selected for places in the semi-final through SMS and internet voting and the judges selected six others to make up the quota of 16 semi-finalists. However, there was a tie in the scores of Miss India and Miss Australia, both from the Asia Pacific region and the number of semi-finalists was increased to 17.

On pageant night, Dessia said although she was not in the final competition, she experienced a bunch of mixed feelings; she was excited, nervous and afraid. Never before in her life had she been surrounded by so many lights, cameras and fame. "I may not have been one of the lucky ones to have placed but I have certainly gained a lot of experience and knowledge especially when it comes to Poland."

In the run up to the pageant, Miss Guyana World said, she had to deal with things such as her chaperone forgetting to tell her what her day's routine was and having to meet the times set for different events at short notice. And she had to be always prepared to smile at all times, even when faced with her worst challenges.

Contacted for a comment, local pageant organizer Derek Moore said the Miss Guyana World Committee always did its best to ensure that its delegate was well prepared and taken care of.

He said the Miss Guyana World delegate would not always get a chaperone from Guyana to go to the pageant because the Miss World Organisation "takes care of that".

He said the committee always made sure that the delegate had a chaperone to go as far as England. However, Dessia was unfortunate as this year there were not enough funds to send anyone to England with her.

According to Moore, the committee did not have enough time to prepare since the Miss World Pageant which was usually held in December was held in September this year. Added to this, he said, the local pageant was held around the time of the general elections here and there was hardly any support or sponsors.

Asked why the internet voting for Miss Guyana had not been publicised by the committee, Moore said that Guyanese knew since 2001 what they had to do to vote for Miss Guyana.

Having travelled to North America, England and Poland, Dessia has returned to Guyana and a normal life. She told The Scene that she will now focus on commencing her studies to become a Professional Social Worker. Dessia is passionate about working with street children and also plans to visit schools to chat with students on issues relating to HIV/AIDS.