City-based NGO organises 'Empower Diva' pageant as a fundraiser for a first of its kind integrated school for normal and special children
It was a glittering affair all through – from the well-lit up ramp, the celebrities dressed in bling to the dazzling smiles of the children who accompanied them. Wednesday afternoon saw Empower-Joy, a city-based NGO, roll out ‘Empower Diva’ pageant, a fund raiser event for special children that was held at Hotel Hyatt Regency.
The NGO is led by co-founders, Bharati Kapoor and Sharmita Bhinder, who work with special children and organise events for their betterment. For the ‘Empower Diva’ event they invited city-based women from different walks of life to take to the ramp along with special children from the Prabh Asara Trust.
As the 21 ladies – a mix of entrepreneurs and professionals – took to the stage, the enthusiasm of the children was not hard to miss. “We have organized ‘Empower Diva’ pageant as a fundraiser for our plan to build country’s first of its kind integrated school with normal and special children. We already have three acres of land donated to us at Aerocity,” informed Kapoor. “We want to talk about ability in each human being and inclusion of all in society,” added Bhinder.
The show, they informed, looked at not just the concept of ‘body beautiful’ but the real person with grace and beauty. Keeping in line with the thought, the NGO also felicitated women for their role in society and setting an example for all. Among those who were honoured included Harjinder Kaur, former Chandigarh mayor; Rajni Sekhri Sibal, Additional Chief Secretary, Haryana and Dr Vidhu Mohan, former head of the Department of Psychology, Panjab University.
The pageant was judged by a jury comprising of Sharhaan Singh, a television actor popular for his show ‘Uttaran’, Satyam Kaul, a well-known body builder, Anupama Sharma, winner of Mrs Punjaban International, Deepti Katoch, soft skills trainer and winner of Mrs. North India 2017 and Heena Khokha Dang, a professional model and winner of Maxim India. Anil Malhotra, Head of Carnival Group was the chief guest on the occasion.
