THE young Bahraini who won the coveted Miss Arab World 2007 title amid controversy said that she has received no help from the government to put her charitable endeavours into action, reports Asma Salman.
Wafa Janahi, 23, from Riffa, captured the crown and the nation’s heart when she took part in the contest in Egypt despite bitter criticism from one newspaper columnist who labelled the event as a thinly-veiled “beauty pageant”.
Miss Janahi was so upset by what she perceived as a slur on her character and intelligence she announced her withdrawal from the event and only took part after huge support emerged.
She said: “I was heartened to see Bahrain’s ambassador to Egypt cheer his country and attend the contest to encourage me but after returning to Bahrain I have absolutely had no assistance or backing from any governmental agency to provide me a platform for my charity work.”
Miss Janahi, who has also received praise from Bahrain’s Royal Family, took charge of various humanitarian projects connected with the competition and hoped to continue with her good work here.
Using her own initiative, she plans to start visiting old people’s homes and orphanages to distribute Eid gifts.
