Image: Instagram/@catriona_gray
Catriona Gray got an added inspiration after visiting Tondo and interacting with children before setting off for the Miss Universe pageant in Bangkok, Thailand.
Gray said in an interview with Push that she felt the overwhelming support that fans gave her at the Miss Universe candidate’s send off-party.
Prior to the party, Gray spent a week in different organizations to remind herself what she was competing for. As such, she spent the whole of Friday and Saturday in the densely populated Manila district of Tondo.
“It’s so wonderful to see the kids and so I feel great I feel like I’m really in a good place,” said Gray.
“I also went to some of their houses and you know it just gives me that drive, like this is what I’m here for, to change their lives or to help change their lives.”
Fans also surprised Gray online after the Miss Universe organization uploaded her photo on their Facebook page Nov. 6. Gray noted that her photo garnered 500,000 likes in just one and a half days of being uploaded.
“It was insane and to see comments too, it was hilarious. I love reading the comments and to feel the support pouring out,” Gray noted.
Her photo currently has over 600,000 reactions and 70,200 shares as of this writing.
The 2018 Miss Universe competition will air live on December 16 from Bangkok, Thailand. Alfred Bayle /ra
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