Eighteen-year- Janella Pollard after being crowned Miss Region 10old footballer Janella Pollard from River’s View can now add pageant winner to her growing resume as she was crowned Miss Region Ten last month.
Janella is a community service officer, secretary at the nursery school in her village, and volunteer in her community which has close to 1,100 residents. She has applied to the Guyana School of Agriculture where she hopes to study and become a certified agriculturist and then return to work in her community.
In an interview with The Scene, the teenager explained that this was her first time competing in a pageant. She entered because she wanted to know what it felt like, after she was encouraged by her mother to participate.
Janella currently plays football for the Bartica All Stars and her village. As a child her favourite sport was football and so the first opportunity she had she joined a team and has been playing for most of her teenage life.
Based on this, she recalled that when she announced to members of her family that she would be taking part in the pageant, they were initially shocked. The teenager they have always known was a tomboy and not inclined to partake in pageants. She said that her family has only known her to wear “track pants or joggers with a big t-shirt” so they were somewhat skeptical that she would be able to trade that attire for a pair of heels and dresses to participate. “I think they were a little shocked to see me in dress,” she joked.
However, based on her experience, Janella opined that pageantry isn’t about “beauty and being poised” alone, but rather it is about being “educated and outspoken.” She then 
encouraged young girls to “work hard, be bold, be outspoken and you need to stand up. Pageantry isn’t about being beautiful, [it’s about] showing people you can stand up for yourself, respect your family, your community.”
Describing her village as a peaceful one, Janella said that it has the most beautiful view of the nearby regions in her opinion. “We are in the centre of the place. The people here are very nice. I can go anywhere and sit down. They would offer me food and so on,” she noted.
With her title, she hopes to now play a part in the developmental aspect of her village. She said, “We are not too developed but we are getting there… Roads and lights are now being put in place…”
Janella, who also enjoys singing, reading novels, and drawing, said she saw pageantry as something to add to her experiences not to change her.
“I see myself as this person, I could wear both… I prefer my normal clothes but as a queen, I also understand I have certain responsibilities and when attending programmes, I need to dress a certain way,” she noted.
Janella is extremely passionate about pushing for the implementation of sex education in high schools – something she believes can counteract teenage pregnancies. She also believes that protection should be distributed to certain age groups. “I strongly think that they should because we don’t want to be making generations and we are not even developed properly. I don’t think our society needs that right now,” she added.
According to her, 6% of teenage pregnancies are from riverain and hinterland areas. Though it is not prevalent in her community, she said, “Not because it’s not in my community means I can’t help other communities.”
Meanwhile, for many years now there has been no electricity or potable water in the village. Some residents had their generators and cooking and drinking water were being sourced from the two wells within the community, or rainfall.
However, according to Janella one of the major developments currently ongoing in her community is a solar farm, which is expected to provide electricity to the entire village. At present, there are a few houses that already have electricity as the installation of poles and wires continues.
She recalled that when she started school her mother would use an iron heated on a fire to iron her uniforms and the thought of the children in her community being able to use an electric iron is overwhelming. She noted that often while attending school they would also have to wonder if their uniforms would “mash-up” before they arrive at school but now children would not have to worry about that “their parents can send them to school tidy and neat.”The village-oriented teenager said, “I just want what is best for everyone. A lot of days I went to school bad looking but I never used to feel bad because I know my parents tried. These children now have a brighter future than I did.”
According to Janella, in her community, almost every parent has two or three jobs. She said this has also been the trend in the community so as to be able to provide properly for their families.
However, she pointed out that the Because We Care Cash Grant which was distributed to every school child by the government actually “changed lives” in her community. “They are very happy about it. They were collecting and they were so emotional. They don’t have to worry about where my baby is going to have a school bag; they are so relieved. They are saying maybe mommy has three jobs and now she can leave a job because the grant can purchase the school items,” she mused.
Janella, who has four siblings, pointed out that children in her village secure part-time jobs at an early age. “It starts with if some days they may want an amount of money to go to school but mom doesn’t have money to give them so they go by an aunt to rake a yard and do work and earn the money to go to school,” she said. A lot of kids are doing that; some even left to go to the interior to get jobs. I see some smaller kids working. They are trying to help themselves because parents trying and aren’t getting enough money so I think this cash grant is very helpful to them.”
However, the young woman said that one of the main changes she hopes to see take place in her community is “youths being more productive in their spare time and giving back to the community.”
She also advised youths and people: “I would say life isn’t a fairy tale… Life isn’t easy we all have our ups and downs but don’t give up. The country is getting better every day, people are striving to give you the best, and don’t give up hope. You have a voice for a reason, don’t make yourself a walkover.”
In five years, she hopes to “still be moving all over, helping communities and help everyone… I must be able to have my own little house, nothing too big but comfortable.”
