The 20th of February sees Natalia Mavromoustaki holding the Royal Heart of Gold charity event in aid of the Rainbow Child Foundation at Secret Valley. The evening’s entertainment features singing by Simone Swift and Michael Antoniou, Big Draw prizes, a fashion show by Guess, Lorem ect and much more. With such an upcoming event we felt it would be good to find out a little more about Natalia.
Many of our readers will have heard of Natalia, either through her regular TV and radio interviews about her wide contribution in the community or as a Face of the Globe Finalist. However, there is much more to Natalia than first meets the eye.
The 24 year old half Welsh half Cypriot was born and brought up in Paphos. “As a young teenager I knew that offering help to others was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” says Natalia. At a young age she is already living up to this ethos. She was a Cyprus Samaritan volunteer in Paphos for two years and has also volunteered for the Red Cross and the Autistic Association here in Cyprus. In July 2015 Natalia graduated from the University of Nicosia as a Social Worker, throughout her time at University she continued with voluntary work and, in 2015,was awarded as the student making the highest contribution to society.
Natalia has spent the last 4 months working with Praksis, a Non Governmental Organization which offers support to those with no Social Insurance and to the homeless. Praksis are also involved in offering support to refugees traversing Europe. Through Praksis Natalia was given the opportunity to work at the Eidomeni borders in Greece, where the refugees are exiting the country; an experience which she states has given her so much as both an individual and as a Social worker. Natalia says “The circumstances at the border are never easy as I am dealing with people who are anxious, worried, or have lost a family member at sea. I offer them support if I can, and also cater to finding them clothes from our donations which have come from all over the world.”
Lately, the weather conditions have brought additional challenges, the teams have been working in icy conditions with temperatures dropping to -5 degrees at night time. Natalia was also working the last few days of November, a particularly difficult time, when the borders had to be closed to none war zone refugees. The refugees who were not allowed to cross the borders had to sleep rough in sleeping bags in the freezing cold. It was during this period that Natalia had a poignant experience.
”A lasting memory I will keep for life is the one of a 5 year old little boy who I found out had lost his mum at sea, and was now traveling alone with his father. He was from Syria, I could not communicate with him in Arabic to ask him why he was crying his eyes out on the cold ground,” says Natalia, “I sat down and took him into my arms. The warmth of my hug calmed him down, he possibly just wanted a woman’s touch. I personally believe that this phenomenon will carry on for many years to come, but I am not sure what the status will be as It’s a constant changing environment. “
In August 2015 Natalia competed in, and won, the Face of the Globe heat in Wales. She secured her place in the World Finals in April 2016, where she will compete with girls from around the World. Natalia tells us that she has chosen a very unique talent to present!
The Pageant supports the Rainbow Child Foundation which helps build orphanages all over the world and Natalia is doing her bit with the Secret Valley Event at 7pm on the 20th February.
“Face of the Globe is a pageant were I have received so much support from both the organisers, and previous winners. I am very proud to be a part of this family which empowers us and gives us the opportunity to use our title and knowledge to help the community and to learn and respect each others cultures”.
For more information please contact Natalia at:
Facebook Group: Natalia Face of the Globe Wales 2016
Email: [email protected]
www.faceoftheglobe.com
