Banbridge Academy pupil Olivia reaches Miss Bollywood finals

The competition was set up to raise funds to help establish Angel House - a home in India for babies abandoned by their families because they are female.

The 16-year-old GCSE pupil was chosen by Style Academy’s Tracey Hall to reach the final in May 2012 at the Ramada Plaze Hotel in Belfast.

Olivia has been dancing since she was four-years-old and is a member of the Jennifer Marshall School of Dance in Richhill. She does tap, modern jazz, ballet and lyrical and takes part in festivals every year.

A member of Dromore Ladies Netball Club, she is working towards completing her Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Award this year.

“I was having some photos taken with Marie Allen and she thought I might enjoy the Miss Bollywood photo shoot,” she said. “The competition is for such a good cause that I was more than happy to get involved.”

By entering the competition, participants get to enjoy a professional photo shoot complete with hair, make-up and Bollywood costume – a superb experience in itself. However, they also have the chance to win a share in over £2,000 in prizes, including a potential modelling contract with Northern Ireland’s illustrious Style Academy, and the Miss Bollywood Northern Ireland 2012 title.

The competition was set up because every day in India 2,000 babies are killed simply because they are female while even more are abandoned at churches, hospitals, over-crowded orphanages or simply in the street. Portadown couple Nelson and Janet Thomas-Raja aim to establish Angel House as just one part of a wider project to help children and mothers in India.

Angel House is not an orphanage. These baby girls will become part of the Thomas-Raja family and receive the love, care and attention they deserve in life. To avoid the over-crowding that happens in orphanages that results in babies being left with no real human contact, Angel House will be dedicated to saving 15 babies at any one time.

By focusing on a smaller number, these young girls will be given the love and affection they crave.

The Miss Bollywood NI competition has been created to help make this dream a reality.

Entry to the competition costs £50 and includes a professional make over by make-up artists Karen Jarvis & Heike Wilkinson, professional hair style by Encanto Hair Salon Portadown, professional photo shoot by Marie Allen, choice of Indian Saree & three images on a disc.

Everyone involved are working on a voluntary basis, so the entire entry fee goes to the Angel House charity.

Prizes for the competition include; a weekend away in London sponsored by Meadows Shopping Centre; designer crown and necklace sponsored by Nigel O’Hara; £500 portfolio voucher from Marie Allen Photographer and a £250 voucher sponsored by Sitara Morgan, along with a professional make over sponsored by Karen Jarvis and. Heike Wilkinson make-up artists

Anyone interested in taking part in the second heat shoots can email [email protected] or telephone 028 38351055 for more information.