From Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, she is charming and beautiful. Her childhood memories are of running around barefoot, climbing fruit trees and playing hide and seek.

Ryiela says she was not confident in herself and was never the person who could handle being in the public eye, much less speak in public.

All of that has changed as a result of being in the pageant.

At age five, her father died and as Ryiela grew up she realised that her future depended on what she aimed for. She focused on the optimum.

Odessa Phillips, 19, has found preparation leading up to the September 07 pageant to be "fabulous".

She is from Vergenoegen on the East Bank Essequibo.

If "Murder She Wrote", or "Perry Mason" is on, you would most likely find Odessa in front of the television. She is pursuing a degree in law at the University of Guyana. Odessa will for sure be a lawyer who is down-to-earth and with a most appealing smile, a dimpled one at that.

Growing up, most of her friends have been boys, but you always knew a girl was in the gang from her bouncing "fat" plaits, dress and matching ribbons.

She says she joined the pageant for the experience, as she has been in a pageant before. She is convinced that pageants "shape you and renew you".

Odessa feels that nervousness helps you to be cautious, so that you can be on your "p's and q's".

Melesa Archer, 20, is from Georgetown.
She is not uncomfortable at all with the publicity that comes with being in a pageant.

"It's really nice to have all the attention", Melesa has come to find out.

She has made a lot of new friends and has been able to overcome stage fright.

Also, she knows the do's and don'ts of dining, and so much more.

Should she win the pageant and get the chance to represent Guyana in Nigeria, Melesa would find sheer delight in telling about the cultures of Guyana's six peoples, the Kaieteur Falls and the St. George's Cathedral. She is a third year University of Guyana student in International Relations.

Melesa's personal motto is, "Make success your story".

Ali Williams, 20, of Bachelor's Adventure, East Coast Demerara, was from small obsessed with "dressing up", and so it's little wonder that she is into modelling, and pageantry.

She won the Miss Bygeval crown in 1998 and decided to commence modeling classes at the Eyefull Modelling Agency.

Ali has just completed a Diploma in Public Communications at the University of Guyana. She feels that being up on stage helps to build self esteem.

There may be some clapping you to get off stage, but confidence helps you to maintain composure and retain the smile.

One of the difficulties she has had to contend with in the pageant was the ousting of contestants Cephana Glasgow and Sophia Baptiste.

Ali is happy that the Miss World pageant does not require a swimsuit competition. Although a model, she has never posed in a swimsuit.

She calls the group of contestants a "great bunch".

Samantha Crandon, 22, is a trained nurse working in the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Because of her job, Samantha has worked with HIV/AIDS patients. They told their sad stories and her job was to show empathy, to convince them that having the virus is not the end of their lives.

She has been told that it's strange for a nurse to be into modelling, dancing, and now pageantry. Her reply is that nurses can do anything like any other professional person.

She can do the moves of hip hop, Latin, salsa, interpretive and ballroom dancing.

Samantha is coping with the rigourous training programme, but insists that she is learning a whole lot. For one, she has been able to widen her communication skills, an absolute necessity for the work she does.

Should she get to go to Nigeria, Samantha would first like to tell people exactly where Guyana is and then tell them how beautiful this land is.

Samantha would most definitely tell about Guyana's resorts, as she herself does not feel she is in Guyana when at the resorts.

Marceline Basdeo, 23, is glad to have been born on the day that Guyana celebrates Republic Day.

She is from Leonora, West Coast Demerara and has visited most of Guyana's resorts, and two Caribbean islands. By the age of 16, she was already computer literate and a graduate of the Leonora Secondary School, West Coast Demerara.

By age 21, she already had in her hands a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in Accounting. Currently, she is a Level 2 ACCA student.

As if that was not enough, Marceline decided to take up dance classes, martial arts, specialising in Taekwando, and swimming classes at the Tower Hotel, Georgetown.

Earlier this year, her picture was splashed in front of the daily newspapers and on all television stations, but not for a good reason. Marceline and her Taekwando instructor went missing, her car was discovered bullet ridden, and they both showed up unharmed. They told Police they were kidnapped. A firm believer in God, Marceline said she prayed a whole lot during the ordeal.

She became part of the pageant because she feels indebted to the many Guyanese people who wanted her to turn up alive and well. However, some had their own versions of what might have happened. She is upset that people would try to malign her character, and with the horrible things that have been said about her, Marceline is confident that she can come out on top of the worst of situations.

Marita Persaud, 23, who grew up on a farm in the Pomeroon River, has an extremely friendly personality.

Some of her fondest memories are of romping in the grass with the neighbours' children, fishing and swimming. Up in the Pomeroon, it's pitch dark at nights, allowing for an amazing view of the glittering sky. Marita says she would look up at the stars and think about being a beauty queen one day.

Her love of pageants is confirmed judging from the scrapbook she has of previous winners of the Miss Guyana, Miss World and Miss Universe pageants. She was once a teacher, but moved to Georgetown as she felt it was the place to pursue tertiary education.

"I'm now serious about a lot things that I once took for granted, like how to sit properly, how to walk, table manners, not to use too many aah's and am's", is how she sums up what she has gained from being part of the pageant.

Frankly, Marita is short, but that is not a bother for her.

"Actually, it's kind of cute, because people say 'Where is the tiny one?'".

Marita does not worry about challenges that may come her way in the future.

As she puts it, "when I get there, I'll deal with it."

Danille McIntyre, 21, is named after Danielle Steel, but she has not read a single book by the well-known writer!

She is from Linden and is fondly referred to as Tiana by relatives and friends. After completing secondary school, she moved on to study Information Technology at the Linden Computer College.

She works for Stabroek News at its Linden office. Due to her love of the computer, Danielle went into PC repairs and Networking at the IT Centre in Georgetown.

She wants to one day become an A-plus PC Technician or Web Page Designer. She enjoys writing stories and poems.

Danielle enjoys very much the association with the other delegates.

"Good, wonderful, great", are words she could come up with to describe them.

Once she was sick for three days, but she did not miss anything as "everyone called".

Danielle is a bit disappointed that she cannot put all her energy into the preparation for the pageant as she has to keep up with her full time job and travel to and from Linden every day.

Maliza Walton, 20, from Linden, is proud of the fact that she has sometimes been outrageous.

She currently is a reporter with the TV Prime News programme, but also does some camera work and presents the news at times.

Maliza is pursuing a degree in Communications at the University of Guyana. She was persuaded to enter the pageant by a member of the Miss Guyana World organising committee. She agreed to be a delegate, figuring that it would be a good opportunity for everyone to know the Maliza behind the camera - according to her, the Maliza that is "adventurous, charming, an all round great person".

She has been an avid follower of pageants, but never envisioned being part of one.

Being not the person into "make-up and high heels", but the "jeans, t-shirt and sneakers kind of girl", Maliza has found the pageant to be a lot of fun. She does not foresee a "hard part" on September 07, pageant night. She has come to realise that you get publicity whether you like it or not.

And since the talk is not always good, Maliza has been coping with her fine quality of being an "extremely positive person."

Candida Telles, 22, was born into a family with roots in India, Italy, Africa, China...and the list goes on.

If you're thinking about scaring this BSc graduate in Computer Science, try cockroaches, crabs and spiders! But watch it, her pet dog Sabra chews on every conceivable thing!

She is from Huntley, Mahaicony and attended nursery, primary and secondary schools in the Mahaicony area. A favourite pastime for Candida has been visiting her father's coconut estate. Once, an excitement there was seeing a labaria snake coiled on to a coconut tree.

Growing up, Candida always wanted to be part of a pageant. When it came down to the school pageants, she was shy. When it came to Miss UG, she was still shy.

She soon realised that all it takes is some courage. But she was overweight and is now on a strict diet.

So it's no rice, roti, or bread, but a lot of vegetables and fruits for Candida.