BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MANY patrons saw her performances during the Sugar Mas 44 National Carnival Queen Pageant, but many of them might not have heard of the struggles she endured just hours before and during the competition.
Her name is Orngel Erskine and, on the evening of Sunday, December 27, she performed her way to earning the coveted title of Miss National Carnival 2015/2016.
But it was a struggle even getting to that point. The countless hours of preparations seemed to be wasted when Erskine became ill on that morning, especially when it appeared as if she would not be able to compete.
The Queen, in an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, explained that when she awoke on that morning, she was not feeling well and the illness worsened as the day progressed.
“In the morning I woke not feeling well. I have acid reflux so that contributed greatly to my illness. I had vomiting and diarrhea, I had fever, my blood sugar and everything was very low, so I was weak. I don’t know where the sickness came from but it came upon me. And I was on drips (at the Joseph N. France General Hospital) for a few hours…”
Erskine said inquiries were made by the Carnival Committee to find out if she would opt out of the competition because of her illness, but she assured them that she would be forging ahead in her bid to capture the crown.
And so it was! The young woman demonstrated unappalled determination and resilience and went from hospital to the stage.
“So I prayed and I prayed and I guess God gave me the strength and they let me off the drips. And even though I was weak during every performance, I still couldn’t show that I was weak to the crowd because I knew they were looking for a great show and I had to give them what they wanted. I went from the hospital straight to the show at 5:00 p.m. because I wanted my bonus points for early arrival as well.”
Still in a weakened state, Erskine made all the appearances on stage and she recalls that during the National Pride Segment, she had to shorten her performance as she felt as though she was going to pass out on the stage.
“The first time the doctor was called to the back was for Contestant Number One, and the second time was for me. After the National Pride segment I kind of fainted after performing. I actually didn’t get to finish my whole routine. I wasn’t feeling the best and I felt like I was going to fall down onstage, so I just came off and fell down outside.”
Beating the odds and pushing past the discomfort of the illness, Erskine was crowned queen and she expressed thanks to God, Whom she said gave her the strength she needed to compete.
“I still thank God because it is because of Him I was able to come out on top. He gave me the strength, He gave me the courage, He pushed and when I heard that I won, I was proud of myself because I didn’t allow my sickness to get the best of me. I still went out and tried to give 100 percent, but unfortunately I couldn’t. And I feel good…I’m proud of myself. I didn’t expect it.”
Sometime in the future, the National Carnival Queen 2015/2016 expects to compete in both the Miss Carival show in St. Vincent and the Miss Jaycees show in Antigua. But for now, she has her heart set on exploring her platform and engaging in some community-based activities.
“Between now and May, I would like to start to address my platform which is Customer Service in the Tourism Sector, maybe do some workshops, some activities with children. I would also like to visit the Cardin Home and the Cotton Thomas Comprehensive School.
“I believe in giving back to my community and it is unfortunate that the older people have to end up in these homes. It would please my heart to go up there and even give five mines to them, to help feed them, help them to understand what is actually going on in the world because they are not exposed to what is actually going on. Maybe they would hear and seeing the newspapers, but they don’t actually know what’s going on. So if I go as a young person and speak with them I guess I will get the support that I need.”
Erskine said there is a special place in her heart for children and she would do whatever she could to help mould and develop them.
“As for the children at the Cotton Thomas Comprehensive School, I love children, no matter what form or shape or size, I love children. And I would like to help them to be better persons, help them to learn, help them to understand life, school and extracurricular activities, because they help to mold and shape young individuals. I just want to go there and spend some time with them.”
