Karla Henry - Miss Philippines Earth

Miss Philippines Earth

Henry was chosen Miss Philippines-Earth 2008 on May 11, 2008, besting 40 contestants from all over the Philippines and Filipino communities abroad. On the pageant night, contestants were asked how they would explain the degradation of nature to simple folk. Henry gave the winning answer: “I will educate them by giving them an example; through my example I will give nature the best of me.” The pageant was held at the Crowne Plaza Galleria in Ortigas, Mandaluyong City.

In a press conference, she recalled how the pageant awakened her passion: “When I joined Miss Philippines, there was a very funny story about the first day I saw the other girls, the contract-signing day with Carousel Productions, the pageant organizer. Miss Untalan (Miss Earth Foundation executive director) warned me, ‘If you’re here for the fame and glamour of being a beauty queen, then you’re in the wrong pageant. Here, we’re really serious about our advocacy. We really do get down and dirty with the activities that we do.’ I said, these guys are really serious. I should really join this. I pursued it and I have no regrets.”

As Miss Philippines, Henry has utilized her reign in promoting environmental awareness, working with Miss Earth Foundation through its project I Love My Planet Earth School Tour. Henry, along with her court has visited more than 20 schools and communities, teaching kids about the environment, through games, singing songs, storytelling, and even demonstrating how easy it is to plant trees.

Apart from the outreach projects, she travelled in June 2008 to Europe and participated in the opening of Expo Zaragoza 2008, an international exposition held from June 14 – September 14, 2008 coordinated by the Bureau of International Expositions held in Zaragoza, Spain, with the topic of Water and Sustainable Development. The event took place in the meander of the river Ebro. She also promoted the vast and natural beauty of the Philippines.

On July 18, 2008, she served as one of the quizmasters of a history quizbee for high school students with disabilities as part of the activities of the 30th Philippine National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week, a project under the office of the President of the Philippines, which aimed on promoting greater access of disabled individuals to mainstream social activities.

In early September 2008, Henry, Miss Singapore 2008 Ivy Leow Kian Peng, and Miss Earth 2007 Jessica Trisko travelled to Singapore and to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. They visited the Miss Áo Dài Center and met with media correspondents at a press conference at the New World Hotel. She also visited the Can Gio Mangrove Forest, listed as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO and an important wildlife sanctuary in Vietnam as it is characterized by a wetland biosystem dominated by mangrove and many rare species; she took part in the environmental activities as green ambassador and keynote speaker. Along with the other Miss Earth beauties, they also presented mid-autumn gifts to orphans, and participated in the activities of the International Tourism Exhibition 2008, where they met and interacted with the Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

On September 20, 2008, Henry and Miss Earth 2007 Jessica Trisko headed thousands of volunteers in a full day of filth-picking, sorting, and depositing in the coastal cleanup in San Dionisio bay, Parañaque City. It was an annual event in tandem with the International Coastal Cleanup Day, the world’s largest volunteer event started by Ocean Conservancy, which aims to bring together people from all nations to gather and clean their shores once a year.

On August 2011 she was stabbed by a suspected drunk man with a broken beer bottle.