Sarodj Bertin, the reigning Miss Haiti, is a lawyer who speaks four languages fluently. Born into privilege in Port-au-Prince, she fled with her father and siblings to the neighboring Dominican Republic after the murder of her mother, whom she calls her idol. It is there that she studied law and worked for the International Alliance for Haiti's Recovery. It is also where she got the idea to enter the pageant for Miss Haiti. In response to a critique about the frivolity of the contest, Ms. Bertin responds, "Everybody remembers Haiti in moments of crisis. … I want them to see also the beauty that there is in my country, to be interested in giving opportunities to the young people. … They should see it as a light, a hope."
Read more at MSN.
—Nsenga K. Burton