14-year-old Half-Pinay, half-Belgian, Barbara Slegers has made it into the pre-semifinals of the prestigious Top Model Belgium contest.

Barbara is currently one of the top 4 out of 90 candidates vying for the title of Junior Girl Model.

The pretty teenager said that she feels proud to be brought up in a strict Filipino culture despite being born and raised in Belgium.

“I’m proud to be half-Pinay, half-Belgian and I hope every Pinoy will also be proud of me because even I was born here in Belgium, my parents raised me under Filipino culture, making sure that my values are still intact”, she said in an interview.

She also emphasized that unlike other candidates, she has “the beauty that is essential but invisible to human eyes”.

“I am not only beautiful from the outside but I am more beautiful inside. That’s what sets me apart”, she said.

Slegers is the eldest daughter of Bobby Slegers and Carmen Ramos of Mindoro. Though she is confident that she’ll win the contest, she still asks for the support of fellow Filipinos.

“Please pray for me to win this contest. This is not just for me but for my kababayan as well”, she said.

The semi-finals of Top Model Belgium will be held on May 30 in Mons. Filipinos in Belgium, Luxembourg and France may vote thru the following numbers:

IN Belgium: text TMBJ128 and send to 3339

In Luxembourg: text TMBJ128 and send to 64747

In France: text TMBJ128 and send to 81013

Filipinos may also check the current standing of Slegers by logging on to www.tmbcontest.be.

The top 3 candidates will be chosen to compete in the grand finals, which will be in November.

Source: ABS-CBNNews.com