ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia has returned to the Miss Universe pageant and the country's contestant, 22-year-old Helen Getachew, is already inspiring the country's young women to push forward. Mothers of teenage girls in the country told Bikyamasr.com that they believe the Ethiopian young woman will help inspire their daughters to achieve more. “It is great to see a strong woman competing in the competition and I hope that it will mean more and more younger girls in our country know they can do so much,” said Abebe, a 33-year-old mother of twin 13-year-old girls. “We have just seen them get so excited to see the photos of Helen and they have smiles on their faces seeing her,” she told Bikyamasr.com. The Miss Universe 2012 competition will take place on December 19 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, but online voting is already underway. According to reports, the Ethiopian woman arrived in the United States earlier this month and attended a reception in her favor in Washington, DC. She has since arrived in Nevada to prepare for the event. A statement from Miss Universe said, “It's very exciting to have Ethiopia back competing at this event since the country has not been represented for the past few years." And back here, in Addis Ababa, young girls are being inspired by the 22-year-old's drive to become Miss Universe.