Liesl Laurie: "My victory is dedicated to my community"

Miss SA, Liesl Laurie hopes her story will be an inspiration to others.

The 23-year-old B Com graduate clinched the prestigious title on Sunday evening at Sun City, and will spend the next one year representing the country on an international platform to bring about change.

An emotional yet ecstatic Liesl told The Juice that when her name was called out there were so many things going through her head.

“I was completely overwhelmed, excited and honoured,” she said.

Lisel explained that growing up in an impoverished community under difficult circumstances was the driving force of her fierce determination. “I believe that by telling my story, other South Africans will see themselves in me. My story is one of a little girl who grew up in a small community, under very difficult circumstances. I  grew up with my grandmother raising me because my mom wasn’t always around and I didn’t know my father. We went through so much as a family but I always told myself that I would not let those things define me,” she explained.

Liesl added that throughout that journey she told herself that she was destined for great things and she never gave up on that dream.

And, that's the message Liesl wants to spread to every South African facing some kind of challenge or hardship.

“No matter what you’re going through, you have to believe that you were born to be great and that life shouldn’t be defined by one difficult moment. You should persevere and never give up,” she said.

Liesl’s victory at Miss South Africa is dedicated to her community and to the country as a whole. “It’s dedicated to each and every person going through something and will go through something- you can always look back and say- “if she can do it, then so can I.”