MISS SA's JOURNEY
What my mom's battle with drugs taught me
FOR years the little girl watched her mother waste away, ravaged by drugs. “I want my beautiful mummy back,” she pleaded with her mother.
But her experience with a parent’s addiction would encourage rather than deter Liesl Laurie from pursuing her dreams. Today she is Miss South Africa.
The 24-year-old BCom graduate from Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, was crowned Miss South Africa 2015 at a glittering event held at Sun City last Sunday.
“I like how South Africans have accepted me,” Liesl said. “Through my reign, I want to leave a legacy where every South African is able to see a little bit of themselves in me.
“Being an inspiration and a beacon of hope is what I will strive for.”
Liesl was raised by her grandmother Lorraine while her mother, Karen, battled with drugs for many years.
“I was blessed to have her [Lorraine] in my life,” Liesl said.
“She was like a shield in everything that was happening with my mother. Her drug problem was one of those moments where I told myself, ‘I must get up and move on.’ I understood it would affect me but I kept telling myself it was not part of me. As a family we always prayed and supported her and always knew that things would change one day.”
Karen, who has been clean for two years and is now a highschool teacher, admitted her addiction had been destroying her close-knit Christian family.
“I decided to clean up my act when my daughters came to visit me,” said Karen, 43. “Liesl, in particular, didn’t like the state I was in.”
Not only was Karen cheering on her daughter with Lorraine at Sun City last weekend, but she was also whistling — a distinctive, piercing sound that would let Liesl know that her family were in the audience, rooting for her.
Lorraine, who had fasted all day and prayed when Liesl walked on stage, said she found the experience unnerving.
“I didn’t really enjoy the show,” she said. “I was worried that she will slip and fall or something might go terribly wrong. I would really love to watch it again in a relaxed environment.”
Since the Sun City extravaganza, the Laurie home has been a hive of festivity.
“Everyone is so eager to see her and congratulate her in person,” said Lorraine at a “welcome home” party yesterday.
But Liesl will trade her township home for an upmarket apartment in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs.
As the new Miss South Africa, Liesl has won prizes worth R2million — including a Mercedes-Benz A200.
“This is my first time moving out from home. I am really look- ing forward to staying alone but will miss my granny and the rest of the family,” she said.
Pageant sponsor Cell C gave her R200 000 to spend on acts of kindness in her reign.
Liesl’s charity work includes visiting babies born in prison. She also started a non-profit organisation, the Pearl Project, which holds motivational talks and workshops for young girls in Eldorado Park.
“I want the youth to know that it does not matter where you come from,” she said. “If they have a dream, they should follow it. Don’t let your surroundings dictate what you should and can’t do. I come from an area that has many social ills including poverty, crime and drug abuse.”
Liesl first entered Miss South Africa five years ago. “I was very young back then,” she said. “All the girls were talking about overseas trips and all. I knew I wasn’t ready but I learnt a lot.”
Her drug problem was one of those moments where I told myself, I must get up and move on