LITTLE AUDREY: BIG PRIZE FOR HEART TODDLER
A LITTLE girl from Cradock, who not only has a serious heart problem but whose mother died when she was only two month old, has won R50 000 in a national competition.
Karoo farmer Rosie Visser, aunt of three-year-old cutie Audrey Stock, sent in her niece’s photo for the “My Most Beautiful Kid” online competition earlier this year.
“Her father is my brother and her mo- ther, the late Juanita Stock, died of a heart attack in her sleep at the age of 39 years, when little Audrey was only two months old,” said Visser yesterday, adding that the cash prize had “been invested for her studies in future”.
“Her dad Ivan and I are over the moon about her win. As the only parent of Audrey he just stands in awe. Just one look at her cloudy hair and eyes like the deep blue sea. . . then she treasures you with a beautiful smile confirming all is well.”
Visser said the family had an ongoing worry about Audrey’s heart.
“She also suffers from a serious heart problem and was operated on by Dr Lungile Pepeta when she was one year old. She visits him on a yearly basis.”
Through funds raised by SMS votes, “My Most Beautiful” made a donation to Khulani Children’s Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal which cares for abandoned, disadvantaged or vulnerable children.
The My Most Beautiful Kid competition was launched in June, and the public was asked to send in their favourite pictures of children between the ages of two and five. The consolation prize went to a boy from Kempton Park, who won R15 000 in cash.