A Grade 12 pupil at Luhlaza Senior Secondary in Khayelitsha will represent the Western Cape at the finals of the Miss Teen SA contest in Johannesburg on Saturday June 1.
Lisakhanya Buka, 16, from Site B, is over the moon and hopes to dazzle the judges. Raised by her 70 year-old granny, Constance, Lisakhanya defies her disadvanta geous family background and continues to inspire others at school and in the community.
Her mother, Thandiwe, was recently retrenched in the clothing factory industry and Lisakhanya’s daily needs are being taken care of by her grandmother’s old age grant.
Despite all these challenges, she has never missed a day of school. She walks about 8km a day to and from school.
She is very focused on her studies while pursuing her desire to be a model. Her interest in modelling started when she was still in primary school.
Lisa (as she is known by her peers) likes to watch the modelling channels and has been
motivated by Miss World and Miss SA.
While she had initially been sceptical about entering Miss Teen SA, her online application was selected and she was shortlisted for the auditions, which took place at Durbanville. Lisa was then nominated for the semi-final round during which she had to campaign for votes to stand a chance of going through to the finals.
She designed posters and flyers explaining how supporters could vote for her and put these up in the malls, shopping centres and all public places of Khayelitsha.
Lisa has to be in Johannesburg by Thursday May 30, and her final hurdle is to raise R23 000 for transport to the event, and accommodation.
You can still vote for Lisa by SMS, send the words MTSA LISAK on SMS to 47439 (cost R3). For more details contact Makhaya Jezile on 076 5083 688.
