Miss South Africa Mia le Roux is deaf but can hear thanks to acochlear implant she received through donations from her community.
Raised in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape, her parents could not afford an implant so her community helped by raising donations.
“It is because of that that I want to become someone’s community,” she said.
Le Roux was diagnosed with hearing loss at age one.
The 28-year-old from Sasolburg, Free State, has broken barriers after being crowned the first deaf winner in the beauty contest’s 68-year history on Saturday.
She was taught how to make sounds through speech therapy at Carel Du Toit Centre in Pretoria.
Her hearing aid once ran out of batteries while she was at school and her mother rushed in with new batteries.
LISTEN | ‘Bonang screamed my name loud enough, that’s how I knew I won’: Miss SA on her hearing impairment
'Bonang is amazing, she screamed my name loud enough for me to hear, thank you for that,' says Mia le Roux
Image: Miss South Africa
Miss South Africa Mia le Roux is deaf but can hear thanks to acochlear implant she received through donations from her community.
Raised in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape, her parents could not afford an implant so her community helped by raising donations.
“It is because of that that I want to become someone’s community,” she said.
Le Roux was diagnosed with hearing loss at age one.
The 28-year-old from Sasolburg, Free State, has broken barriers after being crowned the first deaf winner in the beauty contest’s 68-year history on Saturday.
She was taught how to make sounds through speech therapy at Carel Du Toit Centre in Pretoria.
Her hearing aid once ran out of batteries while she was at school and her mother rushed in with new batteries.
The Miss SA event was hosted by media personality Bonang Matheba at SunBet Arena in Pretoria.
“Bonang is amazing. She screamed my name loud enough for me to hear. Thank you for that,” said Le Roux.
Le Roux moved from the bottom three at one stage to winning the contest and will compete for the Miss Universe title in Mexico in November.
She was speaking on Metro FM’s The Touch Down afternoon drive show.
TimesLIVE
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