Mia Le Raux Makes Her Parents Proud By Being The First Deaf Person To Be Crowned As Miss South Africa.

Mia le Raux was born in Sasolburg, which is a free state, and was raised in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape. Before competing in the pageant, le Raux was a marketing manager for a small company and was residing in Rosebank, Cape Town. Along with her job, she was also studying at the University of South Africa for a marketing degree. She also modeled part-time. In addition to all of this, Mia is also passionate about health apparent by her nutritional certification.

Mia’s Hearing Disability

When she was a year old, Le Raux was diagnosed with substantial hearing loss which required her to wear a cochlear implant to assist her hearing. The implant helped her to communicate and was very helpful for her during the pageant. However, she never let this be a hindrance to her career. She is a strong inspiration for the deaf community and strongly advocates for inclusivity for all.

Miss South Africa Competition

Stephanie Wail is the CEO of The South Africa Organization which formerly owned the pageant competition. However, in 2023, Carol Bouwer Productions was then given charge of The Miss South Africa competition. Unfortunately, this move resulted in the dropping of the organization’s license for the Miss World competition. Nevertheless, Sun International, who was the previous owner of the competition, continues to be an official sponsor of the event.

The pageant not only supports various philanthropic causes but also provides women with different backgrounds a platform to showcase their talents. Moreover, it also gives women a chance to represent their countries on international platforms like Miss World and Miss Universe.

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Mia le Raux participated in the 2024 Miss South Africa competition. After being one of the thirty semifinalists selected in May 2024, she proceeded to go to the next round. She was ultimately crowned the winner in the final stage which took place on August 10.

Her win came after the news of the withdrawal of her opposing contestant, Chidimma Vanessa Adetshina. Chidimma faced online bullying and harassment for months which drove her to this decision. She was questioned about her Nigerian roots. She was born in South Africa to a Nigerian father while her mother hails from Mozambique. Although she cleared all stages to be a finalist, many South Africans objected to this decision.

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This led the Home Affairs Department to investigate this matter. It was concluded that her mother may have stolen some South African’s identity to become a national. The committee also clarified that Chidimma had no part in this as she must have been an infant at the time. All this led to Chidimma announcing her withdrawal citing concerns for her family’s safety.

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Mia’s Parents Infinite Support For Her

Dealing with substantial hearing loss was not easy but Mia’s parents showered her with immense love and support which gave Mia motivation to face her challenges head-on. Mia’s father, Schalk Le Raux, and her mother, Liesel Le Raux own a newspaper in Mia’s hometown, Oudtshoorn. She also has an older brother. Her helpful, caring, and supportive family plays a very important role in Mia’s win in the Miss South Africa Competition.

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In her acceptance speech, Mia expressed her appreciation and stated that she was ‘deeply touched’ by the people choosing her as the winner. She talked about how as a young girl she never could have thought about this moment. Le Raux was especially thankful for her community that raised funds for her first cochlear implant at the tender age of two. In the end, she promised to be a voice for the community and to represent the differently abled.

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Fatima Abid: Obsessed with books since childhood, Fatima Abid now pens down her own words. Her favorite part about writing is transforming the ideas flying in her head into words on a screen. Her abundance of articles are a testament to her passion for writing.