Talk Your Worth With Miss SA: Brunching With Beauty
Mia le Roux captured hearts at the Miss South Africa Brunch, hosted by L’Oréal Paris on Friday, September 27, 2024 in Johannesburg.
It was a day of togetherness. Ladies and gentlemen celebrated their worth, the worth of those around them and the concept of worth-in-progress, with Miss South Africa, Mia le Roux, leading the way. Overflowing with glasses of bubbly, delicious food and unique individuals, the Miss SA Brunch was a celebration of inclusion and diversity.
Mia Le Roux made powerful statements about her journey to be the first hard-of-hearing woman to win Miss SA. She never knew that “someone like [her] could be Miss South Africa because [she] had never seen it before”.
Exclusion is a foreign concept for many individuals in society, with the majority of individuals automatically being accepted into greater society. But, those who are differently abled, have additional challenges in society that others do not even know how to comprehend.
Le Roux said: “Those individuals who are included need to know how to be inclusive.” Ultimately, that is one way of being influential, as it forces you to think beyond yourself.
“I know what it feels like to be excluded,” said le Roux, “and I don’t believe that anyone deserves to be left behind. Everyone deserves to have a space where they feel seen and heard.”
The purpose of the day was to raise awareness about how individuals in society need to have the empathy and compassion to take a step beyond themselves and think about the communities one does not always think about. In fact, le Roux urged the audience to consider the marginalised and excluded, because they are “human beings with hopes and dreams” too.
Just like Miss SA aims to redefine what it means to be beautiful, smart and a women, le Roux aims to use this platform to show how excluded individuals don’t fit into one box.
Further to this, she said: “Every time we encounter a person from a different background, we need to be open-minded and ask them: ‘What do you need?’ When you encounter someone that you can see is different, you must not be afraid to go up to them, to ask them about their life, about their passions, dreams or skills.”
This is why le Roux entered Miss SA: To prove to the world that differently abled individuals can succeed in life just as much as anyone else. She wanted to make an impact within the marginalised groups in society and make them feel acknowledged.
Mia le Roux praises the Miss SA brand and says that it’s relevant, because it provides a platform for those involved to make an impact in society – big or small.
As the afternoon drew to a close, Mia le Roux earned a round of applause when she announced she would be representing South Africa at Miss Universe in Mexico in November 2024. She is proud to take her message of inclusivity to a global stage and cannot wait to “create a new generation of believers”.
