GLENMORE beauty, Vanessa Lusamba is another Berea resident who has entered the Miss Congo/South Africa 2016 beauty pageant.
Vanessa (21), who has lived in South Africa for a year now, discovered the competition through social media. “I enjoyed modelling at school, but this is my first pageant, so I'm very excited,” she said.
Having lived in the Congo most of her life, Vanessa said she knows a lot about the Congolese culture and feels very confident about the competition.
After her entry to the competition was accepted she was given tasks to raise funds, do charity work, and to get sponsors.
“I have secured sponsorship so far and I do a lot of community work. I am passionate about the elderly and spend time with the pensioners at Natal Settlers' Memorial Homes, talking to them, giving them foot rubs and assisting where I can,” she said.
Vanessa came to South Africa to study at UKZN, and enjoys spending her time reading and playing tennis.
She is one of eight siblings and said her aunt, grandfather and uncle also live in South Africa.
“The rest of my family, including my parents still live in the Congo. I miss them a lot – I miss home. I do enjoy South Africa though, it's a nice country,” she said.
The pageant is a cultural and educational event to showcase and celebrate true Congolese beauty and strives to bind and bond Africans in a unique way to depict culture and traditions to the world. Vanessa said the competition is being held to celebrate true Congolese beauty, inside and out, and she hopes to live up to this.
The finals of the competition are at the Wits Theatre on 10 December.
Follow Vanessa’s progress on Facebook: Vanessa Lusamba/Miss Congo SA 2016 Contestant.
