Krugersdorp beauty queen with hearing impairment hopes to inspire others

Anzunél van der Walt, who was a finalist at this year’s Ms Deaf South Africa pageant, is an inspiration to others in the hearing-impaired community.

The gala evening was held at Monte De Dios, Zwavelpoort, Pretoria on October 12.

Anzunél was born in Krugersdorp in 1991 and she has two younger sisters who are not hearing impaired.

“I was the only child who was born deaf considering my mother experienced a difficult pregnancy. I believe that the enormous shock of her brothers’ passing at that time overwhelmed her which in turn took a toll.”

Anzunél attended the Afrikaans medium school in Pretoria West, Transoranje School for the Deaf and was a learner there from 1994 (at the age of three) and matriculated in 2011.

She decided to enter the competition to promote awareness among the disabled and hard-of-hearing community and prove that she is worthy of being a person who can rise above any challenge.

“My role models are my mom and my friend Angelique Gerber, because I grew up knowing Angelique and her parents for a long time, since before my father’s passing. She has always inspired me and told me to follow my dreams. Today she is a public figure and has achieved a lot of goals she dreamt about. My mom on the other hand is the strongest woman I’ve ever met. She is an independent and hardworking person who always perseveres any challenges, and fights and is very determined to succeed. Raising children on your own, without any support for almost 19 years now, shows that nothing will stop her from reaching her goals. I look up to and admire my mom and strive to become the person she is.”

Besides the communication barriers and accessibility challenges in life, Anzunél has learned resilience and the importance of community support.

“I now plan to raise more awareness for those hard of hearing and educate others about the ‘deaf culture’ such as sign language, not to mention advocating for equal opportunities. I am proud to have showcased my talent on behalf of the deaf community at the pageant and connected with others. They too share the same passion for empowerment and inclusion.”