She started modelling at the age of five and then as a teenager turned her focus to charity work — and now a Plettenberg Bay girl has been announced as a semifinalist in the Miss Teenager SA pageant.
When the names were announced, Anelisa Mbopa’s mother was just as surprised.
Anelisa, 17, of Kranshoek, a small community outside Plett, has always been passionate about helping others.
She loved modelling, too.
Her mother, Nobahle Mbopa, a domestic worker, said she thought her daughter had put modelling on the backburner.
“She started modelling when she was just five years old, doing odd pageants in and around Plettenberg Bay.
“At that time, I thought it was just her overly confident self trying something new,” Mbopa said.
“Then she entered her [Harkerville Primary School] pageant, which she won at the age of six.
“I did not think anything of it but I said I would always support her.”
Mbopa said when the pageants stopped at her school, her daughter focused her energy on peer mentorship.
She started collecting clothing to give to other children in need.
Some items would be sold to raise funds.
“With the money, she would buy muffin mix so that they had something to eat at school,” Mbopa said.
“I thought she had forgotten about modelling and was starting to become a social worker of sorts, so I was very surprised when she told me she was a semifinalist.”
Mbopa said she was ecstatic.
“I am proud of her, and as we step closer to the competition it is fast becoming a reality that my daughter, who is being raised by a single mother, could possibly represent the whole of the Garden Route.
“What also motivates me is that she is very self-driven,” the proud mother said.
“She has taken charge of her own campaign now, raising funds to get her to Johannesburg and her outfits sorted.
“She told me not to worry, but simply offer support.
Through donations, they have already raised R3,000.
The competition takes place at Emperors Palace from May 27-29.
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