The South African representative at Miss Wheelchair World is not only beautiful, she is also athletic, charismatic and a passionate changemaker.
Lebohang Monyatsi will be representing South Africa at the Miss Wheelchair World pageant this October in Warsaw, Poland. The pageant was started by two wheelchair bound mothers that wanted to change the perception of women with disabilities.
They aimed to change the image of women with disabilities, break barriers and show that being in a wheelchair was not a limitation.
Lebohang has had a very interesting and successful life irregardless of what some may consider a limitation. She has studied a Bachelor of Arts in Social Psychology and is currently studying for a Bachelor of Communications Sciences.
She has also been part of the South African Wheelchair Basketball league. This meant Lebohang was able represent SA at the Paralympic Qualifiers as well as a few other international sporting events.
Lebohang’s most noteworthy accomplishment was to challenge the status quo by becoming Africa’s first ever runway model in a wheelchair. This achievement was a big part of her drive to work towards disability inclusion. Her hope is for every aspect of life to be accessible to people with disabilities.
Lebohang had felt insecure about her legs for most of her life. She was three when she was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, this led to her becoming wheelchair bound. She had to have multiple operations that left her legs scarred.
“I eventually had to challenge myself by loving the things I cannot change and embrace my flaws. I have learned that embracing my flaws isn’t failure, instead it means that I have reached acceptance.
I stopped struggling when I started seeing my flaws as something beautiful which makes me different from the rest of the World.”
Lebohang has an inspirational Instagram account, ‘Rolling Goddess‘, where she shares uplifting messages. To vote for Lebohang, just click the “I’m Voting” button on her Miss Wheelchair World Page, you do not need to pay to vote. You can ignore the Paypal button.
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