Wheelchair to a throne: Activist is crowned at MWI pageant
|Published
YES QUEEN!: Nikita Scott is MWI Phenomenal Miss South Africa
Young Atlantis activist, Nikita Scott, is on a roll.
The 20-year-old singer, activist, model and community worker was crowned the MWI Phenomenal Miss South Africa on Saturday in her hometown.
Nikita, who opened a soup kitchen earlier this month, said she was overwhelmed by the news that she was selected to join a bevy of royalties who form part of the MWI (Magnificent Women Icon) Phenomenal International Pageant for Special Needs People.
The wheelchair-bound woman was crowned in a special ceremony held with previous royalties.
The pageant is spearheaded by the Shumeez Scott Foundation under the guidance of founder Bahia Janodien.
They recognised the work Nikita was doing while her story of overcoming trials and tribulations in her young life was deemed exceptional and inspirational.
Nikita was injured in a car accident when she was 17. The then Grade 10 pupil got a lift home with her friend and as their car stood at a red robot, they were hit.
Nikita was in a coma for two weeks and ultimately left paralysed from her hips down.
But the feisty meisie overcame her disability, and shyness, by singing on stage and starting a soup kitchen.
Nikita says: “Being crowned is unreal to me, I still think of that moment when they called my name, when they put the sash on me and the crown on my head.”
Nikita looked breathtaking in her white off-the-shoulder dress with a slit and stiletto heels.
Shumeez Scott, 21, who has Downs, was the first South African to be crowned the MWI Phenomenal Miss SA in Gambia in 2017.
Her mom Bahia says: “Shumeez wants to change the face of beauty.
“She wants to change the views that exist about the perceived limitations of Downs syndrome (and disabilities).
“Parents must be proud of their children and allow them to live their dreams irrespective of their circumstances.”
She said Nikita will now represent SA in Dubai in August at the international pageant.