The Fairy Godmother Project for 2016 comes to an end this month, but not before at least one more meisie is turned into a princess.
And matriculant Chavario Greenfield says she is ready to go from being “an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan”.
Fairy Godmother Laylah Zokufa Khan, 23, from Mitchells Plain, says she will be waving her magic wand for the final time on December 2 for Chavario’s matric ball.
The Lost City meisie was selected by Cedar High School to be sponsored by Laylah.
Sitting head-deep in her books on Wednesday, Chavario got a lekker surprise when the Daily Voice and Laylah showed up at her house to give her the good news.
“Oh my word, you’re really here, and you are so beautiful,” the bubbly girl told Laylah.
“I used to think fairy godmothers only exist in fairy tales, but now that I’ve met Laylah, I believe they are real.”
Chavario, who wrote her Afrikaans paper on Wednesday, lives with her parents and two siblings in a tiny two bedroom house in Erica street.
But the 18-year-old rarely goes outside because of bullies.
“I stay indoors whole day because when I’m outside, children call me names, they poke fun at the way I look and because of my hair,” she says.
“They mock me because I don’t have what they have, but I’m fine inside, I don’t like fighting.”
Laylah approached Cedar High in October and asked educators to choose a deserving candidate for a matric ball make-over.
She says: “When I went to the school to offer this gift to a learner who is really needy, the teachers all suggested Chavario because she is academically striving and deserving because of circumstances at home.”
“I am going to enjoy transforming her into a beautiful princess for her matric ball.”
And Chavario is getting the “full package” - Laylah paid for her ticket, and will provide the dress, shoes, hair, make-up and car, plus a tafel.
The teen’s grateful mom Elizabeth Greenfield, 46, was overcome with joy.
With tears running down her cheeks, Elizabeth says: “I’m thankful, I was worried that I won’t be able to give her the matric ball she deserves, or even send her to the ball.”
Smiling widely, Chavario says: “I’m ready to stop being an ugly duckling and turn into a swan.”