FORMER Miss Deaf South Africa, Vicki Fourie, landed a role in an international movie while she was competing at the Miss Deaf World competition in Prague.
The 22-year-old beauty and motivational speaker from Bloemfontein took part in the 11th Miss Deaf World competition in July. She competed against 38 contestants from different countries and Fourie says they were treated like royalty.
“I was completely lost in a fairy-tale world where the streets are made of cobblestones and the window banks are decorated with flowers. The mystical atmosphere of narrow streets and the tower-high buildings makes Prague a must-see for any foreigner,” she said.
Although Fourie didn’t place in the pageant, she was offered the opportunity to play in an international movie opposite an Oscar-winning actress – only an hour after the pageant finished. Fourie says the role is small and she cannot reveal much detail but says she is very excited.
After the competition in Prague she also received an offer from a German psychologist to be a guest speaker in her country.
Fourie was crowned Miss Deaf SA in 2009 and crowned as 1st princess at the Miss Deaf International competition in Las Vegas last year. She has been taking part in pageants for four years but has decided she wants to move on to bigger things.
“I’m still the same girl I was before I started, but at the same time I developed so much more in my character and I’m so much stronger now.”
Her motto in life is: “Courage isn’t a gift, it’s a decision.” This is one of the messages she brings across in her motivational speaking.
At the moment Fourie, who is a published writer with over 70 magazine articles, locally and internationally, is writing her memoir which she plans to get published in 2012 .
Although she is not completely deaf, Fourie has 97% hearing loss and relies on her apparatus and reading lips to converse. But she does not see herself as a deaf woman and believes the world doesn’t owe her anything and that it’s her responsibility to make something of her life.
“Embrace who you are. Your disability does not need to define you…Be courageous!”
Readers are welcome to contact Vicki for a guest appearance: vicki@247mail.co.za
Read her blog: www.vickifourie.blogspot.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @vickifourie
