Mbombela to host the 2019 Miss Deaf World pageant
For the first time in the history of the competition, Miss Deaf World will not be held in Prague. Instead, it will be making its way to Mbombela next year.
MBOMBELA – Home-grown talent Jacques Lombard’s production company, Timeless Productions, will be in charge of the event, with Mrs Mpumalanga, Mash Mokgatle, playing host to the beauties.
CEO of Miss Deaf South Africa, Leviena Smit, along with Lombard, met with Miss Deaf World representative Marianna Devenow last week to start the arrangements for next year’s pageant. The competition will be held in July 2019.
“One of the biggest challenges we face is communication,” Smit said. “Things get lost in translation from Czech to English and from English to international sign language.”
Other challenges are that there is only one accredited international signer in South Africa and the country has no experience in hosting a competition of this magnitude, but the team is ready to take on these obstacles. Devenow is deaf herself, but since she was a little girl she told her parents that she did not want to be treated any differently than people who are able to hear. She wants to empower others with that same attitude.
“I want to create awareness for the deaf community and create job opportunities as well,” she said.
Devenow was once crowned as first princess in the Deaf Miss Minnesota competition. She holds a degree in communication, worked for the White House at one stage and then became an ambassador for Miss Deaf World. Lombard said he wants to encourage people to interact with deaf people more and not feel awkward around them. “They are the same as any other person. You just need to communicate a little differently.”
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