Dundee’s own Miss Curvacious 2017
Being a single mother of two, Valencia had to dust herself off and put her life together which brought her closer to God.
Valencia Harrison (27) a young gem from Dundee has made a name for herself in the beauty industry. She was born and bred in Forestdale and has two children.
She was crowned Miss Curvaceous SA last year and she hasn’t looked back ever since.
“I never saw myself as a model until I embodied the Miss Curvacious brand which has taught me a lot about self-confidence and embracing all your flaws as a curvy woman that means loving your stretch marks as well as your flabby arms and potbelly,” cited Valencia, “taking photos in a bikini is not a problem anymore. This pageant has opened up a lot of doors that I never even imagined existed for me.”
It was not all glitz and glam for her as she has gone through traumatic incidents in her life. “I am a victim of rape. I was raped at the age of 16 when I was still in high school and that haunted me for years and I succumbed to alcohol and took the narcotic ecstasy in order to forget my troubles. The father of my son abused me physically for years. One evening, when I was still heavily pregnant, he beat me up so badly and I had to drag myself to the hospital. I stayed with him even after all the trauma he put me through until I got the courage to leave him when my son was three-months-old. That was last we saw of him.”
Being a single mother of two, Valencia had to dust herself off and put her life together which brought her closer to God. “I learned to pray and I started confiding in God through prayer and found solace in Him,” said Valencia. As she was getting her life back, the passing of her grandmother hit her hard as they were very close. “A few months after the passing of ugogo, my brother and aunt were killed in a car accident and this hit my family and me very hard,” said Valencia, “my younger brother had so many dreams and he was my best friend.” She found comfort and strength in God yet again and has never looked back since. Valencia currently has a construction company that she runs in Johannesburg. She is looking to open a healing school in Dundee where victims of rape and orphans go to to be healed and come to terms with their ordeals through Christ and through talking to someone they can trust.
The Courier caught up with Valencia when she was in Dundee visiting charities in the area, “I want to give back by visiting charities here and finding out what their essential needs are on a month-to-month basis. I will be donating basics needs to them.”
Her message to parents and the youth is to find themselves in Christ so that they don’t get lost in this world. “As parents, we need to teach our children from a young age about God. They must stay in school and focus on achieving their goals. They must never allow anyone to shatter their dreams no matter how big or unreachable they may seem to other people,” advised Valencia.
Valencia will make a TV appearance in July, “I am slowly achieving all my goals and its through God who has never dimmed my light even through my darkest moments.”
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