AMANZIMTOTI High School’s Grade Nine learner Grace Turner proudly walked away with the title of second princess at the recent Miss Umhlanga Teen KZN pageant.

Also read: Amanzimtoti model ready to make his mark

Held at the iconic Oyster Box Hotel, the event’s theme was “Shine bright like a lighthouse”. The contestants had the task of raising care packages for the Keep a Girl Child In School campaign, and they were also tasked with creating an outfit out of recycled materials to bring awareness to the ever-growing problem of plastic pollution in our oceans.

Grace dazzled in her glamourous ensemble, created with recycled plastics and paper. She said that creating the dress was a labour of love as it was hard work and it took long hours of literally watching paint dry.

“The top of it was inspired by the pageant itself, the lighthouse, which is a safe harbour and the red and white pageant colours, and I made it over two days. It was made of packing tape, so with that came a lot of trial and error. The skirt was made of black bags and was mostly simple, and was designed by me, my mom’s friend Dee and my brother’s girlfriend Sadie. Together, it was well executed,” she said.

Last year, Grace was crowned second princess in the Miss North Coast Teen pageant, and the organisation was able to distribute over 25 000 care packages to organisations that assist girls in need.

She said she intends to use her reign to continue to support these initiatives, as well as advocate for her personal platform which creates awareness on the importance of mental health in the youth and helps to end the stigma attached to mental health issues.

“This achievement is special to me. It is my first big achievement after the passing of my grandmother, and for that, I feel very blessed and proud of myself. I am lucky to have had a great support and coaching system when preparing for the pageant. Though the days leading up to it were stressful, it was all worth it in the end,” she said.

Grace said she wants to continue collaborating with companies and photographers to bring awareness to her campaigns. Since there is a constant need for care packages, anyone who would like to collaborate with her or who would like to donate can get in touch with her via email, turner.grace@icloud.com or via her Instagram page, www.instagram.com/graceturnerofficial

Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.