The Chief Executive Officer of Worthy Women, NPC, Leviena Smit has been nominated for the Woman of Stature (WOS) award.
Mrs Smit who has been working with the deaf since 2010 is nominated in the Women in Community category.
Worthy Women NPC is an institution that advocates for participatory democracy, especially for the abused, disabled and disadvantaged, using skills development, entrepreneurship programs, outreach programs, provision of educational programs, health care programs and deaf beauty pageants as key drivers for social inclusion, social cohesion and social integration.
The 2018 WOS Woman of the Year Awards will take place on Saturday, 24th March at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg. The event will see some of South Africa’s most prominent women competing for one of eight awards.
Apart from the Woman in Community category in which Mrs Smit was nominated, other categories are Entrepreneur of the Year, Woman in Finance, Woman in Media, Woman in Healthcare, Woman in Education, Youth Ambassador And Director Award.
Commenting on the 2018 edition of the WOS awards, WOS Director Charlotte du Plessis noted that the organisers’ vision is to positively touch the lives of women in South Africa by empowering them to achieve their personal, professional and financial goals.
“As part of our mission, we host an annual gala dinner to honour those South African women who make a significant contribution to the economy and their respective communities, Du Plessis said in a press release.
The nominee, Mrs Smit has contributed immensely to the welfare of the deaf community since she started working with them over seven years ago.
She was involved with Miss Deaf South Africa since 2010. She launched Mr. & Mrs. Deaf South Africa in 2016. She also launched Deaf Pageants South Africa in 2016 for deaf children 2 – 19 years.
She launched Miss, Mr. & Mrs. Deaf Galaxy, an international Deaf Pageant in 2017.
Also in 2017, Mrs Smit launched Worthy Women NPC and became Chief Executive Officer of Miss Deaf Africa.
She has also contributed her love, energy, dedication, knowledge and power to the abused, disabled and disadvantaged communities. These have therefore made her worthy to be nominated for the Woman of Stature 2018 – Woman in Community Awards.
Mrs. Smit expressed delight about the nomination, saying though she is unable to change the entire world, she can change the world of one person.
“This is the motto with which I live by. I aim to ensure that deaf people will be accepted into the community just as hearing people; that they have the same opportunties and potential,” she said.
She hopes to inspire others to believe in their dreams and ideas as the world will only believe in them as they believe in themselves. It is her desire that she wins the award to open more opportunities to make contributions with the help of her supportive husband, Chris.
Inclusive News Network