DESIREE Cornelius did East London proud when she was crowned Ms South Africa National 2016 first princess – and Miss Charity – at the event held earlier this month at Menlo Park in Pretoria.
Cornelius was the only Eastern Cape entrant who made it into the top 12.
The finalists were required to do community and charity work, for which they received scores.
“I had actually made history in the Miss Charity segment as I was the first ever to be crowned Miss Charity.
“It shows that my portfolio had actually stood out above the rest. Quite an honour really,” she said.
Her duties as the first princess include continuing her charity and community work. She will also be working closely with the winner, having to stand in for her should she not be able to attend functions.
Cornelius’s charity work includes being involved at daycare centres and being a guardian at Breath of Life, the centre for abandoned babies.
She also implemented the #DesiShoeDrive for which she asked people to donate decent shoes to the needy, in collaboration with Wings Shelter, which reaches out to the homeless through food distribution.
“I’ve recently been appointed as the first official brand ambassador for Umthi Wolwazi Community Development, which deals with outreach programmes such as childhood obesity, malnutrition, and raising eco-conscious children by planting trees at pre-schools and children’s homes,” Cornelius said.
