SA pageant beauty climbs Mount Kilimanjaro for kids
COOL: Tracy Duncan on Mount Kilimanjaro
A former beauty queen has conquered Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, to raise funds for children who desperately need cochlear implants.
Former Miss Deaf SA Tracy Duncan, a graphic designer from Goodwood, and her fellow climbers conquered the moerse mountain so that laaities can receive the opportunity to hear.
The 36-year-old was born with profound hearing loss, reports IOL.
“I have worn the most powerful hearing aids from the age of nine months, yet I could still hear very little with it,” Duncan says.
“I depended so much on lip-reading, and it was very difficult to grasp what everyone was saying.
“I would miss out on dinner conversations with the family, music, the sound of rain and many everyday sounds.”
Six years ago, Tracy decided to get a cochlear implant operation, which changed her life.
She cried when they switched on the processor for the first time.
“I am hearing much more now and I’m still learning new sounds every day. I became more confident and I speak much more clearly.
“I would love for deaf kids to have the same opportunity I had. The earlier you have the cochlear implant, the better you will hear,” she adds.
Duncan has partnered with the Be the Best Version of Yourself Foundation, which is all about bridging the gap between the hearing and deaf communities in South Africa, provision of cochlear implants for children born deaf by funding the cost of the implants, related therapy, and lifelong support costs, as well as hearing aids for qualifying children.
The team returned to South Africa on Monday after a successful trip up Mount Kilimanjaro.