Queen of all Queens - Ayanda Rocks Cuba

When I first Ayanda Mkhabela in 2008 she was an electric, bright eyed fourteen year old rising star. She had just won the title of Little Miss SA and she was running her own modelling school in Durban North. Ayanda was larger then life, with a clear life purpose and defined goals and aspirations. She was a true inspiration.

Meeting Ayanda eight years later and finding a beautiful nineteen-year-old lady, dressed like a beauty queen with a sash and a sparkling diamante tiara, well, it was heart warming to say the least. Ayanda has certainly matured into a stunning teenager, but above that she has followed her dreams and made them into reality.

"When we first met at the Miss World Pageant in Johannesburg in 2008, you asked me what I wanted to do when I grow up. I told you I wanted to be a doctor, do you remember?" She asked me with a cute little wink. Off course I remember that interview.

"Two years ago I entered into a government programme that sends South African students to study in the International Institute of Medicine in Havana Cuba." Ayanda told me with a big smile, "There is a group of us studying there from South Africa as well as the rest of the world."

"We first had to learn to speak Spanish and now we have lectures entirely in Spanish. It is a very interesting language and a beautiful country full of friendly and generous people."

Ayanda is visiting her mom Baby on her annual vacation, however this little lady is not slowing down. She has booked practical time in various clinics, helping out and furthering her knowledge in the field that she so much wants to pursue.

For Ayanda all that is just a walk in the park, while in Cuba she was crowned Miss Cuba SA, and she is planning to open a modelling school in Havana.

Helping people is something that comes naturally for Ayanda, whether its by saving lives in choosing the medical profession, addressing the importance of self love to the community through her modelling school or spreading her acts of kindness in local clinics, Ayanda reflects all the positive attributes of a beauty queen and then some more.

Her sights are set high, while she is studying medicine in Cuba, she is also entering various beauty competitions, and the Miss World title is well within her reach.