Miss World makes prisoners’ week

[caption id="attachment_75068" align="alignright" width="300"] BRIGHTENING LIVES: Miss World Rolene Strauss keeps time with children from the Sefikeng Primary School at the Leeuwkop Correctional Centre in Johannesburg and, below, plants beetroot seedlings with the centre’s Walter Moruakgomo as part of her Beauty with a Purpose initiative[/caption]

AS far as prison stories go, it is a good one: a choir of inmates at the Leeuwkop Correctional Centre in Johannesburg can now say they twerked for Miss World – and she liked it.

Volksrust-born beauty Rolene Strauss visited the prison in Johannesburg yesterday to plant seeds as part of her Beauty with a Purpose initiative.

The seeds will grow to feed more than 600 children at the Sefikeng Primary School, situated on the prison’s premises.

The about 25 men who swapped their orange prison overalls for a brown choir uniform could not stop staring at the 22-year-old beauty queen. Their excitement – and probably the blood pressure of her bodyguard too – peaked when Strauss walked over to thank them for the impromptu gift of a wooden sculpture made by inmates.

But as far as scary moments go, posing for selfies with prisoners was not one for Strauss.

She said she had faced her biggest fear in Sri Lanka when she washed an elephant with a coconut. Compared to that, she had no qualms about sacrificing her heels for gumboots to plant seeds with prisoners.

The ambitious beauty describes herself as a tomboy who is still passionate about health and medicine.

She plans to return to student life after handing over the Miss World crown. She was in the fourth year of her medical studies at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein when she won the title.

When the adrenaline fades, she enjoys being alone and savouring her personal space.

“After a whole day of hard work and being between people it’s nice to go to my hotel room and just relax in silence, by myself.”

Strauss said she loved travelling but was “only human” and got tired sometimes.

Since being crowned Miss World in December, she has visited the US, Sri Lanka, China and Indonesia.

She carries a piece of South Africa with her wherever she goes – a sapphire ring on the ring finger of her right hand.

“It was a family gift given to me before I became Miss South Africa. I literally wear it everywhere. My stylist had to make peace with [that].”

-Leonie Wagner