BBC NEWS
The South African queen

By Sean Coughlan
BBC News Magazine

How a beauty queen was helped by Nelson Mandela to catch up on her lost education. The story of Peggy Sue Khumalo and a changing South Africa.

When beauty queens are crowned, what are they going to take away as a prize?

Peggy Sue Khumalo, winner of Miss South Africa, had a steely certainty about what she wanted: the university education that she'd been denied.

Unconventional perhaps. But Peggy Sue, who grew up in the grinding unfairness of apartheid, has spent a lifetime defying other people's stereotypes.

Blocked ambition

"I was born in a very rural setting in KwaZulu Natal. My mum didn't have an education, not because she wanted it that way but because of apartheid, she wasn't afforded an opportunity," says Peggy Sue, speaking in the City of London where she now works as a banker.

"All her life she was a domestic worker or maid. All she did was look after people, look after other people's children and serve them."

But her mother was determined that Peggy Sue should have a better chance in life.

"The little money she had she spent on my education, buying me a school uniform, sending me to school. I drew my motivation from her struggle," says Peggy Sue.

There were also political struggles taking place outside the classroom ­ and in 1990, the year that she finished high school, Nelson Mandela was released from prison. This didn't mean any instant changes.

"I wanted to be a lawyer, I wanted to defend people when someone had done wrong to them," she says. "But it was a far-fetched dream. We couldn't afford it and that was hard to accept."

Serious smiles

Instead of becoming a lawyer, she was trapped in a series of menial jobs and without any prospect of a professional career, Peggy Sue needed to find another way out.

Her escape route was a local beauty contest.

But when she entered - in a competition with furniture as a first prize - her mother was refused time off to attend the contest, which infuriated Peggy Sue.

"I was even more driven, I've got to win this - I've got to get my mum out of this environment, where people can dictate what she can and cannot do."

She won and in 1996 she became a contestant in the Miss South Africa competition.

From the outside, this beauty show might have seemed to be about glamour, glitz and small-talk. But for Peggy Sue it was an intensely serious opportunity.

Living with her mother, in the house where her mother worked, she couldn't afford to lose.

"I thought this is my moment now - no-one is going to take it away," she says.

Miss university

It proved a successful night for her in a way that she hadn't anticipated.

After putting on the winner's sash she had a phone call from Nelson Mandela, now the country's president, who had been watching the show on television. He wanted Peggy Sue and her mother to pay him a visit the next day in Pretoria.

"If there's anything I can do to make your year a success, let me know," Mandela told the newly-crowned beauty queen.

While some beauty queens wanted to "pop champagne bottles, cut ribbons, look pretty and find a rich man - that wasn't my plan", she says.

Her ambition wasn't so much Miss Universe as not to miss university - and she asked the president to help her find a way into higher education.

Moral image

"He's very passionate about education," she says - and Mandela arranged for the Investec investment bank to sponsor Peggy Sue to go to university.

Mandela had great faith in British universities and he guided her towards Manchester, where she graduated in 2004 with a MSc degree in economics.

Peggy Sue must have been an exotic undergraduate. While the other students had just finished their A-levels, she had just come fourth in Miss World.

And whenever she went home for her holidays, she went to see her famous mentor, Nelson Mandela.

"He was with me every step of the way, encouraging me when it was difficult. He remains a very humble, genuine person - and he told me never to forget where I came from.

"He's a moral image for South Africa - it's about being valued and having principles."

Having grown up in a rural area where people still used candle-light, Peggy Sue is now working in an investment bank among the flickering computer screens of the City of London.

Changing identity

But she remains deeply influenced by her own struggle ­ and the tough years faced by her mother.

Next month she is moving back home, where she hopes to use her skills to help the modern South Africa.

Peggy Sue is already involved in supporting projects ­ including the Starfish charity, which supports HIV/Aids orphans - and she has set up a scholarship to help young women through university.

And as part of the changing identity of South Africa, she is also using her Zulu name, as Nonhlanhla Peggy Sue Khumalo.

She has no illusions about the scale of the problems facing her country - highlighting crime, unemployment, lack of skills and HIV/Aids as among the biggest issues.

"I've witnessed so many people lose their lives through HIV and Aids, we've all got a moral obligation to do something about it. It's gone beyond a crisis - it's now an emergency."

And she warns about the poverty still blighting rural South Africa, where people are "still living hand to mouth", where lives have changed little since the end of apartheid.

But she is resolutely optimistic about the capacity for progress. "Ordinary women who have made a difference for their communities, they are the people who inspire me."

I studied with Peggy Sue at university and we were good friends. After graduation I moved to London and as with such things lost touch. I remember our first politics tutorial when we were asked to introduce ourselves to the group. I was after Peggy Sue; I listened to her story and thought to myself that there was little chance that I could match that. Peggy Sue is a beautiful, intelligent, and passionate person but most importantly she is driven by a goal which is to see her nation overcome the problems that it faces. As people we seldom believe that our own actions can make a difference, Peggy-Sue is a contradiction to that. If you¿re reading this Peggy-Sue, I wish you all the best in your endeavours.
Nadim Choudhury, East Finchley

Peggy, what you have inspired me today is that I need to pack and head home for there is work for us to do. Africa needs you and I to return and help our own people. Please all Africans in diaspora "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country?".
Wesley Ngwenya, Indianapolis, USA

Nonhlanhla Peggy Sue is an extraordinary young woman whose heart is as beautiful as her face. I wish her all the luck in the world. Our world needs more people like her!
Jackie Hickman, Telford, UK

This is inspiring. Sue has done very well, but thanks to Nelson Mandela. His example shows that if certain determined people are lifted up, they can fly by themselves.
George, Accra/Ghana

What an inspiration this young lady is! Her story has made me realise that we in Britain take our education for granted, we are very to have the opportunity of a free education.
Laura, Cardiff

The moral lesson one can get from this story is immense,that from humble backgrounds like Peggy Sue Khumalo and pople like the iconic Mandela around her,Africa can prosper.
oloo olak, nairobi

With so much sad news in the world what a joy it is to hear of someone using their talents to the full, for the benefit of their country ,echoes of John E Kennedy. Yet another demonstration of Nelson Mandela's wisdom and forsight.
Rod Wentworth, Coggeshall .essex Uk

Well Done, if only more people in the UK were like you, you perhaps had a justifiable reason to just give up trying, but you didnt and look where its taken you. I hope you can make a massive difference to your own country. good luck with the future
Sean O'Donovan, Chesterfield

I admire what peggy-sue did about her future,South Africa has come a long way and this is the time for us to so fly and make our dreams come true,opportunities are there,lets use them
yolande, Tshwane.south africa

I am deeply moved by the story. She is a role model for the rest of us.
Ambaye Hagos, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

This story warms my heart to no end. It is a story of determination, purpose driven and goal setting. It is a success story of triumph over poverty and poor circumstances Sue found herself in. It shows we may not just accept where we find ourselves. It shows the greatness of the true father of Africa - Nelson Mandela. I am sure there are many other stories of what Nelson Mandela has done which have not been reported. But the greatest of all is his enduring example of selflessness and sacrifice. Many other African so called leaders need to follow Nelson's glowing example.
Bon Amosu, London

You have conqured the education battle, but there are so many battles to be fought, many rivers to cross.With your determination, Africa will prevail, for Africa needs such rare breeds.
lewis miko, Chimoio Mocambique

We salute Ms. Peggy Sue for her courage and determination, her mother for her desire to get her daughter educated in spite of her own lack of education, and President Mandela for his support to such a worthy cause. The world is still liveable because of such people who rekindle faith in humanity. We shall look forward for more successes to come in the way of Ms. Nonhlanhla Peggy Sue Khumalo in her quest for justice and happiness for her people. Let her dreams come true!
Amitabha Mukhopadhyay, Kolkata, India

This woman is indeed a 'beauty'; from the inside out, absolutely luminous with joy, determination and the flush of success. Wonderful to read of her using her lovely features to reveal her inner strength and love which in turn allowed doors to open so that she might help those in need.
Pam, Canada

It is clear that even beauty contests have their usefulness even though some would think that they are only for the glamour, glitz and beauty. I wish her the brightest and the longest future and would be happy to help in her project to educate, made aware and prevent HIV/AIDS.
Anne Sriyani Perera, Colombo - Sri Lanka

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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6045258.stm

Published: 2006/10/17 10:12:07 GMT

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