Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa

12 February 2024

Nelisiwe Poria Ndaba is a 26-year-old young girl from Leandra in Mpumalanga describes herself as an authentic and powerhouse, Ndaba is one of the finalists in Miss Grand South Africa.

Portia’s modeling journey started back in high school, where she was crowned Miss Valentines and Miss Osizweni in 2013.

Unfortunately, she stopped modeling for a few years after losing her confidence and self-esteem.

“People started body-shaming me and laughing at my birthmark on my forehead,” said Portia.

After 10 years, Portia pulled herself up and continued with her journey to regain her confidence and self-esteem through Miss Ekasi pageants hosted by the Lerato Nogabe Foundation, where she was crowned Miss Ekasi 2nd Princess 2023.

Not only did she learn to love herself, but she also learned charity work, public speaking, and how to answer questions given by the judges.

“The journey was not easy, but I managed to pull through, and I am still learning new skills in the modeling industry.

Portia trusts that fear destroys more dreams than failure ever could, and failure often leaves the youth in an unending pit of sorrow and despair.

“Unfortunately, this leads most of the youth to turn to alcohol and ultimately substance abuse, which is one of the biggest issues in our societies and also the main cause of rape, murder, violence, and GBV,” stated Portia.

Portia believes that she will not only continue working on her various community engagement projects, such as the sanitary towel drive, but she will also deal with youth development programs that will help instill the notion that failure is not ultimate and should not be what holds one back from pursuing their dreams, as there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.

“As the next Miss Grand South Africa Queen, I will empower the youth and be the voice of the voiceless youth.

My advice is that we do not know what tomorrow holds for us, so start whatever you want to pursue in life. Just START!” said Portia.

People can vote for NELISWE PORTIA NDABA by depositing any amount (a vote costs R1.00) at:

Account number: 061 976 660

Standard bank: Miss United Continents South Africa

Reference: Portia Votes

Branch code: 051001

This means if one deposits R50.00 which equals 50 votes.