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News from the CGF Desk

Amy Kleinhans-Curd: An early governance pioneer (2013-08-14)

In recent years, South Africa has been known across the world for its remarkable ability to conquer some of the most amazing feats known to mankind; and more specifically those related to uniting people across racial lines.
But with such achievements, one must not forget the many personal sacrifices and the pain thousands of people endured to achieve this remarkable transformation witnessed in 1994, when the previous apartheid government unbanned the African National Congress (ANC) and set Nelson Mandela free after 27 years of incarceration.

As we ponder over the significance of this violent-free transformation -- and considering the monumental price one man paid for the freedom for all South Africa’s people to be free -- we should also not overlook the many ‘smaller battles’ undertaken by thousands of ordinary people who stood behind the values and principles Mandela was prepared to die for.

At the height of this era, there were many people who were forced to leave the country and live in exile; and then there were those who stayed behind and fought their battle for the freedom of South Africa in other ways.  Undoubtedly, there are many untold stories and unsung heroes; but one that South Africans probably are not aware of happened on an international stage in Sun City on 12 December 1992, and was spear-headed by none other than our very own first non-white winner of Miss South Africa -- Ms. Amy Kleinhans -- when she was placed forth runner-up to the Miss World Title.

Understandably, whilst Amy may have been somewhat bewildered by the glitz and glamour of such an auspicious event (as is usually the case with many young adults reaching this type of celebrity status), what differentiated Amy from her competitors -- both locally and abroad -- was her deep rooted ethical grounding and mature sense of responsibility, fairness and transparency.

What many people still may not know about this remarkable woman is that she out-rightly refused to represent South Africa with the old Republic of South Africa flag when she was asked to fly the flag on an international podium; lamenting that it did not represent all the people of South Africa.  Rightly so.  Notwithstanding her tender age, the maturity and wisdom Amy demonstrated that memorable evening did not only capture the world’s attention, it also prompted Madiba to phone her that same evening, thanking her for her immense courage to also tackle head on the racial oppressors in South Africa.  That evening, Amy took a white flag onto the international stage; symbolically her flag represented peace and hope for a new South Africa which happened two years later.  Of course, Amy knew she could not defy her true values which had been ingrained, and intellectually she applied her honesty about South Africa which became yet another battle won for the sake of our country’s democracy.

Expectedly, these actions taken on the part of true leaders do not happen sporadically, neither by chance.  To this extent, Amy has shown her countrymen her true heart for all the people of South Africa; and still today she continues her cause and is involved in many corporate, social and other business initiatives to improve the lives of many.
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