Reach For A Dream recently once again brought their magic touch to Knysna Quays Hotel to fulfil this dream for a special group of 14 young Fairy Queens.
All of the young queens suffer from life-threatening illnesses, and the youngsters, ranging in age from four to thirteen, were identified with the help of Child Welfare.
Michelle van Huyssteen of Reach For A Dream explains: "This project was created to treat our girls to a day out of their hospital and medical environments and crown them Queen For A Day! Each girl is made to feel special and beautiful to ease the effect of their illnesses on their bodies and more importantly, their self-esteem."
Reach For A Dream's goal is to provide the children with a safe and fun environment where they can be pampered and have the opportunity to socialise with other children who also battle like they do.
"We attempt to absolutely shower each girl with positive attention and to create positive memories that will assist them through the hard times presented by their illness and to help raise the confidence and self-esteem of girls who may feel embarrassed by their appearance as a result of their illness and/or treatment."
On arrival the red carpet is rolled out for the girls and no effort is spared!
"They receive five-star treatments and pampering to make them feel special, beautiful and valued. Our brave girls' eyes glow and smiles widen when they see the nail polish, make-up and other beauty accessories. A little trinket to take home and a photo of the newly crowned queens, keep the memories of the special day alive!"
The Queen for a Day event has three important components, namely their pampering (nails, make-up, hand and foot massages); the crowning ceremony conducted by a real-life beauty queen and a tea party for the little queens.
A real and current beauty queen is invited to crown and interact with the girls, who shows them how to walk the red carpet with confidence and shares a short message of encouragement.
"When Miss Garden Route could not make it, Knysna Quays Hotel stepped in to help and provided us with a beauty of their own - Sarah Riabi, a French marketing student busy with her internship at the hotel - who willingly agreed! She was incredible and we are in awe of the hotel staff's caring and helping attitude each time we use their venue," smiles a grateful Van Huyssteen.
According to the theme of the Queen for a Day, a beauty table is prepared for the girls. They also each receive a goody-bag with sweets.
"We kindly ask that our guests do not take photos of the girls as it can quickly become overwhelming for them and takes away from their experience - that is why we take our own photographs with each event and send them off with a stunning picture of themselves having a fabulous time!" explains Van Huyssteen.
Reach For A Dream endeavours to keep the number of adults attending their Queen for a Day to the minimum in order to ensure a relaxed, comfortable environment for these young ladies to enjoy themselves in. All of their young guests' medical histories are treated with confidentiality, as the organisers not only respect their family's privacy, but specifically want the children to have a time away from being constantly identified with being ill.
"The heartbreaking part was that three of the little girls on our list were too sick to attend," says Van Huyssteen, who hopes they might be able to recover sufficiently to attend a future Reach For A Dream pamper party.
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Knysna saw magic happen as some of its own little girls were transformed into the most precious-looking Rainbow Fairy Queens - with a little help from Reach For A Dream, of course! With the little queens is the gorgeous Keeper of the Rainbow, French intern Sarah Riabi.
ARTICLE: ANOESCHKA VON MECK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
