Bianca inspires us to give of ourselves

Guest blogger Ros Baatjies

I’ve never met Bianca-Anne Harper Agherdien. Like the rest of Nelson Mandela Bay who make it their business to keep abreast of what is happening in the region, I knew that she was Miss Port Elizabeth 2010. I also knew that she was a Pharmacy student at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University at the time of winning the title.

She often smiled at me from the photographs of mutual Facebook friends. She also often smiled from the pages of the daily newspaper. And wasn’t that smile just bright and beautiful.

People might ask why there was so much hype about her motor vehicle accident, the appeal to donate blood and her passing last week.

Bianca was the sweetheart of the city.

Goodwill did not end when her reign as Miss PE ended. It went far beyond that. She lived an inspiring life. Trying to live an inspiring life puts the focus on others and that is what she did as a young woman in her twenties.

NMMU alumnus & Miss PE 2010 Bianca Harper Agherdien leaves us an inspiring legacy.

She gave herself away so that God could use her. I am sure that many citizens of the beautiful Bay can share stories of how she touched their lives.

Bob Marley once said: “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively”.

But let us spare a thought for her husband, Anver, her parents, Denzyl and Patty, and her brother, Charles. Judging by their Facebook appeals for blood donations, they would have done anything for her to survive. Their love for her was obvious in the words of the stories in the newspapers.

She, no doubt, inspired them to do their best and focus on the needs of others rather than their own needs. And the legacy she left is one of giving of yourself until it hurts.

Perhaps your name is not Bianca-Anne and you were never a beauty queen, but you do your bit for the community, the sick, elderly and the disadvantaged. You may not have featured in newspapers, but you feed the homeless every week. People might not know your name; yet you are famous in the area where you serve soup and bread at community clinics.

Keep on doing it, because your greatness is in your ability to affect those around you positively.

I’ve never met Bianca-Anne Harper Agherdien, but her short life has inspired me to be better, do better and do more to make this life better for others.