Zolan Kanno-Youngs
AMIRA Willighagen, the nine-year-old winner of Holland’s Got Talent, has dreamed about building the children of Ikageng township in Potchefstroom a play area but never had the resources to do so until now.
The young singer announced that she would use 50 percent of the profits made from her first international tour at Starlight Classics in Vergelegen to build her dream playground.
“It’s something she can do for the rest of her life. She doesn’t know how her career is going but she is learning while she’s small, that it’s nice to have something for yourself but also give to other children,” said Willighagen’s South African-born mother, Frieda Willighagen.
Willighagen can still remember bringing her daughter to Ikageng when she was seven years old and seeing how shocked she was that the children did not have a space to play.
One of the first things Amira said after winning the competition was that she wanted the construction to commence. “She said she wanted to do it for real. She thought it would cost too much money. I also told her it won’t happen quickly; it will take many years.”
It appears construction will begin much quicker than that since a toy-making company, Jolly Jungle Gym, has already been enlisted by Famous Concerts to install playthings in the township so that Amira can see her field of dreams before she leaves.