The words Reeva Steenkamp didn’t get to say before she was killed

THE mother of Oscar Pistorius’s slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has given a speech her daughter would have given on the day she was killed.

FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2012 file photo, South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp arrive for an awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pistorius’ release from prison to serve the remainder of a five-year manslaughter sentence under house arrest was the latest chapter in the story of a once-inspiring double-amputee runner who made history at the Olympics, and then killed his girlfriend, Steenkamp. (Lucky Nxumalo/Citypress via AP, File) SOUTH AFRICA OUT

THE mother of Oscar Pistorius’s slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has given a speech her daughter would have given on the day she was killed.

June Steenkamp delivered Reeva’s speech she had planned to give students at her old South African high school in their home town of Port Elizabeth.

Mrs Steenkamp said: “I will now carry on where she left off,” before reading excerpts of the speech Reeva planned to give at a Johannesburg school on Valentine’s Day 2013.

Mrs Steenkamp was at the launch the Reeva Steenkamp Foundation at the school, which has been set up to help stop violence against women and children.

On the day she died, she said Reeva planned to “speak to young ladies about respect and avoiding bad choices in relationships with partners”.

At first she said Reeva would’ve asked students if they received chocolates, flowers or cards for Valentine’s Day. In reading Reeva’s words, she said: “Receiving those things is very special but not receiving anything doesn’t define you as a person.”

After school, Reeva studied law at the University of Port Elizabeth which became a part of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2005.

Rememberd forever ... a mourner holds a funeral program with a portrait of Reeva Steenkamp, the late girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Picture: AP

In paraphrasing Reeva’s words, Mrs Steenkamp said: “she was brought up on a farm having no money”, but “she was blessed with amazing parents who never allowed her to be aware of her circumstances”.

In reading Reeva’s words out, she said: “After moving to Port Elizabeth (PE) and deciding to study law despite our financial situation, I worked hard to be acknowledged as one of the top 15 per cent academics at university so that my studies could be 80 per cent covered by bursaries and I worked to pay off the rest. I lost a lot of self worth in my last year at PE it took some serious soul searching to remind myself of my value in the world.”

“Despite my height disadvantage and difficulty of breaking into the modelling industry I put my head down and worked hard towards my dream.”

Mrs Steenkamp then read out Reeva’s advice to young girls, asking them to accept who they are and love themselves.

Hard worker ... Reeva Steenkamp during a photo shoot. Picture: AP

“Accept who you are. Acknowledge your absolute ‘can dos’ in life and work on your ‘maybes’ so that you can be a better person for the ultimate upliftment of those around you.

“No matter how many people say they love you, if you do not love your own self, you will never step outside the physical you.

“Be brave and always be positive. Make your voice heard your physical seen and the presence of your mental felt.

“It’s that culmination of your person that will leave a legacy and uplift. I hope that you all had an amazing Valentine’s Day and you are spoilt with love and roses and chocolates. Go home and tell your parents, your siblings, your neighbours, that they are appreciated and you will go to bed with a happy heart and an open mind for the future.”

Still grieving .. June Steenkamp delivers a speech at Saint Dominic's school in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Picture: AP

Mrs Steenkamp then read a part of Reeva’s speech, where she called on the young girls to work on their relationship with their mothers.

“I would like to tell the girls to make the best friends of their mothers so that you can share with her your fears, and if anything is worrying you, you are open to discuss it with your family.”

“Have respect for love for God.”

Responding to students’ questions at St Dominics Priory High School, Mrs Steenkamp said of Pistorius: “I’ve got no feelings of revenge.”

“I don’t want him thrown in jail and be suffering ... that’s not going to bring Reeva back. But in my heart I don’t want revenge towards him, I’m past that.”

When asked how she was coping, Mrs Steenkamp added: “It’s been a hard journey and it’s going to go on until the day I die.”

Upset ... Oscar Pistorius wept as he listened to evidence by a pathologist in a court in Pretoria, South Africa. Picture: AP

Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend in the pre-dawn hours of February 14, 2013.

The Paralympian was released from jail on Monday and moved to house arrest at his uncle Arnold’s mansion after serving a year of his five-year manslaughter sentence.

Pistorius, who was found guilty of culpable homicide for killing Steenkamp by firing four shots through a locked bathroom door, will be confined to his uncle’s home in a suburb of the capital, Pretoria.

Pistorius family spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess said yesterday they were glad to have the athlete home and that he would observe his parole conditions closely.

The athlete still faces an appeal on November 3 by prosecutors who argue that he should have been convicted of murder.

The state will argue before five judges that the trial judge misinterpreted parts of the law. A murder conviction at the appeal hearing - which Pistorius is not obliged to attend - would result in a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Hear June Steenkamp’s lecture in full below:

Originally published as The words Reeva Steenkamp didn’t get to say before she was killed