“My Culture my Identity”-is the theme that will be celebrated at this year’s 7th Miss Independence Kgatleng. The pageant has without fail changed lives of the youth in Kgatleng and Botswana as a whole with their school mentorship programs, cultural boot camps as well as culture mainstreaming through cultural food competitions & traditional games.
In the year 2021 we saw a new element to this pageant as they introduced a Male Ambassador program which was won by Martin Siele. Through this the pageant organisers wanted to ensure inclusivity by including the boy child in their youth development program.
In paving their way to the big event scheduled for the September 24, 2022, management organized a parent engagement meeting which was held at Rasesa Lodge in July. “Parents engagement meetings are very important as we need their support in building and moulding their children, managing behavioral change as well as for them to know the importance of this pageant as we are not a pageant like any other but a pageant with a difference. We go around the country doing projects and asking parents to give their children permission as well as to help them where possible with their duties”- says Lebopo Bulayani, the Director and founder of the pageant.
There will be a cultural boot camp on August 27, 2022 at Artesia village hosted by Kgosi George Thwane and village elders. The camp will last for two days with Zenzele Hirschfeld as the main speaker in the morning motivational session as well as Mrs Botswana , Ambrocia Samboko. Following the morning session, there will be traditional food cuisine competitions between contestants where the winner of Miss /Mr Boot Camp will be selected. During the evening the Director of the event Bulayani says they will haven a born fire session where village elders will be doing storytelling and sharing with the contestants life changing skills as well as cultural heritage. Sunday August 28 will be the final day of the camp where participants will be doing goat milking and judged based on their skills.
“We have a mentorship week where all finalists will be taken to different industries of their interest and get inspiration on how to maneuver through life and reach their utmost potential in the business industry”-says Luthando Ratau, Assitant Director. The finale will be held in September with coronation taking place at Rasesa Lodge in Mochudi. “I would like to thank all those who are supporting us in this life changing project, Norah Cosmetics, Clicks, Rasesa Lodge , Theshi travel and tours & Faciality Beauty Spa, Bulayani says.”
