Miss Independence Kgatleng Cultural Boot Camp back
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday August 28, 2022 06:50
The event will be graced by Bakgatla deputy Chief, Kgosi Bana Sekai Linchwe, Kgosi George Thwane of Artesia, Mochudi District Commissioner’s office, Village Development Committee (VDC) and other stakeholders who have impact in grooming and development of the youth.
In an interview with the pageant’s director Lebopo Buyani, she said there will be festivities like motivational session for the youth of Artesia and this year’s finalists. “It will be followed by cultural food competition and goat milking that will take place on Sunday (August 28, 2022).
At the end of this boot camp there will be a winner, thus a contestant who has been consistent and most outstanding during the boot camp events. Village elders will help in the selection of the winner who will walk away with a hamper from Norah Cosmetics.
We are not just about pretty faces, we change lives, we build character and help develop the youth of Botswana into becoming the best version of themselves and making it in all aspects of their lives,” she explained. Bulayani also pointed out that the motivational session part is about instilling confidence and hope among the youth and help them reach their dreams in life.
After the boot camp, she explained that they will have a mentorship week where finalists will be taken to companies that are related to their life aspirations to help them know what was expected of them to make it through their passions. On September 24, 2022 there will be a grand finale at Rasesa Lodge where the Queen and King will be crowned.
Miss Independence Kgatleng is a seven-year-old organisation whose mandate is to fight social ills as well as to empower the youth through life transforming skills. Bulayani also explained that the focus for this year was to ignite the spark and remind the youth about Setswana culture as well as to instill a sense of belonging so they appreciate their culture more and learn the dynamics from their village elders. She added that one more interesting thing about this year was that they were deeply rooted in culture. She said their boot camp would for the first time will be held in the Kgotla. “The challenges we faced during this year’s preparations are lack of funds of which we are busy trying to get sponsors from different companies and this money is used for direct costs to the pageant as well as the winners’ prizes.
We have achieved a lot since our establishment and continue to see growth in our past contestants who now are stable in the arts industry, some already own businesses while others are part of national pageants like Miss Botswana,” she said.
“We have and we are continuing to touch hearts by giving back to the community and mentoring students in schools around Botswana and this year we want to target bullying in schools, which affects students’ mental health as well as their progression in studies. In the near future we will have a sister pageant which will now be national and addressing youth problems in depth at a national level not just in Kgatleng,” Bulayani said. Speaking of their entry requirements, she explained that they were eligible to ladies and gents from the age of 18-32 years. She added that they were having a male ambassador again this year who would help tackle boy-child related issues. She also said they allowed mothers and took women of different body sizes to join. She thanked community leaders and the community for their support towards their community building projects saying they never cease to amaze them with their love and support during their events. Sponsors for this event are Norah Cosmetics, Faciality Beauty Spa, Shedol Group, Clicks Botswana and Rasesa Lodge.