Monametsi crowned Miss Independence Kgatleng 2022 queen
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday October 2, 2022 06:00
The International Hospitality Management graduate with the Botswana Accountancy College is also a singer, self-taught make-up artist and nail tech who also enjoys dancing and cooking. She said her dream was to own a bush safari. “Ever since 2017 I fell in love with this pageant because it is very unique.
This pageant’ motives are empowering people, giving back to the community and also teaching young people about our culture. I believe that a beauty queen is a woman who uses her crown to help and empower people of all ages and gender and Miss Independence Kgatleng is the right pageant for me to play my part and fulfill my purpose,” she said. She explained that winning the crown was not easy as she waited for five years to win it. She added that she was proud of herself for having the patience of waiting for her big price. She also said she was humbled and grateful to the current Queen Mother of Kgatleng. She added that Miss Independence Kgatleng means unconditional love, responsibility and integrity.
She explained that the pageantry helped young women to understand the importance of being the pillar of the nation and that was why they should always lead with love and to always remain strong. Monametsi explained that the challenges she faced during the journey included feeling short of wearing the crown because the other six contestants gave her a tight competition. The other challenge she faced was having a wardrobe malfunction. She, however, applauded her designer Phatsimo Ranjo for not giving up on her as she ensured that she got the best outfit. Furthermore, she said she has a project she is working on with Stepping Stones International. They would be teaching children in Kgatleng Setswana culture through drama displaying how a young Motswana boy and girl are supposed to live and behave in the community. She added that with the help of their grandmothers in the community, it would be easy for those children to inherit their culture so that they get to know who they were as young Batswana and where they are going. “As Batswana, we have moved to the Western culture but it’s not too late to teach our children about our past.
This project will not only help with culture preservation but it will also help in reducing the numbers of teenage pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse among teenagers. I believe that they will learn the taboos that were practiced by our forefathers that helped them to be strong and responsible citizens,” she proudly said. Monametsi stated that Miss Independence Kgatleng was her sixth pageant experience.
She started in 2016 with Miss Raserura English Medium School, where she also scooped position one. In 2017 she represented her school at Miss All Schools Mochudi where she got position two. She said in 2019 she went for Miss Play Urole where she also got position two. Still in 2019 she went for Miss Francistown and I only made it to top six but in 2021 she went back fully prepared for the crown and scooped it. “Miss Botswana will be the next and probably last pageant, maybe in two to three years I will be one of the top finalists. In the meantime I want to prepare myself mentally, physically and emotionally for the Miss Botswana journey. I thank my supper mother. If it were not for her blessings for me to be part of MIK, I would not have been where I am today. My amazing aunty, Peloentle Motoma, was there whenever I needed something; she had my back all the way. My culture parade performance was spectacular because of her,” she said. “One lesson I learnt from the event includes learning how to milk a goat at the boot camp. It was amazing and fun. But the greatest lesson is to always believe in myself, during rainy days and sunny days. I should never put my head down, because facing hard times in life helps us to be stronger and to be the best versions of ourselves,” she said. She won a scholarship to go and study CoP at Insurance Training Institute, a camping experience at Malo Leisure Zone, products from Shedol, and other prices.