Kookilwe scoops Miss World Heritage Botswana crown
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Tuesday May 2, 2023 06:00
She started the pageant on a high note reciting a beautiful poem about Africa. Her dresses were also on point corresponding with the pageant's motto. She also brilliantly answered the judges' questions on both top five and top three categories which earned her the crown. Kookilwe will represent Botswana at the Cultural Queen Africa 2023 competition which will be held in Nigeria in August.
She won a prize money of P15,000, certificates and toiletry. She will be working on projects that focus on culture, tourism and heritage. Meanwhile, Onneile Chibuda and Maduo Modisane scooped the first and second princesses titles respectively. They also put on a good fight. Other women who made it to top five include Lucia Osupile and Kaone Ketlogetswe who unfortunately could not make it to the next round. The first runner-up received P1,000, certificates and toiletries as well while the second runner-up walked away with a P500, certificates and toiletries. In an interview with Showtime, the pageant's director Gabby Gosekwang said Miss World Heritage beauty pageant is about empowering girls in relation to their roots and help them remember where they come from. She explained that the Miss World Heritage Botswana is a pageant that was dedicated to promoting culture heritage and tourism.
She further explained that when choosing the finalists, they looked for young women who were dedicated and outspoken. She added that they wanted finalists who aspired to serving their communities. This year was the pageant's second edition. Furthermore, she explained that hosting the pageantry was a bit challenging because of lack of financial sponsorship. However, she explained that through it all, they achieved a lot because they were persistent with everything they did and their goal. The outgoing queen, Ontlametse Koolatotse previously represented Botswana in India and scooped the first runner up title at the Miss World Heritage International and also won Top Model award. She crowned the new queen on Friday and gave all contestants words of encouragement. She told those that could not make it not to despair and keep on pursing their dreams on the pageantry industry saying they would one day succeed.
She further advised Kookilwe that even though the journey of being a beauty queen was not a walk in the park, she must not give up and continue serving the community whole heatedly. The projects she worked on during her reign include her Binding Together To Build A Better Tomorrow project that addressed issues faced by the youth.