Winning personality goes a long way

Kgomotso Molelekeng | Thursday February 20, 2014 16:15

 

The 19-year-old from Mookane village was crowned second princess at the pageant held at Nicaragua in South America on Saturday.

She shone through to become the second runner-up while competing for the coveted title with 22 other teen beauties from around the world.

Kgwadi knew she had made it to the top 12 after her talent presentation in the competition. The contestants were expected to show their talent either in the form of dance or any other. 

“I decided to do traditional dance and show them what our tradition is all about.  Although they could not understand what I was doing, they were very amazed at what I was doing. I could see I have already made fans from my dancing which was complemented by my attire,” she said.

She added that she was shocked upon her arrival to realise that she was the only black contestant in the pageant.  She was really surprised when the only form of communication was the Spanish language.

She said: “The pressure was too much as I was now representing the whole of Africa and I was the only English speaker.  It was hard having an interpreter, but I am sure she did a good job as I managed to be in the top three.”

The confident young woman further revealed that her winning was fuelled by the way she answered questions.  She said she was asked to name two issues that affect teenagers worldwide.

“My answer was teenage pregnancy as it leads to school dropouts, alcohol and drug abuse as they are harmful substances that destroy a lot of teen lives worldwide because they distract them from focusing on their education,” she said.

She added that she was very happy when she was thrown this question, as she is a living product of teenage pregnancy. Kgwadi said her mother raised her along with her grandmother.

“My mother had me when she was 16-years-old.  She taught me the values of being a responsible woman.  She is my inspiration because she was able to take care of me at a young age and instill the spirit of never giving up on myself. She was a teenage mom and I am very proud of her and grateful to the support she gave me,” she said.

Although Kgwadi did not win anything at the beauty contest, she said that being crowned second princess is a blessing.  So many doors have been opened. “I am yet to show my full potential and I will be entering the Miss Botswana pageant this year,” she said.Kgwadi is a former student at St Joseph’s College and is awaiting her Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) results.  She had previously won Miss Gaborone West Junior School and was crowned second princess at Kgosimpe Junior.