21 Apr 2014

Oratile Moapare, a first runner-up at Miss RADP 2013 Pageant held in Gaborone in December last year, is a woman with a mission. She wants to see fellow residents of Kokotsha in the Kgalagadi District transformed into better people.

And, with the P30 000 prize money she received for being crowned First Princes, nothing will stop the 21-year-old youth from establishing a public library in the village

The idea is in line with the need to further the objectives of the Remote Area Development Programme (RADP), one of which is to improve the lives of marginalised young people in remote areas.

 “Kokotsha is a village that lacks modern day developments; we get most of the basic services from as far as 180 kilometres in Tsabong, says the gorgeous young lady in an interview .

It goes without saying that the small village is affected by poverty whereby a significant number of residents have depended on welfare support from the government for many years now, says Oratile.

The young beauty has singled out education and change of mindset as her starting points because they play a vital role in the development of an individual.

“Rural dwellers need to learn and gain knowledge on life issues; education plays a major role in the maintenance of the community’s sense of identity and one’s social status, she says.

That this beauty is loaded with brains comes from the revelation that she wants to build a public library in Kokotsha where anyone may go to access information they need.

The beauty icon says she believes that with education people are better placed to fight poverty and make decisions that affect their daily lives.

“I hope the library will bridge the gap between people with facilities and those without,” she says with enthusiasm, admitting that the P30 000 will not be enough to build and buy research materials for the library.

For that reason she is currently looking for potential sponsors to give a helping hand in her project, she says, adding that she is currently using an extra classroom as a temporary library room.

“With the help of Kgalagadi District Council, I managed to get some few reference books for Kokotsha Primary School students to use in the meantime,” adds Oratile.

She praises RADP saying the programme should be taken as a platform to help rural dwellers discover their potential and improve their standard of living through self-reliance.

Oratile says she has planned for talk shows and presentations in which she wishes to engage Kgalagadi South settlements in mindset change and the importance of education.

Oratile’s road to glory started when she competed locally at Kang with other beauties from Khawa, Ukhwi, Inalegolo, Ncaang, Maake, Ngwatle, Phuduhudu, and Monong.

The beauty queen beat everyone to book herself a space at the more prestigious Miss RADP platform, where she would compete with finalists from other regions such as Ghanzi, Kweneng, Kgatleng Central, Southern, and North West.

“The National RADP pageant was my dream come true as I believed beauty queens are a force to reckon with; pageants bring about pleasure,” she quips.

She says beauty and brains are the best combination that best describes a woman of substance andMiss RADP pageant promotes the inclusion of young and sidelined women into the mainstream society.

Miss RADP pageant has transformed her to a better young woman, she says, adding that coming from a rural area should be a motivation to make a change and not something to be ashamed of.

She says the youth should be the change they want to see and that nothing is impossible under the sun. “I have been contesting since my primary school days, it was breath taking but with Miss RADP pageant the day will turn into the night as I try to tell you how much I learnt from it,” says Oratile.

Having been Miss Lehutshelo, Mr and Miss Lehutshelo’s second Princess, Miss Kokotsha Independence Day’s second princess, Miss Tsabong Show and having contested in Miss Horse Race and Miss Kagiso Senior, she still hopes more is still to come out of her.

Arts and culture also have a desirable controlling influence over the development of rural areas and that can lead to reduced levels of poverty, she says, adding that she aspires to be a midwife and, for that, she will go back to school after her reign in November.

The local Kgosi Samson Kudume is equally a happy individual who welcomes the village’s beauty queen’s library project.

Kgosi Kudume says Oratile’s project is spot on as he also believes education plays a vital role in the fight against poverty and it reduces dependency on government.

“Acquiring of knowledge and information puts one in a position where they can think independently, believe in themselves and make the world a better place to live in,” he says.

If Kokotsha community could unite and support Oratile’s idea, a lot could be achieved, says the traditional leader, adding that he will be happy to see the whole community including the Village Development Committee (VDC) rallying behind the project.

Vice chairperson of the Kgalagadi Disrict Council, councillor Aidoo Leshope, says remote area dwellers appear not have interest in education; as such, the beauty queen’s project has come at the right time to help better the situation.

“Children leave school to help their parents at the farms because they do not know the importance of education,” says cllr Leshope, adding that Kokotsha Primary School has recorded an alarming number of dropouts.

Cllr Leshope confirmed that the council has and will continue to support the beauty queen’s project where they can.

“The council has managed to ask for books to be stacked in the library, Kokotsha has done its part and we are also expecting to get some from other schools and various departments in the district,” says Leshope. Ends