06 Nov 2016

It was a dream come true for the 22 year old Morelo Sango as she was crowned Miss RADP 2016 in beauty pageant organised by Maun Administration Authority (MAA) recently.

Sango who hails from Khwai, a small village about 150 km north of Maun deep in the deltas, beat eight other beauty queens to win the coverted price in a glittering procession that showcased style, intellectual prowess  and the perfect execution of culture amongst others.

She pocketed the sum of P1 500 and she will represent North West district in Miss RADP national pageant to be held in Gaborone on November 19.

Her first princess is 23 year old Rhoda Lesoletsile from Mababe while the second princess title went to the 20 year old Goithethe Bahenyi from Khwai.

Meanwhile MAA assistant council secretary, Mogomotsi Seemule said as the district leadership they use the beauty pageant to market and brand affirmative action, a government strategy to uplift people who were previously disadvantaged and were far away from mainstream development to bring them at par with the rest of Batswana.

“Through the pageant we want to unearth the hidden talent from these young women so that they can identify their beauty,” she told BOPA in an interview.

 She said it was the government’s intention to instill strength in these young women so that they can take part in their community’s development. “Through this pageant we are saying embrace and uphold your culture,” she quipped.

Bothatogo/Bodibeng/Somelo councillor, Morafemong Matsimanyane, described the event as not only a display of beauty but a pageant in which RADP culture was represented. He paid tribute to women for always playing the role of beauty, compassion, intelligence and perception, irrespective of where they were.

He explained that the Miss RADP was intended to help the remote area young women to gain self-esteem and be able to play the unique roles of a woman effectively. Further, he said the use of Miss RADP to unearth culture of the remote areas emphasises the representative nature of the female species.

Matsimanyane said the idea to unveil culture of the remote areas through a pageant was a purposeful step to successfully blend people from these areas into the mainstream life.

The elated Sango told BOPA in an interview that her intention was to uplift the community she comes from during her reign as the queen. She said people from her community were talented in basket weaving and she would use her tittle as an opportunity to market them so that their lives could improve. ENDS