10 Sep 2019

Malatswai’s Onkagetse Molathiwa emerged the fairest of them all to be crowned Serowe Administrative Authority (SAA) Miss Remote Area Development Programme (RADP) beauty queen at Serowe on Saturday

First princess went to Tshephisano Rabasaka while Bothojame Gosenya settled for second princess slot.

The beauty pageant attracted contestants from RADP villages under Serowe Sub-district.

The 23-year-old queen and her princesses will represent the sub district at the national RADP beauty pageant.

In an interview after being crowned, Onkagetse said she was not optimistic about winning as it was her second time to enter a beauty pageant.

The queen acknowledged that being from a remote area had limited them in many ways, but hailed the pageant for affording her new experiences such as camping and being interviewed.

She encouraged other youth from remote areas to utilise their talents to develop and empower themselves as well as their communities.

The queen said that villages such as Malatswai hold beauty and talent that needed to be displayed nationwide so as to create opportunities for individuals.

“It is up to us to take these places to greater heights by offering support, participation and encouragement,” she emphasised.

Onkagetse advised the RADS youth to seek advice from different people, including herself.

She also urged the business community to offer a helping hand because collective and collaborative efforts were the basis of a successful mission.

The 23-year-old outlined some of the objectives as being to identify talent, bring about inclusiveness, inspire behavioural change and help in economic growth of rural settlements by empowering beneficiaries and also to promote cultural values.

The pageant attracts youth aged 18-25 and winners are given opportunity to play a significant role in their communities as a gateway to building an empowered and happy nation.The RADP pageant is a government initiative intended to unearth natural beauty, the aim of the pageant is to improve and empower remote area communities through social inclusion.

Another purpose of the programme is to develop and promote sustainable livelihoods for communities and individuals residing in remote areas and to reduce dependence on government and achieve full integration with their counterparts in the rest of the country. ENDS