Mabe makes Alex proud as first Miss SA semi-finalist

Alexandra has its first-ever Miss South Africa beauty pageant semi-finalist … Boipelo Mabe.

The English news anchor at a Soweto television channel, political analyst, motivational speaker and model has not just made history by being the first model from the township, chosen as a semi-finalist in Miss SA 2017, but has made the township proud with her phenomenal achievement in the top beauty pageant in the country.

If she goes all the way and wins the finals to be crowned Miss South Africa 2017, this will open the doors for her to participate in the Miss World pageant in the same fashion as Ntandoyenkosi Kunene, who recently jetted off to represent the country in that contest.

“I am delighted to have made history and truly believe it is an achievement worth celebrating. But, by the same token, it tells us, as Alexandra citizens, that there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to put ourselves on the same par as other areas of the country.

“Why has it taken so many years for us to have a contestant reaching this level of the competition in 22 years of democracy? I have already taken the first steps towards addressing some of the things I consider to be major hindrances in our quest to have more and more Alex girls in this national competition,” Mabe said in an interview with Alex News.

As part of addressing the shortage of Alex contestants in the Cell C-sponsored Miss SA, Mabe has launched a lifestyle and mentorship project that caters for boys and girls and is designed to address the very problems that are a hurdle for progression for young people.

“Young people need a type of lifestyle for them to make it in the fashion and beauty industry; they need to familiarise themselves with the requirements and this includes issues on how to keep their bodies beautiful, the kinds of foods they should eat and which ones to avoid, and the kind of exercises they need to do in order to keep in shape,” she said.

Some of the children she has mentored have gone on to break barriers in various spheres of academic achievements and the local beauty industry in Alexandra, where she cut her teeth in the modelling world as a former Miss Alexandra.

Mabe holds a BA undergraduate degree in politics and international relations and a post-graduate honours degree in development studies. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in international relations on the African continent.