Nondumiso Mndebele wins the Miss Gauteng Exclusive Queen at the Sci-Bono Auditorium in Newtown

Ms Nondumiso Mndebele was crowned as the Miss Gauteng Exclusive Queen at the Sci-Bono Auditorium in Newtown, Johannesburg on Saturday, 24 November.

She is born and bred in Ermelo and completed her studies at Ermelo High School.

Miss Gauteng Exclusive is a women empowerment initiative that seeks to develop young women and their potential in becoming socially responsible and compassionate through leadership skills.

“I entered the pageant because one of my passions includes women empowerment and it seemed like the perfect platform,” said Ms Mndebele who is currently a PR and Communication Science student and Founder of Indoni Yamanzi Make-Up.

She described her journey as a finalist as nothing but inspirational with growth and proof that dreams are valid.

One of the projects she worked on for the pageant was a mental illness campaign, called the Healing Project.

The aim was to create awareness on mental illness and breaking the stigma regarding it.

Through this project, Ms Mndebele was inspired to launch another project called, Touching Lives, which she co-founded.

“We saw the impact of giving and making a difference in someone’s life and getting in-depth and up-close with various people from disadvantaged backgrounds opened our eyes, by unpacking issues that are overlooked by society and continue to be a problem.

“This encouraged us to do more and continue to touch lives,” she said.

The first initiative under Touching Lives was a sanitary pad-drive called, A Girl’s Dignity, where they donated pads to Phumula Gardens Primary School.

“In addition, this pageant has exposed me to motivational public speaking to be a beacon of light.”

She added that through the Miss Gauteng Exclusive, she has come to realise that it is not enough to just live.

“We should be determined to live for something, create joy for others and sharing what we have for the betterment of others.”