Local activist and beauty has her sights set on the crown

A local beauty and activist, Sandra da Mata will soon grace the stage of the Royal International Pageant in the hopes of being crowned queen.

Sandra is one of the semi-finalists of the pageant that was started earlier this year. She is a specialist wellness counsellor as well as a Master level ICF executive business coach who is passionate about the education and self-mastery of others.

She has a passion for developing her community, and tries to make an impact with everything she does. Her motto in life is ‘If you have a pulse – you have a purpose’, and lives by this motto as a passionate activist against gender-based violence. She also recently completed her thesis in GBV. This led to her being invited to the Harvard University Publishing School in Boston to present on the humanitarian work that she has done in the last decade.

The pageant was started by pageant directors Farzana Mayet and Rosa van Niekerk who wanted the ‘Pull her up syndrome in women’ to be the premise of the pageant. They want to empower women to be their sisters’ keeper.

On May 14 the Royal International pageant sashed their semi-finalists in an elaborate and informative seminar and sashing ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton. The event brought together semi-finalists from all over South Africa.

The pageant will also focus on a workshop designed to equip each lady with the necessary tools for further mentorship, among other.

The grand final will take place on November 26 at the Hilton Hotel and the winner gets to represent South Africa at the MS Universe Pageant in Miami.