MBOMBELA – Prior to her recent crowning as Ms Lowveld, the 37-year-old Malefa Ketlele last entered a beauty pageant in 1997.
Nineteen years ago, she was crowned Miss Bloemfontein Technikon. On Saturday May 21 history repeated itself when she was crowned Ms Lowveld at the Emnotweni Arena in Riverside.
Prior to winning Miss Bloemfontein Technikon, she was also Miss Thahameso at the high school she attended back home in Bloemfontein.
This mother of an 11-year-old daughter has been in the Lowveld for the past 15 years and works as a relationship manager for one of the major financial institutions.
She told Lowvelder that she loves spending time with her daughter.”
We watch movies and spoil ourselves a bit. My week is usually very busy and I ensure that the weekend becomes our bonding time,” she said.
Ketlele also said that she was positive that she would triumph at the pageant.
“When you start a race, it is of course with the aim to win. I knew that I stood a chance,” she added. She said once she stepped on the ramp, she was no longer nervous thanks to the support of the audience.
She also mentioned that as Ms Lowveld and a relationship manager, she will use her title to educate Lowvelders on how to manage their finances.
“The level of debt that our communities are exposed to is heartbreaking. I will use this title to continue on the work I have been doing around schools regarding proper financial wellness.”
She said this will encourage them to be financially independent and ensure that they strive towards a debt-free life and a better future.
According to Ketlele, her dream is to empower the next person and especially young women and children.
Being the mother of a young girl herself, she said “As a girl child you can become anything you want and that it is perfectly fine to be independent and self-sufficient.
Life is full of endless possibilities and what excites me the most is the era we find ourselves in where people can become anything they want. Find what you are good at and excel in that,” she added.
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