Meet one of Midrand’s leading ladies

Midrand resident, Mmaboshadi Chauke is a 36-year-old woman with big dreams.

This wife and mother of two is a number-crunching, qualified chartered accountant who is currently a partner at Deloitte, one of the largest audit firms in the world. For most people this would be enough of an achievement to last a lifetime, but Chauke has decided to add beauty pageant finalist to her list of accolades.

“I have a powerful story to tell. I am an example of that it is never too late to pursue your dreams,” she said.

“I entered Mrs South Africa and have been selected for the top 100 semi-finalists.”

Being in a profession that has little black female representation, Chauke has associated herself with African Women Chartered Accountants and, through the organisation, has attended drives whereby they encourage young women who are pupils, students and accounting trainees to become chartered accountants.

Chauke said that although she has always wanted to be in the performing arts, she put it off until she had something to fall back on. “I also recently embarked on pursuing my dreams of being an actress and, since commencing this journey at the beginning of the year, I have landed acting roles in two TV drama series and am currently in rehearsal for a play to be shown in May this year at POPArt Theatre in Maboneng.”

Although she did not divulge the names of the productions, Chauke said they’ll be shown on SABC 1 and Mzansi Magic.

The Mrs South Africa pageant is for married women between the ages of 25 and 50. “The main focus of the pageant is the empowerment of women and community work.”

Chauke said she is a firm believer in the institution of marriage and in raising families within a happy and healthy marriage. “I want to share my story of what it takes to make a strong marriage,” she said.

In addition to sharing her beliefs on marriage, Chauke said she wants to spread a message of unity among South Africans. “I want to use the pageant’s platform to promote unity among all races and cultures in our country. I will be an ambassador for my country and will promote my country as a destination of choice for investors and tourists,” she said.

Details: To vote for Chauke, go to the Mrs South Africa Facebook page or click here.