A young pageant queen and philanthropist hosted her own pageant to give back to the community in which she won one of her titles.
Refilwe Mangope, 20, at her young age already knows the ins and outs of pageants and modelling. After winning her fair share of pageants, she recently hosted her own. At the end of last month, she hosted a Miss Itireleng pageant to raise funds for the community which is located in Mohlakeng.
Refilwe said she sought assistance from the actual Miss Itireleng pageant management as well as a youth coordinator in the Rand West City Local Municipality’s (RWCLM) mayor’s office.
The pageant was not without its problems, she said, but she made do with what she had.
Refilwe decided on making two categories; Miss Itireleng and Face of Itireleng. The former was for girls and women aged 14 to 25 who were able-bodied and the latter included all ages and was for those with disabilities.
The pageant was held at the Mohlakeng Recreation Centre and the funds raised from the event was given to the community. She also budgeted for prizes, sashes, crowns and stages with the money that came in for registrations.
For future this rising star would like to start her own foundation where she can give back to the community through pageants as she did with her most recent effort. She also has dreams of opening her own agency and said she has her plans, however, the agency still needs to be registered.
So far one of her students has been winning one pageant after the other; Busi Khumalo, daughter of the RWCLM executive mayor. Her most recent title was Miss Mini Gauteng. Although Refilwe is keen on helping others especially when it comes to their own pageants, she still manages to fit into her busy schedule her own pageants.
Most recently she made it through to the International Modelling Talent Agency (IMTA) once again and now plans to raise funds to showcase her talent in New York. She made the final last year but could not raise enough funds to go. On the local front she recently won a title at Miss Mogale City as Miss Photogenic.
Refilwe is currently still busy with her studies but manages to find the time to help others, take on students and makes sure to win her own titles in the process.
She plans to do it all again next year and hopes to host another charity pageant but this time, she said, she wants to make it bigger than before.
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