Beauty and so much more: New Miss West Rand Exclusive SA crowned
Neliswa Cekiso, 23, from Westonaria was crowned new Miss West Rand Exclusive SA.
The Miss West Rand Exclusive SA pageant recently crowned 23-year-old Neliswa Cekiso from Westonaria as their queen for the next year. But this is no ordinary beauty pageant, according to Amogelang Matsele, the pageant’s co-founder and COO.
“As a norm, beauty pageants focus on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the models. Miss West Rand Exclusive SA is a beauty pageant that focuses on women empowerment, and has evolved to celebrate inner beauty, entrepreneurship, personality, intelligence, talent, character, and charitable involvement,” she explained.
They teach their contestants skills in sport, goal-setting, a can-do attitude, and working under pressure.
Due to Covid-19 their journey with the class of 2021/2022 may have been one of the longest but Amogelang said it made for beautiful memories.
“We strongly believe that this was a life-changing journey and we were able to convince people that beauty pageants are not only about beauty and walks. We were able to show models and parents who have been taken advantage of and used in the industry that what they went through was not the end of the world, as Miss West Rand Exclusive SA is here for them.”
From the 85 applicants, 32 semi-finalists were chosen and ultimately only 15 finalists made it through to the last round. During this nine-month journey contestants’ IQs and entrepreneurship skills were tested, and they were required to give back and be involved in the community as well as be visible on social media.
On April 30 the grand finale was hosted in the Silverstar conference hall and Neliswa was crowned queen. The 17-year-old Bonolo Legodi from Munsieville was the first runner-up, and the 21-year-old Winnie Moremi from Johannesburg was the second runner-up.
“I’ve grown close with the girls and heaven knows, if it was up to me I would have crowned all 15. They have worked so hard and grown so much from the first time I’ve met them. This has to be the smartest, most talented and beautiful flowers I’ve ever come across, and I hope they will continue embracing their uniqueness,” Amogelang said.
The show was ended off by co-founder and CEO of DGN Save an African Child Initiative, Donald Nyirenda when he thanked all the stakeholders for their support.
The entries for the new Miss West Rand Exclusive SA opened on June 1 and will close on August 1. You can visit their social media pages at MissWestrandExclusive, or contact 071 013 9211 for more info.
