Things may have taken a pause for one of the most recognized pageants in Soweto, but that does not mean that they will forever be on a standstill. Coronavirus has affected many plans for many people. Many had goals that had to be postponed saving the lives of many. The face of Devotion has also taken it upon their responsibility to postpone the proceedings of 2020.
The founder of Face of Devotion, Oscar Mabuza, has announced that the proceedings for the competition may take place on September 2020, but the Mr and Miss little Soweto has been postponed to next year.
“We really feel bad that we had to postpone for the little ones, but we have to consider the safety of our children first,” said Mabuza.
Mabuza also feels great concern for teenagers who are still at home during this pandemic and felt that pageants like Face of Devotion helped to keep many children off the streets.
[also read] – Miss SA 2020 Top 15: Soweto is within
“My fear is that we will have increased teenage pregnancies by the time schools reopen. Businesses have been opened, so which means most parents have gone back to work, leaving teenagers with nothing to do at home,” expressed Mabuza.
“Teenagers still behave like toddlers; they need to be watched. The only difference right now is that they don’t break things around the house, but they will surely make teenage risk behaviors that may affect their future,” added Mabuza.
One of the most challenging obstacles Mr. Mabuza had to face was the change of plans regarding venues and dates of the competition.
“The trip has been postponed due to COVID-19, we were supposed to take our models to Cape Town first of June, but we have now changed the venue to Upwood collection in Mpumalanga,” said Mabuza.
“Postponing Face of Secondary School RSA will bring nothing but a disappointment to most students and time will not be enough for students to focus on schoolwork and also participate on the show,” added Mabuza.
Overall winner 2019 in the male Category, Reginald Makeng (23), who is from Mndeni says that it has been hard for him to perform his duties in the current pandemic.
“Things have been difficult since the Coronavirus started, we managed to go to Durban early this year February but then ever since then it has been hard for me to do my duties. However, I have been busy helping with rehearsals and I have also been training models freely,” commented Makeng.
After being the overall winner, things were supposed to be on a great start for the young man, but the pandemic situation forced changes to his rewards that were supposed to happen this year.
“I am saddened because I was supposed to go compete internationally but due to the current situation I could not go, hope is not lost though and I am positive that many will things will still go back to normal in proper timing,” said Makeng.
One of the finalists in the Miss category for 2020, Kelebogile Lokweng (21) from Molapo in Soweto feels saddened that the proceedings had to be postponed.
“The Coronavirus delayed us a lot. We were supposed to be on our road to the finals and again based on charity work we can’t do that as Semi-finalists,” said Lokweng.
Lokweng is currently a student at UNISA and a model and she says that she has been keeping busy during this heavy time by doing her school work.
“I have been keeping myself busy by doing my second-semester assignments and doing my modeling practice here at home during my spare time,” commented Lokweng.
Lokweng still holds on to the positive side of everything and chooses not to focus on the negatives of the pandemic.
“I still hold on to the reason why I chose to enter the competition in the first place which was that I saw the great and lovely opportunity given to us as young people.
“This competition does not judge your background, they give everyone a chance to participate and it also a way of continuing to build my self-confidence,” expressed Lokweng.
Hope is not lost during the pandemic. The pageants are still yet to take place, for now, things are just on pause.
The face of Devotion stands firm on saving lives first and putting the future leaders of tomorrow forward.
Follow Us Here:
Catch the latest news by visiting our other platforms:
