By Trevor Makonyonga
Victoria Falls will this February be lit as the tourism hub hosts it’s first-ever Miss Leap Year beauty pageant.
Speaking to Bustop TV, model and Miss Leap Year co-organiser, Sikhethelwenkosi Siwela gave a background of the event.
“It’s a modelling show that will be held in Victoria Falls at Shoestrings Backpackers on the 29th of February 2020. It is the first Miss Leap Year. I was also the co-organiser of Miss Mosi last year, which was held at Mosi OA Tunya high school.”
“The aim is to among other things, help identify potential models with the long term goal of promoting modelling in our province of Matabeleland North, facilitate their grooming as well as inspire peers to believe in themselves with a determination to be successful, promote advocacy among young children so as to minimize early child marriages.
We are in a generation that has low self-esteem and therefore we look forward to revitalising the lost hope and crushed dreams. A generation that believes only adults and rich people can start up something progressive, and the generation that has been polluted with the statement “without education you cannot be successful” but we want to put an end to that.”
The former Miss Personality at Miss Summer 2019 gave the number of models they want for the pageant and said it was open to all regions.
“We are not yet sure how many contestants will come, although we are looking for 15 to 20 models. We are looking for girls who are between the age of 18 to 24, who have never been married before and never gave birth. Well, we don’t want to discriminate people but our aim was to make it grow in Matebeleland North. This is because it has not been considered as something important and many people know nothing about this modelling industry. We would not mind having people from outside Matebeleland,” said Siwela.
The pageant will run under the theme, ‘Appreciation of beauty and excellence, They can so can I Impossible I’m possible.”
Siwela also said, “We want to inspire both the old and the young uplift young people so they can see the bigger picture. Grow our beauty Galaxy Organisation. Be able to hold other pageants after miss Leap Year 2020.”
