By Mosa Maoeng
MASERU- The reigning Miss Culture Lesotho 2022 Thabelo Ngatane is set to compete in the Miss Culture International which will be hosted in Johannesburg and Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) from 29th April to 6th May 2023.
The pageant was supposed to have been next month but was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
Ngatane will be representing Lesotho and battling against countries such as Hungary, Romania, Liberia, Scotland, and Philippines to mention a few. The reigning queen will not only be travelling for the pageants but has also been granted the honour of being officially invited to attend the coronation of the Zulu King, Prince Misizulu Singqobile kaZwelithini. The coronation will take place in Kwazulu-Natal on the 15th October 2022 which was supposed to have been the date of the competition.
In an interview with Arts&Lifestyle, the reigning queen remarked that the opportunity came at the right time just after being crowned Miss Culture Lesotho. She said it was introduced to her through the Miss Culture Lesotho pageant, where the winner automatically becomes the ambassador for Lesotho.
“Having to overcome 59 other female contestants in the Miss Culture Lesotho was not easy, as we all having different strengths and weaknesses, but the objective was not to focus on others, rather to work on myself and identify my wrongs and rectify them before the competition. My main objective is making myself proud regardless of the outcome. Winning the Miss Culture International will also mean I have made my country proud, and that is one way of showing all girls with low self-esteem that if there is something you want to pursue, just do it because no one is going to do it for you,” she indicated.
Ngatane is a 22 years-old ambitious lady who resides from Upper Thamae. Besides having to showcase her talent in pageants she is also a 2nd year student at the Center for Accounting Studies (CAS). She is passionate about what she does and also puts her mind to it. She defines herself as strategic and a perfectionist.
“I would like to be recognised on a global platform, as an ambassador for Lesotho, and hopefully have my own pageant school especially for children from poor backgrounds who want to join pageants but can’t afford to pay fees. That way I would know and say that my dream has actually paid off for me,” she concluded.
Miss Culture International will host its first ever media launch between the two cities being Johannesburg and Kwazulu-Natal, welcoming delegates from over 24 countries.
Miss Culture International is a destination marketing platform created to promote, inform, educate, empower and showcase beauty and fashion talent globally. It utilises beauty queens as ambassadors to promote tourism and culture through international and national events and activities. To bring together individuals from diverse cultures to learn from one another and find common grounds in the pursuit of transformational change to better all humanity.
