Thupeyo Muleya-Beitbridge Bureau
Preparations for the inaugural Miss Rural Beitbridge that will be held at Mtetengwe Primary School at the end of this month have gathered momentum.
The event is being coordinated by Pure Black Beauty to explore and give raw talent a chance, while building confidence in supermodels from the rural communities, so they may be able to compete with those from the urban set-up.
So far, 20 models from Beitbridge’s 15 rural wards have registered for the pageant.
To add colour, the event will have traditional dance groups performing and a local business exhibition for upcoming entrepreneurs.
Pageant coordinator, Allen Ngwerume, said they held auditions to select the supermodels in March.
He said the top four winners will represent Beitbridge District at the Miss Culture Pageant, to be held in Harare soon.
“Our target is the rural girl child aged between 15 and 25 years (who haven’t given birth and are tall from 1,5m).
“We want to build their confidence and also give them opportunities just like their colleagues in urban settlements.
“So, we had teams that went around the wards centres in the rural areas where auditions were held and we came up with 20 people who will be walking on the ramp on April 30 at Mtetengwe.”
Ngwerume said they were now mobilising sponsors for the various prizes for the models. He said they were receiving support from local communities and they were looking to hold a successful event.
The supermodels, he added, will check-in at the boot camp on 29 April at Mtetengwe Primary School.
“There are a lot of prizes to be won on the day and we will have three categories, including evening (cocktail dress), culture and casual wear,” said Ngwerume.
“Since we are running a modelling agent, we are looking for models to sign, uplift, encourage and promote.
“You will note that sometimes those people in rural areas are often left out in most programmes and now we are bridging that gap in terms of modelling.”
Ngwerume said they will also reward the best models who will have excelled in showcasing their respective cultures, mostly Tshivenda, Sotho, and Shangani.



