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Langalakhe Mabena
Chief Mbusi Bekithemba Dakamela from Nkayi in Matabeleland North has endorsed the return of Miss and Mr Rural Zimbabwe, which makes a comeback after a 17-years hiatus.
Chief Dakamela who was the guest of honour at the launch of the pageant early this month said that the return of the catwalk will allow disadvantaged rural youths to showcase their talents regardless of their poor background.
“Anything that says rural is close to my heart because it’s something that we are trying to push to uplift the rural community. The pageant is all about giving young girls and boys in rural areas a chance to shine, giving them hope that anything, including realising their dreams can be achieved despite coming from a disadvantaged background.
On its series, the pageant will come to Nkayi koDakamela and youths in my area will showcase their talent and expose what they have absorbed in the community that groomed them,” said Chief Dakamela.
The chief further encouraged other stakeholders especially in the modelling industry to spread their reach and “always come down in the rural” and scout for abundant talent.“Dreams die if there is a constant lack of environment and platform that enables one to exercise and exhibit what they feel is their talent.
With that in mind, I would like to encourage other institutions in the modelling sector to go deep into the countryside and discover the untapped talent there. I also encourage the young people who will participate in the pageant to take pride in themselves and show their African beauty to the rest of the world.
This is a once in a year opportunity and they must grab it with both hands,” said Chief Dakamela.
Miss Rural Zimbabwe was created by celebrated veteran model and instructor, Sipho Mazibuko (founder and director of Mental Voices Trust) with a desire to empower individuals residing in marginalised communities.
The pageant is targeting youths in rural areas with limited access to resources and opportunities to participate. It requires the models to be between the ages 18 and 25 years, who have never been married and do not have children.
They must have passed five Ordinary Level subjects, have a 100% rural background subject to verification, maximum dress size of 38, have natural hair or naturally braided hair and living in a rural setting.
“The Miss Rural pageant came into being through the inspiration of empowering rural girls and boys to become change makers in their communities. We target rural areas, where the youth have limited access to resources and opportunities.
Our purpose is to provide a platform for rural girls and boys to showcase their talents, build confidence and develop leadership skills. Our main objectives include promoting education, healthcare and economic empowerment for rural girls.
We have established an outreach programme that engages rural communities through the chiefs and their wives, among other traditional leaders, although we are still in talks on mapping out a way forward,” said Mazibuko.
The pageant has crafted different initiatives aimed at supporting the participants and plans for continued support. With the help from the ICT ministry, we have agreed to conduct workshops and training sessions to encourage participation in digitisation and build trust among rural youths. We will provide mentorship and training in areas like leadership and life skills.
We plan to continue supporting rural girls through sustained outreach programmes, mentorship, resource allocation and funded trips to China.“Each provincial winner will have a borehole drilled and a Starlink kit installed at their homestead.
An office hut will be built at the winner’s home, where she can receive issues to be attended to from her contestants who are her eyes in each district. Issues like child marriages, gender-based violence and any other form of abuse will be nipped in the bud or reported on time.
After the pageant, the provincial queen’s duties will include all of the above as well as identifying orphans and underprivileged children in each and every district,” said Mazibuko.
Online Reporter