adminLoveness Nyathi, Sunday Leisure Correspondent
IF you had told Lorrene Fowane, who when she was still a young girl in Bulawayo’s Nkulumane suburb, was made to feel ugly because of her thin frame and height, that she would grow up to be a top model, she could have laughed you away.
But today, all thoughts that she is Quasimodo’s sister have been washed away after she was voted Miss Africa-Zimbabwe, a position that will see her vying for the post of Miss Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa, in December.
Fowane, also known as Purity, became Miss Africa-Zimbabwe after she took part in the open auditions that were held at Newton Mall in Johannesburg in August. As a young, skinny tomboy, Fowane said constant teasing by others saw her lose her self-esteem and walking on a ramp in public never crossed her mind as a child.
“It was only after being pushed by family and friends that I decided to enter modelling competitions and I would say I fell in love with it from the first audition. Friends felt I had the ‘right’ body to be a model I just had to muster enough courage to take to the ramp and stand in front of a camera and people,” she said.
South Africa-based Fowane tried to coerce her twin sister, Lorraine into modelling but after auditioning for a few commercial shots she felt she wasn’t cut out to be a model and quit in a huff. The 27-year-old model also took part in the Miss Zimbabwe South Africa pageant and managed to attain the second runner-up slot, a result which gave her confidence to take part in Miss Africa.
According to the Miss Africa Continent website, the pageant was the idea of Neo Mashishi who felt the need to celebrate African beauty. The website reads: “Miss Africa is a seven-month long project that includes Miss Africa TV Show, Rehearsals, Hype Tour, Appearances, Launch, Gala Dinner and the Main crowning event. Its main objective is to interact with African countries on various programmes, become educational platform and empowering tool to young African women, to be inspiring and informative. It plays a role in uniting Africa by addressing xenophobic mentality and various plights facing African continent.
“It aims to assist in integrating young African women into mainstream economy. Promoting African beauty and African culture and raising future leaders. The personality of Miss Africa must reflect true African culture and values, to be the real African ambassador.”
Lorrene said she was excited about taking part in the contest as it is her first pageant representing the country and hopes to live up to the standards of other models who have held their own in the country’s pageant industry and among them, former Miss Malaika, Brita Masalethulini and Miss Zimbabwe 2011, Malaika Mashandu and make Zimbabwe proud.
Lorrene has a story-telling passion and as a producer with a production house, she is working on a documentary she hopes will be aired on ZTV. The 27-year-old said she is an ambitious woman who is not afraid of hard work and will strive to ensure that her dream of owning the biggest modelling school in Zimbabwe comes to fruition.
She said she believed one should never give up in life and every obstacle one comes across should be taken as a lesson to push you further adding one should never doubt themselves saying everyone is capable of doing great things.
Lorrence moved to South Africa in nearly 2010 and having been captivated by television learnt production on the job and works for a production house in Johannesburg as a assistant producer.
Lorrene was born and grew up in Bulawayo but her modelling roots were set when she moved to South Africa as she was not involved in modelling in the country. Efforts to establish the prizes for the final were fruitless as the pageant organisers did not respond to questions e-mailed to them.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter