Mpumalanga’s very own pageant Queen Lerato Nogabe shares the modelling journey that has not been easy but has taken hard work and dedication from her.
The 22-year-old started modelling in 2015 when she entered for Miss Kiriyatswane. She made it to the top 7 but didn’t win the pageant. She got discharged and thought this was the first and last pageant she was going to be a part of.
In 2016 she decided to try modelling again by entering Miss Teen Ekasi. Lerato made it all the way to being crowned as the Queen. This pageant became an eye-opener for her that she was capable, and that modelling is her gift.
“When I had to enter a competition, I’d learn more about myself. It still happens even now. I feel more alive than ever. When I’m on stage, I feel like every step I take is drawing me closer to being the woman who will change the world. I get to hope that someday things will be okay for all of us. We’ve lost so much hope as a country and I want to give that back to the people,” shared Lerato.
She entered quite an amount of pageants from 2016 till 2021. She’s still at it, walking the stage with her head held high no matter the outcome of the contests.
She decided to enter Miss South Africa this year and is yet to receive the results of if she’s made it to the top 30, on the 6th of July.
Where she finds the confidence and strength to face all her challenges is from her mother who is her role model.
“I’d say my role model is my mother because she’s the perfect definition of being yourself, doing good no matter how bad the response is going to be. Don’t change yourself because of how people are reacting or how people are treating you. Be yourself, do good, stick to who you are, and God will reward you, life will reward you in general.
So, she’s always been that person for me, a person that is able to stay true to who she is regardless of how everything has been happening. She still smiles, she still has hope, she still wakes up every morning like nothing happened the day before. She always starts afresh in each and every day becoming the most humble person than she is or she was the previous day,” expresses Lerato.
