Pretoria - Strutting her stuff on the ramp on big stages like Miss Bachelorette South Africa pageant has always been a Yenziwa Ngema’s dream.
Growing up on the Bluff in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, all the medical doctor wanted to do as a hobby was modelling.
“I’ve always loved watching the various beauty pageants since I was very young and hoped one day to be able to enter one of these events.
“The beautiful, strong and smart women that enter these pageants are what inspired me to go for the Miss Bachelorette contest. Also the focus on all types of strong, amazing women coupled with the fact that I can enter and do something that I’ve always wanted to,” Ngema says.
Now the 34-year-old trainee orthopaedic surgeon at the biggest hospital in Africa, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, is about to realise her childhood dream.
She’s one of the 11 finalists who will compete at the 2021 Miss Bachelorette South Africa 2021 pageant in Polokwane on April 10.
The medical doctor turned beauty queen says she developed a love for modelling at a young age but never really explored the idea fully.
However, she did enter a Miss Grade 8 pageant more than 20 years ago.
The daughter of a Hammarsdale pastor, Ngema grew up in a simple but strict household where discipline and Christian values were non-negotiable.
She lauds her parents for the kinds of children herself and her four siblings turned out to be.
“Life was much simpler than it is now. My parents were strict and loving because they are pastors in Hammarsdale with a house that has doors that are always open, so I was used to having people at my house all the time and I loved it,” Ngema added.
The University of Cape Town MBCHB graduate says that besides having to juggle her busy career as a medical doctor and spending time with her loved ones, she spends time advocating for women empowerment. And that would be her priority should she grab the crown.
“My main priority is to advocate for women to have and experience what freedom means… to have a voice and courage to dream, stand up for their rights and be financially and socially independent. I want to focus on the youth and mentor them on a wider scale.
“We don’t look down on small beginnings because bringing one person up makes a difference and may even have a ripple effect… the key is to empower people to bring positive changes in their areas of influence. I would do this by initiating mentorship programmes within communities, leaning towards females and education,” she said.
And what would Ngema do should she become the country’s president? Root out corruption, she says.
The Miss Bachelorette pageant has been tailored for unmarried women between the ages of 25 and 50, with or without children.
Event organiser and Miss Bachelorette SA chief executive Refilwe Mogale said no tickets will be sold for the event due to Covid-19 restrictions.
However, fans can catch the show via live streaming on the event’s website and the Pretoria News, which is the event’s official media partner.
“The link will be available on the Miss Bachelorette SA media pages bio,” Mogale said.
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Pretoria News