Pretoria - While growing up in Hammanskraal, Mpho Nyangintsimbi liked the idea of beauty pageants.
However, she thought she did not fit the profile of a model as she was petite and had the body of an “African woman”.
At the age of 5, Nyangintsimbi’s parents submitted her name for the Miss Bapong Crèche at the Bapong Early Learning Centre in Brits.
The experience, and her less than impressive performance, left Nyangintsimbi’s confidence shattered.
All that changed when the 30-year-old entered the Miss Bachelorette South Africa, after an ex-colleague informed her about it.
She will be competing with 10 other models for the crown in Polokwane on Saturday.
“I liked beauty pageants growing up, but I never had the body for it, so I just didn’t do it. But my confidence grew when I entered the pageant and found out that I could model when we started doing workshops. I never knew I could model until I joined Miss Bachelorette, but I always loved the lenses,” the bubbly Nyangintsimbi said.
“And so when I heard that Miss Bachelorette is a women’s empowerment project that accommodates all women with different body types and ages between 25 to 50, I jumped at the chance.
“The fact that Miss Bachelorette SA is a platform to allow women to be themselves without a fear of being judged because of their age, marital status or body type is the best thing that could happen to independent single women.”
The daughter of a pastor and a medical technologist at a Covid testing lab in Cape Town, Nyangintsimbi considers herself beautiful both inside and outside. She founded a non-profit-organisation called Nyangis, that donates sanitary towels and school accessories to less privileged learners across the country. “During level 5 lockdown I was able to help with food parcels to over 10 families.”
Nyangintsimbi, who holds a Diploma in Biomedical Technology from Tshwane University of Technology, lauds her family’s Christian values for what she is today.
“Growing up as a pastor’s kid has its advantages and disadvantages. It grounded me, so I wasn't really exposed to the street lifestyle, but I’m grateful. It saved me from a lot of wrongs. The only thing is that society looks at you as this perfect human being who can’t make mistakes.”
The avid reader and traveller, says if she wins the crown she will strive to leave a legacy that will linger long after she is gone.
All 11 contestants are meeting at a hotel in Polokwane today to prepare for the gala event on Saturday.
Pretoria News