Miss East Rand title winner, Bontle Katleho Moloi shares her experiences and hardships that she faced in the beauty pageant industry.
Both her names have prestigious meanings: ‘Bontle’ means beauty while ‘Katleho’ means success, however as an individual she is living up to both her names because she is a beautiful successful young woman.
The 19-year-old who was born and bred in Phumula Gardens (Germiston) finished her matric last year. She started dressing up good at the tender age of 5. “I’ve always loved beauty. I remember people would always encourage me to partake in modelling activities and I did exactly that when I was just about 10-years-old. A local fashion designer had a fashion runway show and I led the junior and the senior catwalk. Even though I wasn’t dressed up in the designer’s clothes, I enjoyed every bit of it. This helped me to build my confidence and it gave me the courage to enter other pageants like Ms Elsie when I was young, I won the junior title. I entered Miss Amplified, Miss Carnival, Miss Tourism SA, Mr. & Miss East Rand and I took the Queen title, Miss Personality and Best Smile. After my reign as Miss East Rand 2021, I plan on running for Miss Gauteng in 2022 and I’ll continue from there onwards with the hopes of someday becoming Miss Universe,” added the young beauty.
She later told the newspaper the challenges she faced during the time she entered the Mr. &Miss East Rand competition. She explained that pageants require a lot of clothing as well as transportation and being raised by a single mother who is unemployed made it quite hard for her to fit in. “The income we get at home was only enough for our daily needs so it was challenging for me but I had people from my neighbourhood and some contacts that actually cared enough to offer assistance financially and for that, I will forever be grateful to them. My mom and family too, they have always been my number one supporters,” Moloi expressed with gratitude. She also adds that she looking forward to going back to school and study Dermatology since she dreams of owning her own skincare range, make-up line as well as fragrance range someday.
“I believe this title gives me the platform to get the exposure I need, build myself and my brand but in that process, I plan to help my community by giving back and I will always remember that being humble, consistent, working hard and trusting in God is the core foundation to succeed,” concluded Moloi.
By Palesa Ndinisa
