Discovering Miss Eagle South Africa 2018 with Mnothowandile Cele
Miss Eagle South Africa is a National Pageant across all South Africa Provinces. The purpose of the pageant is to empower women from different backgrounds across the country. Here are a few questions we had for Mnothowandile Cele, law student at Nelson Mandela University, and current Miss Eagle South Africa 2018 Semi Finalist, representing the Eastern Cape province:
MESA2018: “Women are given a chance to inspire, motivate and guide young girls” (said Mnothowandile Cele, when describing MESA 2018). “Each contestant is required to have a strong presence on all social media platforms and are assigned challenges to move up in levels. During the finals, one woman will be crowned queen of her represented province and will ultimately represent her province at the grand finale in December at the Sandton Convention Centre”.
1) What inspired you to enter this competition ?
“I got inspired to enter this competition as I am not the conventional beauty pageant girl. I am a tall, dark woman with African curves and a dark skin, characteristics that aren’t usually associated with beauty as the pageant world is widely Eurocentric, where black girls are required to have long straight hair, tiny noses, tall and slender frames. I, on the other hand, ain’t neither, well expect for the tall aspect LOL. I’d like to inspire other women and young girls who feel that way, and I need to be a symbol of hope to the women of the Eastern Cape province. Being a part of this national pageant is a blessing for me, and I want to use this platform to bless other women too.”
2) If you are crowned queen of the Eastern Cape province, what actions will you take for your community ?
“The biggest challenge that the Eastern Cape province has is the lack of infrastructure in terms of basic education. I’m all about educating and empowering all children, particularly the girl child, so my main focus would be to have classrooms and facilities that the children will be using to better themselves. So once we get solid plans on infrastructure for schools, recreational centres, media centres and after school programmes, we’d (the Eastern Cape) have a better matric pass rate, as the potential is there, but the facilities aren’t. And that gives us as a province, a disadvantage.”
3) Tell us about your journey so far: achievements, difficulties and lessons learned
“My journey with Miss Eagle South Africa 2018 has been extremely exciting. You are challenged as a person by the pageant itself and the public in general. I have learnt, through the journey, to not lose focus on what the bigger picture is about. If something out of your control gets out of control, then there is absolutely NOTHING that you can do about it. You just have to ride the wave and keep your head up and just keep it moving. For me, that was the biggest lesson learnt. Difficulties come and go but you still remain. As long as you remain planted in something, could be a cause, in my case, it’s God, then nothing will deter you from the end goal. Trials and tribulations are guaranteed to happen but we should learn to remain grounded and planted and focused. Eventually the difficulties will pass and you’ll come out a bigger and more stronger person that you were before the difficulties came. Just chin up, (wo)man up and keep it moving.”
“My achievements while on this journey have been overwhelming. Late 2017, I was awarded Strong Woman of the South award and given a Mayoral certificate of recognition for my work in the Community Policing Forum, as chairperson of Sector 2Bs youth desk. Since then I’ve been concentrating on my studies at Nelson Mandela University however my accomplishments where recognised by the university as well and posted up on all their social media platforms, which is amazing. I’ve been humbled by the experience and I hope to make my university and the Eastern Cape province at large, proud.”
To learn more about the peagant, visit MESA2018
