Anganathi Ntshinga (13), a Heidelberg resident and learner at Mountainview High School, entered the Miss Teen Gauteng pageant to show the world who she is.
Anganathi was a shy child growing up and saw an opportunity to enter Miss Teen Gauteng to work on her confidence and accept herself for who she is.
“I have learnt that there is no real standard when it comes to beauty and that we are all beautiful just the way we are, inside and out,” she said, adding that young women must depend on each other to increase the success rate in women entrepreneurs.
“We need each other. We need to empower each other and avoid dragging each other down. As the saying goes, United we stand, divided we fall.”
As part of her duties, Anganathi has two causes ignited by her tasks as a finalist in Miss Teen Gauteng. The first is a soup kitchen.
“There was a time in my life when I experienced what it feels like to worry about your next meal, so my mom and I thought of sharing the little we have with those who do not have, and that is how the soup kitchen was born,” she said.
The other cause close to Anganathi’s heart is a sanitary pad drive.
“I can only imagine how stressful it must be for a young lady to miss school during that time of the month because she cannot afford sanitary pads,” she said.
Anganathi goes around in the community, asking for donations to make a young lady’s life a little easier, bringing hope to one girl at a time.
Anganathi plans to use her platform to get sponsorships for her causes and reach a bigger crowd.
She wants to be exemplary to her peers and younger ladies battling with their confidence. She said she advocates for women’s empowerment and wants to be part of any cause that positively influences female empowerment.
“The Miss Teen Gauteng pageant helped me overcome challenges and increased my self-confidence. I can now confidently speak in front of big crowds about issues and causes close to my heart,” Anganathi said.
Her role model is Lesley Lawson, aka ‘Twiggy’, a fashion icon who also stood for empowerment.
“She broke barriers to teach models about overcoming body image issues and self-acceptance. That is a big inspiration to me,” Anganathi explained.
For this young model, success means achieving the goals and objectives she set for herself, self-improvement and growth, emotional well-being and happiness and learning from failures.
Her message to young girls is, “Stay away from drugs, focus on your studies and anything good for your growth and self-improvement. The only person you must make proud is yourself. Remember that your dreams are valid, your voice matters, and your future is bright. Celebrate your individuality, culture and language. Explore fields that ignite curiosity, creativity and excitement. Whether arts, science, sport or entrepreneurship, your talents will shape the future. In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.’ Rise, shine and own your brilliance.”
