The crowd cheered wildly, but nothing happened …

The cheers grew louder, but still, Doreen Bezuidenhout didn’t respond. Just a few minutes earlier, Doreen had been crowned as Miss Krugersdorp and she and her closest supporters were celebrating backstage, taking photos. When she returned to her table, she couldn’t understand what the crowd was going on about, urging her to get back onto the stage.

In addition to donning the Miss Krugersdorp sash, Doreen was named Miss West Rand 2020/ 2021. She walked onto the stage as her surprise waned and was replaced by a new rush of joy. The entire day, in fact, was marked by mixed emotions.

I almost cried a few times before I got to the event. I was late and still had to find someone to do my hair. We finished just before 2am after a very fun and eventful night,” she smiled.

Doreen is only 21 years old and is already making a meaningful impact on the planet. Though she’s been in the pageantry world since primary school, her main goal has always been to change the way the community treats the natural world. Even her motivation for participating in the Miss Krugersdorp pageant was to promote this idea.

I wanted to do a lot more charity this year,” Doreen explained.

“My grandma asked me to enter last year, but I worked too much and couldn’t.” She decided to take the leap this year, explaining that it was the pageant’s emphasis on charity that enticed her.

Earlier this year, Doreen started the #NoToPlastic project, and she and a few helpers headed out to public spaces, such as parks, to clean up litter.

I will be cleaning up one park a week in the fight against plastic and its toxins. I would like to urge all residents of Krugersdorp to help me in the fight against climate change. If we don’t act now, global warming will be irreversible by 2030!”

Her goal now is to turn her project into a full-blown non-profit organisation with hopes of stopping the public using plastics altogether, while promoting other environmental ideas.