Kabelo Mametša (18), a confident young lady from Aerorand, has been selected as one of the finalists at this year’s Miss Teen Grand South Africa pageant.

Kabelo is a first-year student at Varsity College pursuing a qualification in business administration.

She started competing in beauty pageants in 2021, as she wanted to build her confidence and self-esteem, “In all of my pageantry, I have been advocating for the importance of childhood development. I feel that people underestimate how important this is in building confidence in young people from an early age, to help them reach their dreams‚” she said, when asked what she stands for in life.

She even went as far as to create a campaign called ‘Early Roots, Lifelong Wings’, to highlight how nurturing the roots of a child’s life can impact how far their wings can carry them.

“I decided to enter the Miss Teen Grand SA pageant because it aligns with my morals and values in life, and I am confident this collaboration can be a great catalyst for transformation‚” said Kabelo.

Kabelo has an exceptional collection of titles under her belt since she started competing and was crowned Miss MWI Teen Africa in 2022.

She was also Miss Teen City Council’s (Middelburg) first princess the same year, was then crowned Miss Teen Nkangala International Village in 2023, and made the Top 16 in the Miss Teen Universe South Africa pageant.

Kabelo added that she has aspirations to enter the prestigious Miss South Africa one day, to remind people that beauty and purpose can co-exist. She said she is inspired by the former Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi.

She said the phrase ‘seek and you shall find’ guides her life as a young woman.

Kabelo is urging residents to assist her by liking, voting and following her Facebook (Kabelo Mametsa) and Instagram (Kabelo­­_Mametsa) page.