Twenty one year old Thandeka Zibuta who will be participating in the Miss Mandela Day pageant, reached out to girls in her community, making a difference in their lives by donating sanitary towels.

She was touched by their struggle and decided to put deed to the word by donating sanitary towels to the girls in Winnie section, Tumahole.

“Many young girls are not fortunate enough to even buy one pack of sanitary towels. My goal is to help the less fortunate members in my community from surviving to thriving,” says Thandeka.

She wants to inspire young girls to take care of one another as sisters.

“I choose to donate sanitary towels for my community, because I know I am going to make a huge difference. I am improving the quality of life and awake the feeling of solidarity and belonging in my community.”

For this beautiful young lady there’s nothing more precious than seeing the smiles of people she has helped, knowing she made a change in her community. “It made me realize that this is not only about the competition. It’s about empowering and educating one another. ”

“We can not say we are moving forward as a community when others are left behind,” says Thandeka.

She describes her participation in Miss Mandela Day as an absolute honour. “I must admit that my journey in joining the pageant was unexpected, but it’s a brand new expe- rience, and for this opportunity I will always be thankful.”

For Thandeka it is her second Pageant in which she participates. In 2022 she entered for Miss Ore Incarnate SA for the Free State Province where she won three titles inclu- ding Miss Ore Incarnate SA Queen, Miss Ore Incarnate SA Role Model of the Year, and Miss Ore Incarnate SA Best Campaign Driver.

Now her focus is on Miss Mandela Day, but she wants to see herself running her own Pageant one day, and running her own Sanitary Towels Campaign around her hometown.

If you want to help Thandeka to help the girls in her community by donating sanitary towels, you can whatsapp to 083 494 0726 or find her on Facebook Dihappiness Mphuthi.

The crowning of the Pageant will take place on 29 July.

Miss Mandela Day comes from The Creatives, an organizatino ran by young visiona- ries based in the Vaal Triangle.