Passionate about her community

You are never too old to pursue your dreams, and 35-year-old, Neo Matitoane is proving that as she is one of the top 20 finalists for the Miss Township SA title. The Weltevreden Park resident is a graphic designer by profession and coaches drum majorettes part-time.

Neo said her passion to work within the community drove her to enter the pageant. She said being a mother herself, she noticed a need for child-friendly activities between school work and extra-murals. “Even when there is something for children to do, it is usually very costly. From my own experience, I couldn’t really afford any of the extra-murals that I was interested in, so I founded the drum majorettes team in 2015.” She said her interest in working with children from disadvantaged backgrounds lined up perfectly with the pageant’s community service values.

She believes ‘age is just a number’ and what she has to offer has nothing to do with her age. She certainly will not limit herself. The Miss Township SA pageant encourages leadership and entrepreneurial skills programmes from the entrants. Contestants raise awareness around social issues through the Little Girl Arise charity. One of the major programmes is the sanitary pad drive. “Since we started in March, we have donated just over 3 000 pads to our township schools. We have done community outreaches in schools, and we are currently working on creating awareness about cancer,” Neo explained.

The winner of the pageant is expected to be crowned in August in Pretoria, and though she admitted to feeling nervous, Neo said she was mostly excited and was focusing on collecting pads, clothes and toys for her orphanage in the North West.