Sandra D is not just a pretty face, she’s aiming for real change
"I am a firm believer that, as Madiba said it best, 'Education is the most powerful weapon' anyone can have to empower themselves and those around them." – Sandra De Mata.
Local beauty and advocate for the voiceless has entered the Royal International Pageant.
“Our main premise has always been the Pull Her Up Syndrome in Women. Our ethos stands firm in true empowerment of women on being her sister’s keeper. With this vision and intention the birth of this pageant took place. If women work together nothing is impossible or unattainable,” explained pageant directors Farzana Mayet and Rosa van Niekerk.
“This pageant is no different as there is already within the pageantry a remarkable bond with semi-finalists from all across South Africa, each of whom boasts a vast career graph in their respective fields.”
Royal International Pageants sashed semi-finalists during an elaborate and informative seminar and sashing ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton on Saturday, May 14. “The grand finale takes place on November 26 at the Hilton Hotel and the winner then gets to represent South Africa in the Ms Universe pageant in Miami,” continued Farzana and Rosa.
Proud semi-finalist on this journey is Sandra Da Mata. When asked how she got into pageantry, she answered, “My first pageant entry about five years ago was made on my behalf by one of my best friends, Tshepiso. She entered me into the auditions for the Ms CurvyBbody SA pageant. My best friend said to me ‘Why don’t you stands proud and walk your talk?’. She dared me and I arrived and never expected to win Ms CurvyBody SA’s Miss Congeniality title, but I did and this opened many international platforms to give the purpose of our message some exposure and showcase the multi-cultural beauty of our country with other ladies worldwide,” explained Sandra. She has dedicated herself to the cause against gender-based violence (GBV).
“South Africa is ranked number one in the world for the highest incidents of GBV, claiming one out of three women’s lives every hour – this is not okay! For the last 15 years I have been volunteering a lot of my time to either counsel or teach our youth about #NoToBullying and #NotoBodyshaming and #StopGBV and it was a turning point for me. I never entered to win, but rather to use this platform to call out societal ills within our communities and encourage education and support, especially amongst our vulnerable communities who need a voice.”
She continued to say that in all her projects she always encouraged a support back-up of a brotherhood of real men who will stand up with their sisterhood to help them protect each other, especially the many abused children Sandra as a qualified trauma counsellor and ICF life coach sees on a daily basis.
“I am a firm believer that, as Madiba said it best, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon’ anyone can have to empower themselves and those around them. I have a strong passion for learning and to develop others, and live by the motto ‘pay it forward – each one teaches ten!’ My intensive research for my thesis on GBV kept showing that the lack of knowledge/ awareness of what constitutes GBV or rage was a key variable impacting the empowerment of individuals to stand up and speak out,” Sandra explained.
“As a semi-finalist in the Ms Royal International Pageant, #Project Rage is the NPO chosen for this year’s entrants to support. I entered the pageant because #Project Rage is very dear to my heart, being a GBV activist myself.”
#ProjectRage is an initiative founded by Mark Ramsing with a strategic plan to implement tangible solutions to ensure proactive and supportive interventions that will break the cycle of GBV, and related aspects that are destroying the very fabric of our society. Sandra explained that females matter and males must take the responsibility to protect every one of them. Their aim is to partner with as many organisations as they can so that they make the best impact they can.
This is just one facet of Sandra’s life – she explained that she is a passionate Portuguese and Spanish lover of life. “I grew up in Johannesburg and have had the blessing of lecturing in over 27 countries outside of Africa. My community projects also earned me an invite to present at the Harvard University’s Publishing School in Boston, USA in 2019. I want to set up global networks and sisterhoods that will join me as I ‘Rise Up, Crown Up and Praise Up’ in unity as we demand an end to GBV. If I win this, I would use this platform to hold our country’s heads accountable to implement the National Strategic Plan to fight GBV. Consequence management towards offenders is almost non-existent in this country and this is unacceptable. I would be the first ‘Latino girl’ from South Africa to put up her hand to assist the United Nations in addressing its sustainable goals for the future – number five of the 17 goals identified by the UN is to end gender inequality.”
To vote for Sandra De Mata follow her on either Facebook or Instagram under Ms Royal International Pageant Entrant: Sandra Da Mata or on their Facebook pages – Ms Royal International Pageant and #Project Rage.
