A 15-year-old girl from Kimberley in the Northern Cape is taking part in the Miss Teen Mundial 2023 pageant in Curaçao, an island in the Caribbean Sea.

Contestants in the Miss Teen Mundial 2023 pageant. Photo: Facebook

Unamandla Vilakazi is flying the South African flag high on this island in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The pageant will run from Sunday (24/9) till Saturday (30/9). She started off in the beauty world when she was 6, and as she got older she became more passionate about pageantry as she was starting to understand what was required of her.

As Unamandla Vilakazi got older, she became passionate about pageantry. Photo: Facebook

“I have taken part in different local pageants and won some also.” She added she will do her utmost best to represent the country in the best way possible. 

Vilakazi is an advocate for education and she aims to promote quality education for more people by using her title.

She established her own foundation “Unamandla Isagoentle: a positive mind, for a positive future”. This is the foundation that has given her a platform to raise awareness about education, not only to her peers but to everyone she can reach. 

“To girls who want to compete in pageantry, I would say they must never give up, and they must stay true to themselves.”

Unamandla Vilakazi is flying the South African flag high. Photo: Facebook

The journey of being a finalist in the Miss Teen Mundial 2023 has been humbling for her, yet exciting.  As part of her philanthropic efforts, she organised a shoe drive at Dr EP Lekhela High School in Kimberley earlier this year, with the valuable support of Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul, who generously contributed 100 pairs of school shoes to the foundation.

Additionally, Sun Flamingo Casino has continued to show its support for the school shoes initiative, pledging a grand total of 400 pairs of shoes to be donated to Northern Cape learners in 2024.

OFM News/Tshehla Koteli