Six former Miss South Africa title holders will be mentoring the 12 Miss South Africa 2016 finalists ahead of this year’s Miss South Africa pageant. The former Miss South Africa winners who will offer advice and share their experiences are Bernelee Daniell (1995), Joan Ramagoshi Madibeng (2003), Sonia Raciti Oshry (1998), Thuli Sithole (2005), Yolanda Kloppers Ward (1978) and Wilma van der Bijl (1987).
The Miss South Africa mentoring program was introduced last year when 12 former title holders each mentored a finalist. However, this year all 12 will be mentored by this prestigious group.
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Miss South Africa 2005 Thuli Sithole believes the finalists will benefit from being mentored as a group: “The finalists stand a chance of learning more with everyone asking different questions. One person doesn’t have the answers to everything,” she says.
Joan Ramagoshi Madibeng, Miss South Africa 2003 adds: “Experience is a great teacher, I will certainly share my journey - before Miss SA, during and after my reign - with them. My main focus will be to remind all of them about the importance of defining their own brands now and in the future. It’s imperative to remind the potential winner that Miss SA is a full time job.”
It is a view echoed by Wilma van der Bijl (1987): “The finalists will have a pool of experience to draw from, as we all have various inputs to offer. They can also match up their personalities to who they are drawn to. They should listen to all advice but make their own decisions. There can only be one winner and part of our role will be to prepare them for this eventuality.”
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Claudia Henkel, PR Manager: Sun International says: “There are no better people able to explain what is needed to be a Miss South Africa than those who have already won the title and competed on aninternational stage. All 12 finalists will also learn valuable lessons and life skills from these six extraordinary women whose Miss South Africa title was only the start of their journey.”
Suzette van der Merwe, Managing Executive of the Cell C Foundation says: “The Miss SA mentorship programme aligns with our strategy to empower women. Cell C has already established a Girl Child Institute of Mentorship and this is simply an extension and way for women to share knowledge, offer support and encourage each other.”
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Miss South Africa, presented by Sun International in collaboration with Cell C, will take place at Carnival City on Saturday, March 19, and will be televised on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) and Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161) from 17 to 19hrs.