Miss Africa Golden queen pledges to address blood shortages
Larona Makhaiza | Tuesday January 24, 2023 06:00
The queen, who holds Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Botswana (UB) and also a doctor at Princess Marina Hospital, has proven that she is not just a pretty face but an example of beauty with brains. Speaking to the media during a meet and greet session on Thursday, the queen said she only has big plans for the country and would use her influence as Miss Africa Golden to ensure they materialise. Keutlwile said she is concerned that most patients who need blood transfusion struggle to get it due to shortage. It is said that Botswana needs about 40,000 units of blood per year but collection remains low as blood donors remain few. As a result, the queen said she intends to work closely with the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) in order to seek out more blood donors.
She said there is need for public education on blood donation in order for the NBTS to have sufficient blood in the bank. Furthermore, Keutlwile said she also wants to include school going children in her plans. “There are some students in the country who never have anyone to collect their school reports. This is something I want to assist with to try and always have someone to collect reports for these kinds of students on their behalf,” she said. As a beauty queen, Keutlwile added she intends to assist young models to reach their potentials as her success is proof that the country has the talent to win on international stage. She mentioned Tia Lekgoa who was also recently named first runner up at Miss Teen Idol World.
The queen also appealed to Batswana to always lend a helping hand to upcoming models as they have so much potential to succeed at international pageants but continue to struggle to get funding. Keutlwile said she had to fork out over P70,000 to finance her Miss Africa Golden campaign.