Miss Botswana opens up
Dumisani Ncube | Tuesday October 20, 2015 14:38
Mabengano, who is of mixed race, has stated that this did not kill her spirit as she laughed it off and let it slide. Social media posts and comments showed the ugly side of some people who were against Mabengano’s crowning as the queen. “I read the comments on social media and just laughed; I did not take it personal,” she laughed.
The 19-year-old touched on the issue stating that people should not generalise and come up with such beliefs because at the end of the day light skinned people or people of mixed race that win the title are Batswana.
“People will always talk, had it been Peggy or Nicole that had won they were still going to say something negative,” said the 1.75m tall model.
Mabengano stated that this generalisation is untrue as she gave examples of previous winners of various pageants that are not light-skinned, pointing at Mpule Kwelakgobe’s picture is on the wall in her office at Botswana Council of Women (BCW).
“Besides the skin colour, we share the same traits and we are all Batswana at the end of the day, regardless of how we look like”.
Mabengano, who hails from Mmadinare, stated that her high spirits will not be killed by the criticism as she is focused and preparing for the Miss World finals which are in November. “I am running up and down with the preparations and working on my project, researching, going to the gym and doing other things,” she added.
She went on to talk about how she is going to use the price money that she won at the pageant. Mabengano won a whoopingP100,000 that was handed over to her this past week.
“I am planning on doing a number of things with the money that I won.
Firstly I will put some of it in my savings account, invest on my photography equipment and share the rest with my family”.
She will be moving to her new house that was part of her price from Apex properties where she will be staying for a year.
The former Miss Phikwe All Schools queen during her high school days also opened up about her personal life and how she was raised up.
She was raised in an extended family living with a single mother who later passed away when she was only 13-years-old.
“Losing my mum at a young age made me to be a strong woman. I did not get depressed telling myself that things are the way they are because of her death, I soldiered on.” She gave credit to her aunt and family for taking care of her after her mother’s death.
Growing up in Mmadinare Mabengano said she was taught a number of family values and morals by her grandparents that have guided her to be the woman she is now.
Through the teachings she learnt from her family she has decided to work on a project titled ‘They need us’, for Miss World project. The project aims at raising and taking care of abandoned children.
While talking about her personal life, the ever-smiling Miss Botswana 2015 also mentioned that she is currently single and not dating.
“I want to establish myself first and discover who Seneo is, but time will tell. I want a man who has a vision, independent and has an authentic personality”.
Mabengano, who is a student at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology studying professional design, is passionate about art and photography, “I have a dream of opening an art gallery when I have handed over the crown”.
She is also looking forward to interacting with the public on various social networks such as Facebook and Instagram.