The pageant is held annually locally in conjunction with the Miss Independence Botswana after which a representative is sent to Limpopo, South Africa for the annual Miss Heritage Global International pageant. In an interview with Arts & Culture, she said she has worked as a coordinator for the Miss Independence and other beauty pageants and could never have imagined being crowned a queen.
However, she said the title was more than what she could have asked for to fulfil her ambitions in life. “I am forever grateful to my director Gaonyafelwe Phuti for such an opportunity. I am going to utilise my reign to contribute to culture preservation and awareness of cultural values, norms and practices by implementing my project 'Ngwao Ya Rona Boswa Jwa Bo Rraarona' which translate to mean 'Our culture is our heritage, left for us by our forefathers'. I am mainly focused on being an intermediary between my culture to my Botswana and to the rest of the world,” she said.
Kgotlaetsile also said she was mainly focused on teaching the younger generation cultural practices, values and norms derived from the saying “Lore le o jwa le sale metsi”. She added that she believes if the younger generation was taught about their cultural background, they would be able to carry on the legacy and their origins for generations to come. Meanwhile, the new beauty queen spoke about lack of financial support from the business community to enable her to prepare for the international pageantry competitions. She said her aspirations in the beauty pageant industry are for her to become a role model to many young girls.
She added that she still wished to continue with beauty pageants. “I shall be leaving Botswana for Miss Heritage Global International pageant at Limpopo, South Africa on the September 5, 2023 and I wish to invite the public to support me on this journey. My advice for aspiring queens is that they should never allow limitations life place before them to distract them from their dreams,” she stated.
