They would get together whilst finding ways to make a positive impact in the lives of fellow underprivileged women. When addressing the gathering at the High Tea All White event hosted at the restaurant on Saturday, former Miss Millennium 2009 Phodiso Seloilwe, said the pageantry taught her a lot. She said it was through it that she became confident in herself and was able to speak confidently before the public. She also said she was able to wear a confident smile and knew she was beautiful and had a great body. She is one of Miss Millennium founders. “One day we were sitting under a tree here with Shima Monageng (owner of Millennium Jazz Restaurant) and others enjoying music but we felt that we had to do something different, something that would attract many more elderly women and bring us together. After brainstorming a few ideas we decided to host a beauty pageant but we agreed it should be for women aged 40 and above. We wanted to do something different for the community. We started off with nothing and I am glad that our pageantry has grown immensely over the years,” she stated.
For her part, the pageantry promoter, Zenzel Hirschfield said the pageantry advocates for women of all body sizes and heights as long as they are citizens of Botswana, aged 40 years and above. She added that she was happy that they hosted a High Tea event and all the phenomenal women invited to inspire and mingle with aspiring queens together with former contestants and queens honoured the invitation. “Our pageantry aims at bringing a positive impact on the lives of Batswana women that is why this year we have adopted Ratong Women’s Shelter because they play a big role in changing the lives of fellow women. They accommodate those women who seek shelter from men because of issues of gender-based violence (GBV). When a woman knocks on their door crying for help they welcome her with open arms. They also teach women handy works and crafts to sustain themselves,” she said.
