First Miss Mines Zim on the cards
IN a bid to celebrate beauties in rural areas and small towns, a Miss Mines Zimbabwe pageant is being organised with interested models being invited for auditions.
The pageant, which seeks to celebrate rural life and uplift the lives of marginalised rural girls, is calling for prospective models from the ages of 17 to 24.
For Matabeleland South province, auditions will be held this Saturday ahead of the provincial finale slated for June 16 at Filabusi Business Centre.
Director of Harare-based Simuka Modeling Agency Nomsa Mpofu, who is also organiser of the event, said the winner of the provincial finale will automatically secure a slot to contest for the Miss Mines Zimbabwe whose date is yet to be unveiled.
Mpofu said the pageant, which is being held under the theme “Idayimani-Ngoda Dzacho-The Jewels”, will be sponsored by businessman, miner and aspiring Zanu-PF Member of Parliament for Insiza North, Farai Taruvinga.
“The pageant, which will consist of 16 contestants between the ages of 17-24, is meant to uplift the rural girls so that they can also be exposed to the outside world and promote their culture,” said Mpofu.
“Anyone from Filabusi and surrounding areas who never thought they could be models or ever take part in pageants will now have an opportunity to do so by coming to the auditions on June 2 at Filabusi Business Centre”.
She said the pageant also seeks to educate the girl child about reproductive health, sexual abuse, early child marriages, HIV and Aids, as well as child labour, especially considering that most of the girls’ parents and relatives survive through gold mining.
Mpofu, who is also a former model, said besides empowering rural girls, the event was also Taruvinga’s way of giving back to the community.
“For Mr Taruvinga, it’s about giving back to the community since one of the main drivers of our beauty pageant is community service and giving back”.
Taruvinga welcomed the initiative by the modelling agency saying it was not only empowering the rural girl child, but also offering those from rural areas an opportunity to experience the world of modelling.
“As a sponsor, I’m happy with initiatives by Miss Mines Zimbabwe organisers of coming to the rural areas to empower girls who despite having potential, are heavily under-represented,” he said.