Gadifele wins Miss RADP Botswana 2016, Matshidiso Gadifele of D’kar in the Ghanzi District has been crowned Miss Remote Area Development Programme (RADP) Botswana 2016.
The pageant held at the Botho University hall in Gaborone Botswana on the 27th of February 2016. Runner- ups are Letshepang Obiditswe of Mababe in the North West District 1st Runner up and Tshiamo Kengwegile from Mokgenene settlement in the Central District 2nd Runner-up.
The beauty pageant showcasing Botswana’s hidden gems in remote areas is organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD). The competition was initially scheduled to hold last year but was cancelled due to the unfortunate accident involving Macha Secondary School students in Kang.
When speaking at the pageant, the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Botlogile Tshireletso, said her vision was to create a pool of talented young women from communities in remote areas. She said she was looking to prove wrong, critics who held views that beauty and talent could only be found in urban Botswana. She also shared that her vision was to set a development agenda using the “power of women”, because she believes that the woman is the back bone of the nation.
The Japanese Ambassador, Ambassador Masahiro Onishi also expressed his satisfaction, stating that he was glad to know that the pageant was a youth gender empowerment initiative, that intended to, among others, facilitate talent identification, encourage behavioural change, especially among the youths in remote areas by empowering them with life skills to enable them to make informed decisions on issues affecting their lives, and also to promote inclusiveness of young women from different Botswanian settlements in mainstream society.
