Raring To Go

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Lucretia Chima

Location : Gaborone

Event : Interview

No one chooses to enter the Miss World pageant with a laid back attitude unless she is Tapiwa Preston. Notwithstanding, the 19-year old Motswana beauty queen also exudes an unshakable attitude that imbues her with confidence that, come August 18, the crown of the world spectacle billed for China will be dazzling the audience from her head. Preston yearns to end Botswana’s 13-year drought of major beauty pageants crowns after Mpule Kwelagobe’s Miss Universe title in 1999.

Just two weeks in her shoes as Botswana’s Miss World representative, Preston was already receiving attention befitting a queen. She was quick, however, to note that life has never been so hectic. True, given that after the Miss World mother body unexpectedly changed pageant dates, the Botswana Council of Women (BCW) could not hold the national pageant as usual in July hence anointing Preston who was first princess last year. As such she had to hit the ground running. In the process, she was forced to suspend her studies so that she could assume duties of the queen, Karabo Sampson, who could not make it because she represented the country last year.

Preston who is a Bachelor of social sciences student, majoring in psychology and sociology at the University of Botswana (UB), would have been going for her third year next month. However, despite her busy schedule, the queen is still full of laughter, something she could not help throughout her photo shoot. She is the last born in a family of six. Her mother hails from Sebina while the father is from England. Interestingly, that she was born and bred in Gaborone has not alienated her from her culture and language.

“Nako ndi yane?” asked Preston, catching us off guard since we did not expect her to ask for time in Ikalanga. Normally, you would think Preston would struggle to string words in Setswana but the humble and result driven beauty speaks fluently. A member of the Open Baptist Church, Preston says she respects and acknowledges the efforts of her predecessors and is eager to continue where they left off. She promises to remain true to herself and represent Botswana with integrity, humility and modesty.

Botho and respect are some of her most important personal attributes. “Queens participating in Miss World are beautiful, smart and looking for an X-factor, what will set us apart is our uniqueness and individuality. I trust God will be my guide,” enthuses Preston. Taking the long journey to China and coming back home empty handed is not one of her options because as she says the sole aim of entering a competition is to win. It also goes along with the Miss World theme, “Beauty with a purpose theme”, and Preston’s mission is to raise national awareness and funds for children with learning disabilities.

Her motivation comes from the fact that while at Westhood English medium school, where she obtained her primary and secondary education, she suffered from two conditions known as Dyslexia and Dyscalculia. This means that she had difficulty matching letter combinations to specific sounds, spelling errors and punctuation. Her word decoding and reading rates were slow. “Learning difficulties make you lose interest in schooling unless with a supportive family. You can imagine a situation where a child writes the word in reverse, ‘just’ would be ‘tsuj’ and some parents become so impatient with you,” she says. To make matters worst, Preston’s handwriting was horrible. Meanwhile, a person with Dyscalculia is challenged with a basic sense of numbers and quantity hence Preston had problems understanding mathematical concepts and memorising timetables.

Luckily, she had an option not to write the Primary School Leaving Examinations and instead went to England for a year where she was treated for the condition. Despite her poor progress at primary school she performed well in high school hence enrolling with UB. “I am living testimony that there is hope for slow learners,” quips Preston with a disarming smile. Conversely, Preston is perturbed by society’s ignorance towards children with learning difficulties or slow learners, who often bear the stigma of being referred to as lazy, or having a below average IQ. Consequently, the beauty queen’s desire is to see specialised teachers employed in government schools to attend to such children, saying this will go a long way in helping the country attain its Vision 2016 pillar of an educated and informed nation. Given her love for children, Preston wants to become a pediatric psychologist. During her spare time she reads poetry, enjoys swimming and baking.

Meanwhile, Miss Botswana Committee chairperson in the BCW executive, Bogadi Nwako, says they are optimistic about Preston’s project to hold symposiums and enlighten Batswana on the problem of children with learning difficulties. Besides, Nwako says the aim of Miss Botswana pageant is not to exploit beauty queens to make money but to groom them to become role models. “We want to put stringent measures in place to curb exploitation. We want also to make sure that there are no loopholes in the contract so that no one (us and organisers) is disadvantaged,” declares Nwako. She wants to avoid a situation they encountered in the past whereby managing the queen became a nightmare given event organisers who interfered unnecessarily. As license holders BCW remain accountable for everything relating to the queen while the role of the event organiser is to hold Miss Botswana pageants only but only after paying a certain amount in advance.

However, over the years BCW has had to grapple with organisers who failed to fulfill some of their obligations. Just last year their association with 63 Entertainment was cut short after the latter failed to honour certain contractual obligations. Currently, BCW is in the process of identifying suitable event organiser to crown Preston’s successor. The chairperson is confident that the Miss Botswana pageant is still a viable project hence the number of proposals they have received from potential organisers. Meanwhile, Nwako says so far they have received support from Debswana, Kebo Beauty & Massage spa, Sminka, adcraft, DTC Botswana and Kwena Rocla to help in preparations for Miss World. However, they still need more support to make sure all the queen’s needs are met. Having chosen hope, anything is possible. ENDS

Teaser:

Taking the long journey to China and coming back home empty handed is not one of her options because, as she says, the sole aim of entering a competition is to win.