Pontsho Monyetsware from Madodonga village, also known as "Poni M," has been selected as a semi-finalist in the Miss Bachelorette South Africa 2024 pageant, which will be held at Gold Reef City in Gauteng in December.
Miss Bachelorette South Africa was established in 2018 and hosted its first pageant in 2019. The pageant celebrates mature, unmarried, and independent women between the ages of 25 and 50.
Monyetsware believes that she fits the description perfectly. She is a nurse by profession who is actively involved in her community and has published two books over the past two years. She has been interviewed on various radio stations, TV shows, and newspapers. Her brand, "Poni M," aims to empower women through literature and storytelling.
Her books, targeted at women of all ages, mainly focus on the modern-day challenges that women face. Her aim is to encourage and motivate women not to give up, no matter what the circumstances in their lives might be.
"By the time I passed my matric, I was already raising two kids. I would drop them off at the crèche in the morning and go to school. It was tough, but I made a promise to myself not to ever give up on my dreams. You may be sitting in your corner of the world, thinking that it is over because of the challenges you face. Maybe you have been raped or have kids at a young age. Maybe you are single, jobless, or feel hopeless. I am here to tell you that it is not over. Keep fighting. God loves us all, and as long as you also keep fighting for your success, God will surely make a way," she says.
Monyetsware believes that by empowering themselves and becoming financially and emotionally independent, women can fight issues such as gender-based violence. "Let us empower each other as women and not bring each other down. We face the same challenges of raising children, building families, being role models, and building our careers," she says.
Monyetsware voluntarily works with a few old-age homes, for whom she collects nappies from sponsors. "I love working with the youth, but I feel that our golden oldies have been abandoned. That is why I have decided to start this project. I am looking for sponsors for both The Nappy Drive and the Miss Bachelorette pageant. My aim is to raise R5,000 towards my charity."
In her spare time, she also reads books to children as part of her drive to empower the young. "They are the future," she said.