By Agreement Mabunda
GAVAZA VILLAGE- Ndavi Nokeri (23) from Gavaza Village is making waves in the world of beauty pageant especially being the only one from Limpopo province being selected to the top 10 of Miss South Africa beauty pageant.
Nokeri is the last-born child of Pastor Betty and Moses Nokeri from God’s Grace Ministry’s
Nokeri started her school journey at Rhandza Cence and proceeded to Laerskool Tzaneen before matriculating at Hoerskool Ben Vorster High School.
She is a university of Pretoria graduate with a degree in BCom and Management Investment.
She started her modelling when she was five years old and has so far accumulated beauty titles namely, Miss Vossie and Miss Jozi Pageant. She mentioned that her father encouraged her to enter the pageants after he saw it as an incredible chance for her.
Miss SA top 10 finalist said that everyone believed in her when she won the Miss Jozi Pageant and urged her to compete in the Miss SA Pageant.
“When I realized that I want to be part of Miss SA Pageant, I was very intentional about living a life and becoming a woman who would be ready for such a platform and for me that means serving my community, putting myself in leadership spaces, putting myself in comfortable positions where I will have to stretch myself and become the better version of myself”, Nokeri explained.
She first sent a video upon entering the competition then following that, the public was asked to vote for the top ten.
“I was so honoured that I won public vote and that i have my whole province and everybody else supporting me on this journey”, said Nokeri.
The young model became involved in the pageant under the strongest effect of several things such as the children or rather learners from affluent schools and homes, to help them fill in the gaps and achieve their objectives and positions that they are unable to achieve, as well as to educate them. Secondly, there was her family and allies who believed in her.
“It is really encouraging for me to have family and supporters who votes and getting encouraging messages from them”, she said.
She said that the most essential thing she has accomplished is the countdown from Top 30 to Top 10 and going through interviews until she reached Top 10.
“Putting myself out there and pouring out my heart and answering whatever they were asking me really took a lot of courage and bravery. Thus, I am really proud of myself for steeping outside of my comfort zone”, said Nokeri.
Amongst other things she mentioned that she also participates in community charity programs. She is involved in a number of non-profit organizations. One of them being DYTA which is aimed towards the younger generation. The NPO’s primary goal is to offer knowledge to underserved schools. The second being ABC Community, which focuses on bringing women together to address various concerns that youth and South Africa as a country is faced with.
She is specifically interested in youth unemployment, where they are attempting to develop long-term solutions to the problem.
“As we commemorate Youth Month, we emphasize investing in youth and encouraging them to be well-rounded leaders for future generations.”
She said that she is currently working on establishing her own NPO that will focus on offering resources to students from disadvantaged communities.
“I want to be the window to their future and to create the space for them to see that there is so much more that the world can offer “, declared Nokeri.
When asked to advice young people she said, “If you have a big dream, be brave enough to take the first step because that one step can take you to the next step of your dream to come true”.
The top 10 ladies vying for the coveted title of Miss South Africa 2022 are Anarzade Omar, Ayanda Thabethe, Itumeleng Parage, Keaoleboga Nkashe, Lebogang Mahlangu, Luvé Meyer, Luyanda Zuma, Ndavi Nokeri, Pearl Ntshehi, and Tasmyn Jack.
Reigning Miss South Africa 2021 and Miss Supranational 2022, Lalela Mswane will crown her successor during a live event at Sun International’s SunBet Arena at Time Square on Saturday. The event will also be broadcast live from 18:30 on M-Net (DStv 101), Mzansi Magic (DStv 161), and the Miss South Africa app.
Tickets for the highly-anticipated finale can be bought through the Miss South Africa app and website as well as Ticketmaster.
General access tickets cost from R250 to R450, while VIP tickets are R1 500 and include a glamourous red-carpet and pre-event celebration.
The entertainment for the evening includes performances from award-winning rappers Nadia Nakai and Rouge, multi-award-winning performer Makhadzi, businesswoman, actor, and reality TV star Boity, and DJ and producer Heavy K.
Please vote for Ndavi for Top 5 Miss SA at Miss SA App.
