Anelisiwe Thibane fits like hand to glove the modern image of what those who know about these things expect of a pageant title holder. Well-spoken, more than just a pretty face, a glowing presence to be around, and, yes, a sharp head on her shoulders. “Nothing interesting about my life” she says with a flutter of modesty, “I’m always at home reading a book or cooking.”
At a sprightly 22 years of age, though, she has much to beat her chest about. Already she boasts two qualifications and is a beaming, efficient hand in her daytime employment at the Umsobomvu Municipality. Her sights are firmly set on a Master’s degree by age 24. “I want to start up my own business and mould myself into a tool the community of Colesberg can use to advance themselves.”
It is these effortless, stirring gems that must have won the judges’ favour at the recent Heritage Month beauty pageant. She chalks up the idea to send in her audition video to honouring her friend Yitho’s wishes as well as just trying her luck. “It’s one of the best journeys I’ve had to embark on” she says of her five day experience in Kimberley.
“The people that I’ve met, the places that I’d seen and also the friendships that I’ve created will forever be with me.”
Not in her wildest dreams did she foresee herself, an otherwise private person, strutting the ramp and breezing through the early stages of the competition. Then standing up there in front of that massive audience, a lopsided smile under welling eyes being crowned Miss Heritage Northern Cape.
But here we are; the young lady from Colesberg now owns the crown and is an elegant ambassador of the province’s various tribal groups. “There was one thing that I told myself. And that was if I would take the crown, definitely I would make sure that I embrace all the various tribes and cultures that are in the Northern Cape. And also celebrate the diversity we have within the province.”
Outside looking in, it is commendable that this wasn’t one of those yawning, overdone dos, where the emphasis is quite clearly on physical features and bikinis. There was a lot of scrambling around behind the scenes, the contestants sitting in for lessons and training. “It was a very beautiful experience and actually seeing each and everyone of us embracing our own cultures, our own tribes; it’s an experience that I can never forget.”
Things have not have always looked up for this beauty queen. She remembers with a sense of proud optimism how she had woefully failed the mid-year exams in Matric and how when the finals rolled by she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and told herself; “You are capable.” She passed. And that is the message she has for young boys and girls, irrespective of circumstances, to never lose sight of the fact that they are capable.