Bonalenna Moetsabatho (BM);19; is a first year student at AFDA Botswana College currently studing BA Motion Picture/Film. Apart from that he is Mr Botswana in terms of runway. In an interview with Mr Botswana we get to find out some of the things that he has done to develop his community.
TR:Hie Mr Botswana can you tell us who you are?
BM:I am a young 19 year old Motswana man from a village called Kalfontane located in the far desert -like ends of Botswana . I’m a young Ambitious, highly talented visionary person who is kind,passionate, I have high level of self esteem and I believe in God.
TR:When did you decided 'Okay' ! this is it , I'm going to compete for this pageant?
BM:Well I find myself very lucky to have received this blessing from God , the blessing of Being Mr World Botswana .I heard about the pageant from my school mate of mine ,Latisha “ she is currently doing her 4th year and i am doing my first ( at AFDA Botswana , its a film school) .
A day before auditions Latisha bumped into me at the Mall , I was all suited up and felt happy after closing a good deal with my client . She bumped into me , complimented me and asked that is the suite I would be wearing for tomorrow’s auditions ready!
I looked at her with a puzzled face and asked her “What auditions?“ she reminded me, then went on to explain why she felt i was good enough for the pageant..she did mention that i was cute and well toned body wise but she went even deeper to talk about all aspects of me ,my character, my ambition and much more .. AND FOR SOMEONE THAT HAD JUST KNOWN ME FOR CLOSE TO 4MONTHS .. this was all quite amazing ,motivating and shocking at the same time reason been she was able to see through me , know a-lot about me and connect all the dots ....
AT THAT POINT i FELT SOO MOTIVATED,
SHE HAD PUT GAS ON MY FLAMES OF AMBITION. From that point i knew i would belong to either one of the TOP 3 POSITION SLOTS ..and i had no doubt about
The following day i woke up very early to make sure i was there on time and I was the first to audition.
TR:When you were announced as the King of the pageant.How did you manage to receive the news and did you had any clue that you were the winner?
BM:Well honestly i was a bit shocked in disbelief,cause there was this other model that took part and looked way more muscular than me and had some african-ish,niggerian-ish -Botswana-ish suit that looked spectacular .. he had 2/3years experience, was over confident from the get go and had made it to the top 5 with me , so after my first and second prince 🤴🏽 were mentioned.. I legit thought his name would be mentioned next .. to my surprise “Bonalenna Moetsabatho” was the name i heard the speaker call out.
TR:What lesson did you draw from the whole competition?
BM:I learnt that life is honestly full of unexpected results or outcomes . One has to be ready for the unexpected, whether physically , mentally or emotionally .. if i wasn’t mentally ready I wouldn’t have had the courage to actually go sign up for this pageant simply because i felt i was too young and had absolutely no experience at all . If I wasn’t emotionally prepared I would have let my feelings of intimidation prevent me from performing at my level best during boot camp training, rehearsals and on the final day of the main event. Honestly speaking I felt intimidated by majority of the people i was up against because they were either models or had pageant experience plus they were all way-taller than me but their age on the other hand was a factor that didn’t bother me at all.
TR:Who is your role model in Africa?
BM:I consider Sir keitumele Masire my role model because he was a leader with vision to change the lives of others,A quoted former Us president Bill Clinton who in 1998 called Mr Masire an inspiration to all who cherish freedom"he was a man who wanted people to be given freedom in this life.He also had his own foundation (Sir keitumele Masire's foundation)which aim was to help and give back to the community. (conclusion: i also hope that during the long term run raise enough funds to start a foundation of my own that bridges the gap between social.
It will change people and the world we currently live in -in terms of equipping them with the necessary skills for them to actually work under any career path they desire and also in talent searching and exposing in oder to help them monetise their skill and enable them to earn a loving from doing what they love which will also help the Boy child into modeling industry to be recognized and been given the opportunity to live their dreams and showcase their talents.
TR:In your communities what have you done to change the lives of your surroundings?
BM:Well ‘ I advocate for kids with social ills and have have and events to raise awareness and funds for the kids through associations that deal directly with the various departments that fall under these social ills. An example of some of these associations are the BOTSWANA DOWN-SYNDROME ASSOCIATION AND AUTISM BOTSWANA as well as Hope foundation.
TR:What are your future plans?
BM:My future plans as Mr World Botswana are to see inclusion of all intellectually challenged persons in our country in all codes more especially in inclusive,specialised education and inclusive,non discriminatory work environment through my advocacy. Above all,much of my efforts shall be exerted on establishing a centre of the creative arts for these special people and have special care and training being at their disposal. In our country we have a problem with statistics and records of those children and adult individuals who are still being hidden from our eyes,we have families that are overprotective over their children and siblings who are not and may have not been enrolled on any educational platforms, so I am going to work hard to have such families and the public at large to know that these special people amongst us are able,and have capabilities of doing things that we can do and some have much greater IQ than some of us and it is through my advocacy through educational awareness that all the intellectually challenged children and adult individuals enjoy and benefit from all the rights and incentives that each and everyone of us enjoy.
TR:Besides modelling what are your other dreams that you planning to achieve?
BM:I intend on being a full time filmmaker as I enjoy creating content as well as being behind the screen working on the post production editing, i also desire to be well known for my talents , talents that I actually enjoy executing - i am a music artist and a very skilled basketball player , by the grace of God I shall be able to elevate in all these aspects .
TR:Gentleman it was nice having a conversation with you!
BM:Like wise.
By Tapiwa Rubaya
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