10 Dec 2019

Walk on with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone are the lyrics from a 1945 classic song, and they are a perfect depiction of 17-year-old Anisha Gaothuse’s confidence.

  She is all set and ready to represent the country at the prestigious Miss Teen International 2019 pageant in New Delhi, India.

The Tutume-born beauty queen has faith in her abilities and her striking beauty adds momentum to her ambitions to bring the crown home. Given the poise she exerts, victory is indeed chasing her.

She is an advocate of girls and women empowerment and has a deep interest in equipping youth to have a mindset of their own.

“This is a wonderful feeling and I am honoured to represent my country. As a young person and a Motswana girl, I believe a child is raised by the whole community and with everyone around me, supporting me, everything is going to work out!” explained Gaothuse in a casual interview on Monday.

She will be jetting off to India tomorrow to take part in the annual beauty contest for teenage girls all over the world.

Gaothuse has always had a modelling heart. She set her eyes on maintaining an impeccable career in beauty contest from a very young age.

The journey started immediately after writing her junior certificate examinations at Bonnington Junior Secondary School.

She auditioned for the closely contested Miss Teen International Botswana and was lost for words when she was finally crowned the queen last year April.

“It was such an amazing experience. After finding out I was part of the top 30 contestants I couldn’t wait for the final day,” added Gaothuse.

She went through photo-shoots and talent auditions where the best six girls were chosen.

Part of the package was to come up with project presentations that would develop their communities.

Gaothuse, who exhibits unexcelled beauty, high moral and ethical standards, chose to present on gender based violence (GBV).

“As a girl child I wanted to portray how GBV affected young people. I also did a project called Light, I grew up as an extremely shy girl but throughout the years I developed a strong sense of confidence. I positively talk to people and encourage young people to do the same,” she said.

Gaothuse’s first crowd was the student community back home at Tutume McConnell College. She is extremely grateful for the positive feedback she got from pupils and how she inspires her generation.

Quizzed on her future plans outside the beauty ramp, the lanky queen wants to become a pediatrician or a pharmacologist.

Gaothuse grew up under the watchful eye of her grandmother who was a nurse. She is currently doing Form 4 at Ledumang Senior Secondary School in Gaborone. Ends