BHARGAVA REPRESENTS BOTSWANA’S DIVERSITY
Sakshi Bhargava, 19, Motswana by birth and Indian by race, is a Francistown-raised beauty queen and philanthropist. She is proudly among the first representations of Botswana‘s diversity, particularly in the pageantry industry. Sakshi has always known Botswana to be her home and has always dreamt of representing Botswana ever since she started pageantry. Her dreams are coming to life as she recently took the Miss Global Botswana 2021 home, hence will be representing Botswana at Miss Global International 2021.
This is not Sakshi’s first time in Pageantry and not her first victory. She was crowned second Princess of Junior Miss Botswana 2016, and first Princess of Miss Teen Hope 2017. “I am still in shock that today, I can proudly say that I am Miss Global Botswana 2021. For me this is more than just a title, it’s an opportunity for me to amplify my voice. A platform in which I will be able to take Botswana to the world and I assure you that I will represent our country with utmost pride and Botho. Thank you to everyone that has helped me pave my way to today. Kealeboga.” Said Sakshi said in a post on her Facebook page.
PAGEANTRY
What made you decide to join the pageantry world?
Pageantry is something I never saw myself going into but I know that my mom was vouching for me to try it out. I did my very first pageant as a trial run in 2016 and I immediately fell in love with the pageantry industry and I have never looked back ever since.
What is your favourite part about pageantry?
The platforms I get to be on through pageantry allow me to be a role model to every young girl out there that dreams to be a model someday. I do not take this for granted and I adore the fact that I am able to mentor young girls about a passion that we all share.
Who is your favourite celebrity beauty queen and why?
Every year that a new Miss World or Miss Universe gets crowned, I always have a new favourite. For me, it’s about being able to learn something from each and every queen because they all have different experiences and knowledge to share with us. Pageantry is an industry in which there are hundreds of remarkable queens every year and I am always eager to learn from all of them.
What challenges do you face, as a beauty queen in Botswana?
I believe the biggest challenge we face is getting sponsorship/pledges to support us throughout our careers as competing in pageants is a huge investment. Pageantry in Botswana is unfortunately not at the place we wish it to be and so we have a hard time convincing stakeholders to support us.
How do you tackle these challenges?
To me, it’s all about building a brand that any entity would benefit from associating itself with and so as I grow, I try to get my brand to a point at which it would be very hard to hear a “no” from anyone.
What/who is your inspiration??
I derive my inspiration from several sources including myself.
What do you plan on doing full time?
Pageantry provided me with a platform in which I started doing community work at a very young age and I now identify as a philanthropist. It is because of this that it has become a dream of mine for the longest time ever to one day work for the United Nations to be able to make a difference in so many more lives.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of pageantry?
Honestly speaking, I don’t do much but as of late I’ve fallen in love with how great it feels to keep your body fit and be mindful of becoming the best version of yourself.
How do you handle stage anxiety?
It is very important to believe in yourself as only then will someone else be able to believe in you. I stand on every stage knowing I’m strong, I’m powerful and I can change the world. Feeding myself good thoughts helps a lot.
MISS GLOBAL BOTSWANA
Why did you decide to join the Miss Global Botswana 2021 pageantry?
The last time I competed in a pageant was in 2017 and this was because from the year 2018 till 2020, I was in the final years of high school and I wished to use all my time towards my education. From the day I joined pageantry, I always knew that one day I was going to represent Botswana on an international platform and for the past 5 years I’ve been working tirelessly to make this dream of mine come true and I’m so grateful to have gotten this opportunity.
How was the Miss Global Botswana experience for you?
It gives me great joy to be a representative of a country so diverse, beautiful, and cultured. I am excited to have been awarded this opportunity and it is one that I do not take for granted. It allows me to put Botswana on the map and I truly can’t wait.
Do you believe you will be crowned Miss Global International 2021?
I believe that I will do my best to be the first Motswana to get the Miss Global title.
ABLE HEARTS
What influenced you to set up ABLE HEARTS??
In 2017 I joined a pageant in which I had to carry out a community project as part of being a contestant and the project I chose to start was titled “Able Hearts”. From a very young age, I noticed that people faced with disabilities have always been stigmatized in society and not treated as equals. I knew that the only way change would come about in my peers is if someone their age takes a stand to educate them on how to treat people faced with disabilities equally and fairly. With all this in mind, I started the Able Hearts project under the motto “We are all equal in the fact that we are different”.
What is your organization’s mission?
The Able Hearts Foundation launched “The Dynamic Talent Show” in which we give children faced with disabilities the platform to express themselves and showcase their God-given talents through this annual talent show. We started the initiative in 2018 and have been working under it as we realized giving the children such a platform truly empowers them to focus on their talents and develop them to a point where they feel confident and comfortable performing them. In addition to this, we have been visiting junior secondary schools and educating them to treat the disabled community with equal and fair judgment.
What impact has ABLE HEARTS made since its founding date?
Since 2017 we have worked with over 200 children faced with disabilities and empowered them enough to know that they are very talented such that they now know and understand the best ways to express themselves. The most important aspect to me throughout all the years I’ve worked with the children is that I have built a strong relationship with every one of them such that whenever they see me or my team, it brings them so much joy and it warms our hearts.
What impact has it made in your life?
I never knew I would have such purpose and meaning to life such that I’d be a voice of a community that is often voiceless. It has allowed me to grow as a person and be a representation to my peers that we need to fight all the social ills that exist because no one else will. To date, I still get emotional speaking about these children who have my heart because they truly are special and I’m so lucky to have had them accept me the way they have.
Maverick Kabelo is the founder and editorial director of Africa’s Very Own Magazine. Kabelo is a business student, digital media enthusiast/entrepreneur, creative, writer and content creator. He started writing when he was just 16 after founding the magazine on Facebook.
