Mount Ayliff-born Thinasingalakha Nota was crowned this year’s Miss Eastern Cape – Beauty With a Purpose over the weekend.
The glamorous event was held at the The Venue@Hemingways in East London on Sunday evening.
The pageant, which is now in its fifth year, travels around the Eastern Cape to find young women who best represent Miss Eastern Cape – Beauty with a Purpose.
The top 12 participants in this year’s final got to present their community work, as well as showcase a range of clothing, to the judges and the audience.
Mechanical engineering graduate Nota wowed the judges and the audience with her community project, which focuses on animal welfare in townships. Nota says her goal is to have a vehicle in each community that can transport injured animals to places of care.
“I am still overwhelmed but I am happy I can see my hard work has paid off. It only sank in today – when I got calls and texts from people congratulating me – that I really won.”
“The most important part about Miss Eastern Cape – Beauty with a Purpose for me was the training we got before the final event.
“I will be working with the Miss Eastern Cape – Beauty with a Purpose developmental projects but I will also still focus on my animal projects.
“My ultimate dream is to open up an animal clinic”.
Pageant founder Zikhona Ngxata said: “The event has grown; we started small in everything and we are where we are today, I can see Miss Eastern Cape – Beauty with a Purpose being a prominent event in the Eastern Cape.”
Ngxata says her proudest moment was seeing the previous winners who return to present the community projects that they have developed through the Miss Eastern Cape – Beauty with a Purpose pageant...