Tiisetso eyes Face of Lesotho
’MAKERESEMESE LETUKA
MASERU – Self-made model and glamour girl, Tiisetso Matete, has set her eyes on the Face of Lesotho crown. The 22-year-old Tiisetso also has her dreams set on becoming a humanitarian working on social welfare related national issues, specialising on crime and criminal justice. She hails from Koalabata, in Berea.
“My love for pageantry just started in high school without anybody inspiring me; I had realised that most of the students were getting awards for performing really well academically. Since I was one of the average students at school, it made me sad because I really wanted to leave a mark at school.
“I wanted to be known for having done something great that most people were afraid of doing or did not have the confidence to do.
“So that is when I decided to compete for Miss Lesotho High School, and I made it to the Top 3 as the 2nd Runner-up,” she recalls.
She says she started doing pageantry professionally early in 2018 when she competed for Miss Maseru, this time around she was the 1st Runner-up.
Being able to compete in these pageants and always being in the top positions, Tiisetso regards as an achievement for herself but “being Miss National University of Lesotho (NUL) and Miss Intervarsity was one of the biggest achievements of my entire life.”
Tiisetso began her schooling at Katlehong Primary School in the district of Thaba-Tseka, a school level she completed at the Tshepo Christian Primary School in Maseru.
From there she moved to Lesotho High School where her love for pageantry was ignited.
In August 2018, she started her first year at National University of Lesotho and she is currently in her third year doing a BA degree in Sociology.
She adds: “Being crowned Miss Intervarsity was such a mind-blowing experience. I honestly did not expect it because all the girls I competed with were such beautiful, strong, talented candidates.
“They were all in the Top 3 in their university pageant so honestly I felt blessed to have won and that is where I got convinced that God definitely has a plan and purpose for me in this industry.”
She says pageantries have greatly boosted her confidence that she used to be so insecure about her height and hated being tall sometimes.
Also, she has become humbler than she was before because she now knows that people are looking at her.
“I know that people are watching me and some look up to me, and so I want them to always see the queen that I am even when I am not walking on stage. I am more of myself than I have ever been before I joined pageantry; I am not afraid of people seeing who I am.
“I am now comfortable with talking about myself, where I come from and the kind of family I was raised in. My friends even stop me sometimes when I am being too honest about myself or other things but I believe in honesty and living a truthful life, basically that is where pageantry has put me as a person,” she adds.
At the moment Tiisetsi has her eyes focused on competing for recognition in two of the biggest pageants in the country, being Miss Lesotho and Face of Lesotho.
“I also see myself owning two businesses one day. I want to work with social welfare and development while also specialising in crime and criminal justice” she says.
Tiisetso also owns a laundry business at school while being always busy with improving her make-up business. She adds she would also like to work with other pageants because she believes in team work as together they can make people see that pageants are worth investing in because of how the platform positively impacts their lives and communities.
Recently she has registered for Face of Lesotho so that is definitely where everyone should expect to see her soon.
“I look up to Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe 2019. This might be overrated but everything about her says queen. I have been following her journey since it started until the very end and one thing she never did was to pretend to be someone else.
“She remained herself throughout the whole journey and that is what I stand for, being myself regardless of where life has put me and being humble,” she says.
“Pageants are so much fun. We get to dress up and go for photo shoots. We become inspired to be independent, especially when it comes to learning to do our own make-up, hair and choosing the right wardrobe but, most importantly, we get to speak up on behalf of our fellow females.
“This helps because it means females will be heard and they will not be afraid of anything due, knowing that they are represented.”
“Also, when it comes to speaking up for men, I believe this gives them hope as well that even a female can stand up for a man and represent them as well regardless of their gender. I believe Lesotho can do much better when it comes to this industry; and I also believe this can be achieved only and when we show the value of pageantry and its positive impacts not only on an individual but as a country.
There are so many talented girls and boys in this country and I believe they need to show that pageants are worth investing in; our reasoning for this industry should be enough for it to be recognised,” she says.
