LOCAL model Mawande Qeqe (32) had done the Eastern Cape proud by making it to the finals of South Africa’s Mr Tourism 2018 pageant.
Qeqe has been taking part in pageants since he was a young boy. After matriculating in Cradock, he attended Walter Sisulu University where he was elected Mr Walter Sisulu University in 2007.
He joined Extreme Models and Promotions in Port Elizabeth in 2009 and became the face of the agency in 2016 and 2017.
Today, he is a professional model who has also appeared in several television advertisements.
Speaking about his experience so far in South Africa’s Mr Tourism pageant, he said, “I have decided to participate in this journey as I come from this historical town of Cradock that has many tourist attractions,” he said.
By taking part in the pageant, he wishes to draw the attention of people who have not heard of Cradock to come and visit the town.
Mwande wants to encourage the youth to work hard and be successful and teach them about the historical value of his home town.
He is also an ambassador for i-College in East London and in 2017 was able to hand out 50 scholarships from i-College to promising learners in the Eastern Cape. In 2016, he managed to hand out six scholarships to learners in Cradock.
“Should I win this competition, my growth as an individual and the amount of work I will be doing will expose me to more opportunities to give back to the people in Cradock,” Mwande said.
He is excited to know that this will give him a great opportunity to make a change in the lives of young people. He has already had opportunities to hand out gifts to learners in Lingelihle schools, attend certain charity events and work with children from the soup kitchen and the streets.
The finals of the Mr Tourism 2018 pageant will take place on Saturday at the Protea Hotel in Johannesburg.
Mwande thanked his sponsors, as well as Markhams, who will be dressing him for Saturday’s pageant.