By Seipati Thabo
Maseru –
Letsema entertainment hosted Mr. and Mrs Limkokwing at AME hall on the 12th May 2023.
Mr. and Miss Limkokwing is a beauty pageant made for students within the institute to mold the youth into bold and strong men and women of tomorrow, who are able to stand up for themselves through whatever challenges they may encounter in life. They are exposed to all necessary tools for survivals in the world be it academically or materialistically.
Seven males and eighteen females too part in the contest, showcasing their beautiful categories of attires such as; tradition seshoeshoe, evening wear, fashion and swim wear. Contents who made it to the finals had to participate in some activities; some random questions/scenarios were posed, their task was to come up with solutions to those problems which youngsters face on a regular, then judges would score their answers. The contestants showed off their impressive problem solving skills.
The host company Letsema Entertainment is an events coordinating company formed by LUCT students who are on Internship at Limkokwing Entrepreneurship Acceleration Platform (Leap). Letsema entertainment aims to host every event possible, be it birthdays, baby showers, beauty pageants, anniversaries, weddings and funerals.
Mpho Lucy Hope, a Public Relations student at Limkokwing and Letsema entertainment members said their reason for organizing such an event was to showcase the skills they acquired during their internship and prove to themselves and their mentors that they can do it, which they did. End their internship with a bam! She said they plainly hosted Mr. & Miss Limkokwing to ace the project and be the best students in organizing events as young and aspiring entrepreneurs.
One of the directors of the event Emmanuel Ramalaka, a Student of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology Lesotho Campus Maseru, an honors in Broadcasting and Journalism was appointed by Letsema Entertainment to be a director of Miss and Mr. Limkokwing 2023.
He mentioned that the challenge of the event was mostly time constraints, the event was introduced to them March end which meant that they only had April to plan. “We were all under a lot of pressure, sponsorship had to be secured but thankfully the university stepped forward to provide support,” stated Ramalaka.
For an event to come to life Letsema entertainment issued out letters and emails to sponsors presenting their idea, in hope that different sponsors would buy to their idea. She concluded that their aim as Letsema Entertainment is to continue doing events, inviting people to experience timeless fun as they wish to continue with their brand beyond the school project to showcase it as a living brand not just a project.
Some other sponsors of Mr. and Mrs. Limkokwing event were Mlex beauty spar, Tia studio and STIRRER teaching platform. The sponsors showered the contestants with awards and gifts. The first runner won a birthday cakes for the upcoming birthday celebration and a cash prize of M300.00. M200.00 cash prize and a cake worth Six hundred and fifty maloti for the second runners. A cash prize of two hundred maloti for top models, full body massage, facial treatment for Mr. and Mrs Popularity, a cheque of seven hundred maloti each. A cheque of five thousand maloti was issued to Mr. and Mrs Limkokwing. Makhala Kolobe was crowned Miss Limkokwing while Reitumetse Mokone was crowned Mr. Limkokwing.
Thabile Secker the founder of TIA style studio said as a growing business they saw a need in sponsoring this event as people who will be in attendance will be the youth, which is their target market. He said the event itself was for beauty pageants, so his station deals with beauty and being part of the event felt like a must for him than anything else, as he is an expert in that department. He further said that TIA style studio is looking forward to sponsoring many upcoming beauty events to increase their clientele and grow the brand.
One of the winners; Reitumetse Mokone (25) an alumni of the Institute of Development Management (IDM) in human resource management. Currently a 4th year student of human resource management at Limkokwing. He voiced is gratitude is very and honored to be crowned Mr. Limkokwing 2023. He said it was not his first time participating in such a competition as he took part in the IDM pageant in 2019 and took home the position of 1st prince. He further thanked his support structure; his mentors; Nthabiseng Lebona and Vuyisile Thabiso who believed in him and gave him that hunger to go the extra miles. Also said he thanks Umbrella boutique as they sponsored him with the elegant suite.
To young people out there who want to go strive/ thrive to attain their dreams Mr. Limkokwing said they should put themselves out there and not shy away from challenges and pursue their dreams. He indicated that he hopes to push his dreams beyond the Mr. Limkokwing tittle, but to become Mr. Lesotho and go international to represent his country.