She entered Mrs South Africa in December 2022 and underwent a gruelling process of being shortlisted. She was then screened and invited to the casting which took place in February 2023. At the casting, the top 100 semi-finalists were selected, and she was one of them. “I related to some of the women. There were a lot of events that took place. We held a ladies’ breakfast, a golf day and had charity events that happened as well. This is not to say your personal initiatives stop - they don’t as you already leverage off a platform which already exists to further your own initiatives,” she said. In July this year, the semi-finalists’ showcase was held where they went through a judging process and the top 30 finalists were selected. She made the cut. She said a lot goes into the journey itself before the crowning. On Friday 17 November Gaelae was crowned Mrs South Africa. She owns a non-profit organisation where they assist underprivileged children with school shoes. Run by herself FOR NOW, GAELAE ASSISTS LEARNERS IN THE SOWETO REGION, WITH PLANS TO EXPAND THE INITIATIVE TO SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WITH THE HELP OF THE MY WALK FOUNDATION, ESTABLISHED BY NETCARE, GAELAE CAN DONATE OVER 500 PAIRS OF SCHOOL SHOES ANNUALLY
and her husband, the NPO, We Are Our Children’s Keeper has been running for less than a year. This, she says, is an initiative with beneficiaries who are close to her heart - children. While their main focus is on school shoes, uniforms and socks are also collected where possible to assist. For now, Gaelae assists learners in the Soweto region, with plans to expand the initiative to schools across the country. With the help of the My Walk Foundation, established by Netcare, Gaelae can donate over 500 pairs of school shoes annually, which they make from recycled hospital material such as recyclable plastic. “The most vulnerable people of our society happen to be the future generation of our society which are children. There are children from less-fortunate backgrounds where they cannot afford a pair of shoes. I try to close this gap with my NPO as we collect school shoes for the underprivileged and donate them to the needy. We can’t change everything, but you can certainly try to make that difference, however small it may be,” she said.
Tshegofatso Gaelae and her Son, Boikanyo
Tshegofatso Gaelae - at the Mrs South Africa finals ceremony
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