As a young girl, it was always her dream to enter the Miss South Africa pageant, but she didn’t have the courage. Years later, when the opportunity came to enter the Mrs South Africa competition, she was not going to let it slide through her fingers again.
And it’s a good thing she took that leap of faith because now Natasha Booth, known as Tash Booth in Mrs South Africa pageant, is a semi-finalist in the pageant.
The 49-year-old nurse at Groote Schuur Hospital is a true example of trusting the timing of your life.
“As a young girl, I wanted to become Miss South Africa, but I didn’t have the courage at that time. When this pageant popped up, I decided to give it a try and see.
“I applied to join the Mrs South Africa programme because it teaches women to be independent and the women they were intended to be and not to be scared of what other people think of them. I want to help young women to be barrier breakers, confident, independent and a great asset to their community.”
Booth, who works in the hospital’s renal dialysis unit, explains that her dream was to enter the pageant.
When she jetted off to Gauteng last month for the pageant’s National Public Casting, she could never have imagined that she would be one of the 100 semi-finalists selected.
The Muizenberg resident explains that this was a life-changing moment.
“I knew then that my life would change for the better and that I could now be my own authentic self, a person with a purpose to help my community, especially young women who struggle with self-acceptance.”
She explains that the “real work” starts.
“It is exciting but also overwhelming. As a nurse, I work long hours, and inbetween I try and do content on social media, because that is required from us as pageants.
“But it makes me happy to know that I’ve accomplished my dream. It boosts my work performance.”
Mrs South Africa is a pageant and female empowerment programme designed to unleash participants’ hidden potential by teaching them valuable skills, such as leadership, financial competence, sponsorship management, communication, personal branding, and media management.
Joani Johnson, CEO of Mrs South Africa, said: “The goal is to take women out of their comfort zones and have them rethink who they are and what they want out of life.
“We help them face their fears, find their purpose and discover the strength and abilities they held inside all along.”
Booth explains that to excel through to the finals, she needs sponsorship.
“I also need sponsors to help me through my journey as a semi-finalist. Any donations are also welcome because I have to travel around. I am grateful for any support.”
She encouraged other women to take a leap of faith and to invest in themselves.
“It is not where you are coming from but where you are going and what you make of yourself. If you don’t get up, get dressed and get going, life is just going to pass you by. You are going to wake up one day and say why didn’t I do that. If you want something go for it, no one is going to come around for you. You must get up and do it yourself.”
Booth explains that winning the pageant would be the realisation of her “childhood dream”.
“That will be my biggest dream come true. It will be a stepping-stone into doing other exciting new things.
I want to empower women so that they can also have a sense of belonging and be the best version of themselves. My care for people drove me in the direction to enter.”
The top 30 finalists will be announced in July.
To vote SMS Tash Booth to 47587.
