Miss South Africa 2023 first runner-up, Bryoni Govender, is preparing to represent Mzansi at the Miss Universe 2023 and she cannot wait to travel to Central America.
Govender will be competing against women from across the world at an event set to take place in El Salvador on November 18.
In an Instagram post shared on the Miss SA page, Govender explained how excited she is for her trip to Central America as she’s never been there before.
“One thing about me is I love travelling because when I travel, I get to experience other cultures and other communities and taste different foods, and I really love that. I have been to South America before, but I’ve never been to Central America, and I’ve never been to El Salvador, so I’m really looking forward to that.
“I read that it’s the only Central American country that’s on the Pacific Ocean, so I’m really interested to see the influence of that, meet the people, and learn about their culture and taste their food. I’ll definitely document that and show you,” she said.
What’s more exciting about her participation in the competition is that she is the first person of Indian heritage to represent the country since Miss South Africa 1997, Kerishnie Naiker, was placed in the Top 10 at the Miss Universe pageant in 1998.
“I have always believed that being different is a superpower, and becoming the second South African of Indian descent to represent our beautiful country on the international stage is a testament to that fact.
“I will be giving the competition my all and have already started extensive preparations.
“I cannot describe how excited I am to start this Miss Universe journey, and as this new chapter unfolds, I am fully committed to my support of women’s equality in South Africa.
“My advocacy is to address and remove the gaps in the progress of women’s empowerment by introducing mentorship programmes focusing on business and leadership courses, entrepreneurial and job training programmes and skills development training programmes on secondary to post-tertiary levels of education for girls and women,” said Govender.