Sixteen-year-old Reabetswe “Rea” Makgale plans to use her title as the new Miss Inspirational Teen South Africa 2025 to empower her peers in the country and beyond. The teenager impressed the judges on the evening of Saturday, April 5, at Protea Hotel OR Tambo in Kempton Park and walked away with the coveted crown.
She also scooped three other titles on the night, namely Best Interview, Best Public Choice and Best Spokes Model.
The Grade 11 pupil at Hoerskool Marais Viljoen High School in Alberton, East Rand, was born in Potchefstroom, in North West.
She was raised in Diepkloof, Soweto, by her late great-grandmother and maternal grandparents while her mother was completing her legal studies.
Rea is the eldest of two daughters (her younger sister is two weeks old!). And her mom, who is an attorney, owns a high-end events management company (Decor by Lebo). The events company collaborates with various suppliers in her line of work. She used to take the young Rea along when she hosted different events, which is where Rea’s love for pageants was born.
Positive impact
The title Miss Inspirational Teen South Africa stands for empowering young women to positively impact their local and global communities through business, networking, philanthropy and relationship-building skills.
“This title comes with the responsibilities to assist my community. And I hope to broaden and impact my country at large by using my brains, communication skills, social media influencing and entrepreneurial abilities to advocate for what I am passionate about,” an excited Rea said.
She says the responsibilities align with her passion. “This is the beginning of my reign. I will be able to contribute to positive change by fostering entrepreneurship and combating unemployment among the youth,” she beamed.
Reabetswe has won a fully paid trip to represent South Africa Internationally. The finale will take place in February 2026 in the Dominican Republic. Her reign will last for a year, after which she will hand the crown over to the new queen.
Not the first pageant
For Reabetswe, this was her second pageant, the first being MTSA, where she was placed in the top 10.
On her journey to winning, she says the inspirational journey began in December 2024 where people had to vote for contestants to become finalists.
“It was quite an exciting experience because we were allocated tasks which brought us closer to understanding the pillars of the organisation. It was also a great and competitive journey as I had to put in a lot of effort. I spent sleepless nights perfecting my poise, sequence and public speaking skills. And I had the privilege of being coached by a national and an international couch. As a finalist, I went on to visit various schools, one being Fons Luminus Secondary in Soweto. There, I used my public speaking skills and motivated my peers to ‘build, believe and become’.”
Rea also uses her Instagram account to showcase her work and her life as the new queen.
Background
The Miss Inspirational pageant was established by Moises Vasquez in the US. Vazquez
founded the pageant because he wanted to see a change in the pageant industry. He is a firm believer in the quote “Create the things you wish existed”. And that’s what motivated Vasquez to create this pageant system that goes beyond beauty.
Portia Shebu was appointed as the National Director for Miss Inspirational Teen South Africa. The first edition of Miss and Mr Inspirational Teen International was in November of 2024 in Mexico. Miss Inspirational Teen Netherlands was crowned the first Miss Inspirational Teen International. And Miss Inspirational Teen South Africa, Likhona Silingile, was placed 1st runner-up.
Said Shebu: “I wish to use the Miss Inspirational Teen South Africa platform to inspire many teenagers. Miss Inspirational Teen is about empowering young women to create and meaningful change in our world. This through the use of social media and getting involved in their communities.
“We look for young women who are motivated to use their voice and become active leaders. To create awareness for a cause that they feel passionate about.
“The qualities we look for in a winner are strong leadership skill and social skills. And the ability to inspire others not only with their words but with their actions.”
