By A Correspondent| Socialite, businesswoman, and fiancée to the late political activist Patson Dzamara, Gaudencia Velani has joined Mr and Miss Rural Zimbabwe search.

Velani is the license holder for Manicaland and Mashonaland Central Provinces.

“I am a firm believer of women empowerment and I am motivated in participating in the Miss rural exercise so that we can evince and accentuate that beauty is skin deep and it can be found deep down in the rural areas.

Through this exercise, we hope to foster change and transform permanently the lives of that King or Queen. We want the rural girl and boy child to also get equal opportunities just as their urban counterparts.

Working under the noble “indigenization and empowerment” theme, we want the program to help in creating empowerment projects that our participants will also benefit from like mining, farming, poultry, local tourism to name but a few.,” she said.

Velani is a businesswoman, gospel musician, a fashion designer who focuses on individual, industrial and corporate wear.

Miss Rural Zimbabwe was recently re-launched after a 14-year hiatus, organisers of the pageant say preparations for provincial search are at an advanced stage.

The pageant’s founder Sipho Mazibuko confirmed that national finals will be held in Zvishavane on December 22 on Unity Day.