photocredit: wowelle.com"Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more." - Anthony Robbins. Such is the case of this beauty, whom you cannot mention personalities in South Africa without mentioning her name, in giving, she has become more, who is she?
Basetsana Kumalo is a South African television personality, former Miss South Africa, a media mogul, business woman and philanthropist, she is married to Romeo Kumalo, a vodacom executive and former broadcaster, with whom she has three children, the couple got married in 2000, after dating for three years.
Basetsana was born on March 29, 1974 in Soweto Johannesburg, South Africa. She came into the limelight in 1990 at age 16 when she was crowned Miss Soweto, and Miss Black South Africa. In 1994, Kumalo won Miss South Africa, making her the second black woman to win the title after Jacqui Mofokeng. In the same year, she became the first runner-up in Miss World pageant. Her Father, Philip Makgalemele, was a bus driver, he died in 2003 and her mother, Beatrice Makgalemele was a school teacher, she also died in 2006.
Basetsana started her primary school in Soweto at Thabisang Primary Schhol, but was later sent to school in Lenasia, a suburb in South of Johannesburg when Soweto schools became unstable in 1986. To keep the family going, Kumalo with her two sisters and brother spent their early years making and selling sandwiches at soccer matches every weekend.
Her initial career plan was to become a teacher after her mother, but while she was a student at the University of Venda, studying Education, her mother entered her for Miss South Africa pageant which she won. Winning Miss South Africa, took her career path to television, she started presenting for Top Billing, a lifestyle television programme, produced for SABC3 during her reign, later she went into partnership with the show's producer, Patience Stevens. The two formed Tswelopele Productions with kumalo owning a fifty-percent stake.
This became her first major move in business line, she has since gone to own businesses, Basetsana, today is the President of Business Women South Africa and one of the youngest black women directors to be part of the mainstream of the South African economy, as a result of Tswelopele merger with Union Alliance Media which got Tswelopele listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE).
With Basetsana on board, Top Billing became an instant success, its success also brought more projects to Tswelopele brand, such as the Afrikaans magazine programme Pasella on SABC2 and the Swati youth show Seskohona on SABC1, and a morning breakfast show on SABC, Expresso. In 2001, Kumalo joined Gauteng Travel Academy as a director.
The exposure she gained in the media as a beauty queen, got Kumalo endorsement deals, she was made Face of Revlon's Realistic Hair Care range for both Sub-Sahara Africa and the international market, she served as their spokesperson for five years.
Kumalo later launched her own eyewear range named 'Bassie.' Bassie is distributed in 60 stores nationwide, through Torga Optical eye care and also a clothing range, 'Stature Ladies Wear by Bassie' which was distributed in over 240 outlets in Sub-Saharan Africa through Ackerman's brand, though the brand has since been discontinued. She further launched the 'Bassie Red cosmetics textrange into Foschini stores nationwide, followed with the Bassie Gold range in 2006.
Her Charity work
Kumalo and her husband, launched the Romeo & Basetsana Kumalo Family Foundation, which focuses on developing children, specifically orphaned by AIDS and related diseases. Kumalo also joined actress Salma Hayek in the bid to eradicate neonatal and material tetanus in the world, as spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund and nappy brand Pamper's campaign to save more than 250 million infants by 2012. She has also raised money for Baragwanath Children's Hospital with Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe. Kumalo volunteers with Agang Sechaba, a project that was started in 2007 by Nomsa Ntshingila, which focuses at giving back to the townships in which they were born.
Kumalo in 2004, was voted 74th on the list of 100 Greatest South Africans in 2004, the only Miss South Africa in the list, plus other recognisable awards which puts her amongst the top personalities in South Africa, and as a fashion Icon. She was a favourite of Nelson Mandela and as such, received an honorary scholarship for Overseas Studies from him in 1994.
LESSON: We are blessed to be a blessing, and we rise by lifting others.
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