The North West Department of Education MEC DR Desbo Mohono, has congratulated Warona Setsome a 10 year-old Grade 5 learner from R.B. Dithupe Primary School in Welvedagt Township, near Zeerust, on being crowned as the 1st Princess Little Miss Universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warona received the prestigious title at the Little Miss Universe pageant held in the Philippines on Wednesday, 19 August 2026.Warona only started modelling in 2025 and within a very short space of time she has had the opportunity to walk for international fashion shows and designers, participate in events, develop her skills as a motivational speaker to children, and became a host and young public figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kedijang Hendrietta Setsome, who is Warona\u2019s mother and manager, highlighted how she saw her daughter\u2019s interest in modelling and supported her dream.\u201cWhat started as a young girl\u2019s interest in modelling has grown into something much bigger. I saw her potential and decided to nurture it, supported her and gave her every opportunity to grow. As her manager, I have had the privilege of walking alongside her, prepared her and watched her develop not only as a model, but also as a confident young girl who understands the importance of using her voice and platform positively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe journey to Little Miss Universe was not easy. Warona became unwell during the competition, but despite not feeling her best, she showed incredible determination. She continued to participate and represented herself, her family, the North West and South Africa with grace, discipline and commitment. She gave every activity her absolute best and carried herself with such strength and professionalism. Watching her push through those difficult moments and still perform at her best is something that made me even more proud of her,\u201d added Ms Setsome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MEC for Education, Dr Desbo Mohono commended Warona for this outstanding achievement, describing it as a source of pride for her family, school, community and the North West Province.\u201cWarona\u2019s achievement is a testament to the talent, determination and potential of young people in our province. We are extremely proud of her for representing the North West and South Africa with distinction on an international stage. Last month, we had Mbulelo Tolom from Klerksdorp, who represented the North West and the entire country in the Spelling Bee competition held in China, where he obtained sixth position. This achievement shows that this province has talent that can conquer the world in different areas.\u201cOn behalf of the North West Department of Education, I extend our warmest congratulations to Warona. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
May this achievement inspire her to continue pursuing her dreams and encourage other young learners to believe in themselves and strive for excellence,\u201d MEC Dr Mohono said.Dr Mohono further congratulated Warona\u2019s parents, teachers and everyone who supported her throughout her journey, noting that their encouragement and commitment played an important role in helping her reach this significant milestone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The North West Department of Education wishes Warona continued success as she carries the title of 1st Princess at Little Miss Universe and looks forward to celebrating many more achievements throughout her journey ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The North West Department of Education MEC DR Desbo Mohono, has congratulated Warona Setsome a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-banner"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook.jpg",1080,1405,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook-231x300.jpg",231,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook-768x999.jpg",640,833,true],"large":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook-787x1024.jpg",640,833,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook.jpg",1080,1405,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook.jpg",1080,1405,false],"chromenews-featured":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook-1024x1332.jpg",1024,1332,true],"chromenews-large":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"chromenews-medium":["https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot_20260826_223416_Facebook-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Masego Senosi","author_link":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/author\/msenosi\/"},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1130,"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1129\/revisions\/1130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northwestunlocked.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}