• Education

For the love of giving

Justicia Shipena



Kelly-Ann Basson is a grade 7 learner at Windhoek Gymnasium Private School. She is the only child of Bradley and Imelda Basson.

Basson was crowned Miss Pre-Teen Namibia on 1 September. Apart from modelling, her interests include playing netball, dancing and art.

Basson has been in the modelling industry for three years and 2018 marked the first year she entered a pageant.

“I love beauty and fashion and admire ladies with confidence, since it helps with building my own self-esteem,” she said.

Basson is also an ambassador of #BeFree youth movement, which is run by the Office of the First Lady. The aim of this movement is to empower young people to adopt healthy behaviour that will enable them to reach their full potential.

Basson told The Zone the movement enables her to do charity projects and speak to teenagers in her age group.

She is also able to encourage them and give them love and support in terms what they’re going through and are striving to achieve in life.

She has been involved in two charity projects thus far. As part of the first project, which took place in the last week of September, she helped to raise funds at her school for the Butterfly project.

“The Butterfly project raises funds for children diagnosed with cerebral palsy who are living in very harsh conditions. The project is aimed at empowering their families to support and maintain their living conditions,” she said.

As part of her second charity project, she asked friends and family to sponsor sanitary packs for less fortunate girls.

She was able to distribute 100 of these packs through the Office of the First Lady.

This project ran during the last two weeks of October and the handing over ceremony took place on 26 October.

Basson told The Zone that art education is very vital and that she sees herself as an artist.

“I have a few family members who have a career in art and I admire their creativity and confidence,” she said.

Basson said she will only start thinking about how long she plans to be in the modelling industry after she represents Namibia at the Miss Universe pageant.

She added that some girls believe they are not good enough for the industry.

She urged girls to be good to themselves, to love themselves and believe in their individuality.

“One does not have to be part of this industry to have good self-esteem, as long as you believe in yourself and accept yourself for who you are,” she said.

As part of being a #BeFree ambassador, Basson plans to raise awareness about child safety in society, by speaking up against abuse, violence, bullying and any unfair treatment.

In order to achieve that she will speak to parents and guardians in order to urge them to help children removes these hurtful behaviours from society.

Basson said she is looking forward to the rest of her reign and hopes to make a difference in society and in the lives of teenagers, who are the country’s future leaders.