Qhawekazi Mazaleni Makes Spring Day Memorable with Kids

Miss South Africa 2025 Qhawekazi Mazaleni welcomed the new month of September in a memorable way as she spent the day with children at Alexandra’s Third Avenue Children’s Library.

The beauty queen traded her usual glamorous appearances for a fun-filled day centred around books, literacy and plenty of laughter. Qhawekazi joined schoolchildren at the library for activities that combined learning with play, showing that reading can be both meaningful and enjoyable.

As part of the day’s activities, Qhawekazi played cricket with the children before reading them a book. The choice of story was particularly fitting, as the children read Yes Yanga by local South African author Refiloe Moahloli, a story centred around cricket.

Qhawekazi reflected on the importance of making reading engaging for young children as she marked the beginning of National Book Week and looked ahead to the International Day of Literacy, as proclaimed by UNESCO.

“Day one of National Book Week leading up to the International Day of Literacy as proclaimed by @unesco! We kicked off our first day yesterday at Alexandra’s Third Avenue Children’s Library with a reading of our own local South African story: Yes Yanga by @refiloemoahloli

Building literacy in our country requires us to make reading engaging and meaningful for children, it makes the greatest difference. Reading a book centred around cricket followed by a quick game also helped cement the story in our minds

And of course, it was spring day so naturally I got soaked.”

The final part of the celebration proved to be one of the most entertaining moments of the day. In keeping with the tradition of welcoming Spring Day by pouring water over one another, the children grabbed buckets of water and soaked Qhawekazi from head to toe.

Rather than running away from the fun, Qhawekazi smiled and laughed alongside the children as they drenched her with water. The playful moment was captured on video and showed a different side of the Miss South Africa 2025 titleholder.

Beyond the Spring Day celebrations, Qhawekazi used the opportunity to highlight the importance of literacy and cultivating a love for books among children. She believes that reading “unlocks the ability to dream and learn”.

Her visit demonstrated how reading can be made inclusive and engaging when children are given opportunities to connect stories with activities they already enjoy. By combining a cricket-themed book with an actual game, Qhawekazi helped turn the words on the pages into an experience the children could enjoy and remember.