Mavis Koslek
Sukoluhle Ndlovu, Midlands Correspondent
It’s her charming beauty and charismatic character that people notice at their first encounter with this rare gem.
Her pint-sized body makes her even more adorable. She is tiny but has a huge heart of gold and they say dynamites come in small packages anyway.
Her passion of music and modelling is like no other.
She is the brains behind the much hyped Midlands Music Awards and the famed Miss Gweru pageant. Her passion for the girl child led her to establish Image modelling, an agency that trains and nurtures up-and-coming models and she is none other than Mavis Koslek.
How she manages to do all that is only but a mystery, but her philosophy is simple, fearless, and ambition.
“I have so much passion for the girl child. Growing up, I always had a dream to help young girls. I believe they are vulnerable to a lot of things and as such they need to be guided. Having grown up in an orphanage I have become a strong independent woman and I help young people.
“Growing I always loved modelling, so I decided to establish a modelling agency to groom and develop models. Besides the Miss Gweru pageant, I also do Miss Kwekwe, Miss Shurugwi, Miss Redcliff, Miss Rural Midlands and Miss Parade Midlands,” she said.
She says she draws her inspiration from her role model who is none other than the Kiki Devaris.
“Kiki Devaris inspired me in this modelling industry. She was determined and very passionate. Each time I feel like throwing in the towel I always think of her and I soldier on,” she said.
On Midlands Music Awards (MMA) Koslek said it’s her dream to raise the Midlands flag high as far as music is concerned.
“I want to promote and elevate Midlands Musicians so that they become recognized music icon in Zimbabwe. MMA is a way of honouring musical excellence creativity and celebrate diversity of music in the province.
“Music is a carrier which requires good character like any other profession and it therefore should be taken serious. I encourage Midlands musicians to take music seriously,” she said.
There are a lot of challenges she encounters in the industry but she says she is determined to make it work, no matter the circumstances.
“Funding these programmes is one of my major challenges. Sometimes I go out of my way to make sure that finances needed to run the programmes are available. Of late it has improved as a number of companies have chipped in but I would be grateful if I get more sponsors. River Valley Properties, Trust Chikohora and other companies have been of great assistance.
“But beside the challenges, I can smile and say it has been about 27 years serving the Midlands province in beauty pageants and in Arts and culture,” she said.
Koslek was born and bred in Bulawayo where she attended Sacred Heart Primary School before moving to Mckeurtan Primary. She did her high school studies at Founders High School.
Koslek moved to Gweru in 1987 where she worked under the flagship of Kiki Divaris as the Miss Zimbabwe Midlands Licence holder since 1991. She founded Miss Gweru pageant in 2009 following the discontinued running of the Miss Zimbabwe Midlands preliminaries.