Power to Natasha

When a community recognises the power of your words, a simple thank you will suffice.

However, for Krugersdorp News journalist Natasha Pretorius, the community wanted to thank her in a more meaningful way.

Also read: Welcome to the News, Natasha!

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Natasha was named Sports Journalist of the Year at the Gauteng Women in Sports West Rand Awards on Saturday, December 3.

This award ceremony is held annually for different regions in the province, and winners from each region compete for the Gauteng Women in Sports Award. This is a community honour.

“They take your achievements from June 2021 to August 2022 and then they look at what you’ve done,” she explained, adding that this award is not like any other because your community must nominate you in order for you to be considered for it. “I have an idea who nominated me, but I’m not sure,” she explained, smiling.

Natasha was told upon receiving the award that from June 2021 to August 2022, she was one of the journalists who wrote about women in sports before these women even achieved anything.

“They said I don’t wait for people to do big things; I help build them up,” she explained. She went on to say that she has been told she is an inspiration to young girls in the West Rand.

With a mischievous laugh and a whisper, she revealed that she is not a sports journalist before sharing her favourite woman in sport article that she had written.

“I remember when Karabo Mabilo was voted as the Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) new deputy president earlier this year which was a big achievement for a woman to be voted in as the deputy president. I remember writing a story about her and thinking I am so proud of her because I am a big supporter of women achieving big things,” she said.

She goes on to say that this was one of those stories that made her proud of the people she was writing about, and given that athletics is primarily a male-dominated sport, when women achieve things like these, they automatically inspire young women and girls, and she wanted to write the story in a way that inspires young women and girls.

Battling with cancer for two consecutive years, Natasha faced obstacles that very few people have had to face.

“I remember there were times where I had to work out of a hospital bed or times that I had to finish chemo and had to quickly do five stories to get everything done, but my biggest ‘oh yes’ moment, was when I was in the middle of my cancer fight and there was an uproar in West Village where the residents closed down the R28. I remember everyone telling me ‘No, you can’t go’, ‘You’ve just had chemo’, ‘You can’t be around people’ and I thought to myself that somebody needs to be their voice,” she explained. Nothing could stop the award winner from covering minor to major stories.

“The award reassures me that I am still doing the job, my motto that I share everywhere I go is, ‘I don’t do this work because it’s fun, but with the type of job we do, we have to do good, every story that you write, something good has to come out of it, no matter what type of story it is’ and this award showed me that I am on the right track.”

Reflecting back, Natasha explained that she wasn’t necessarily the smartest or fastest child so much so at a point in her life she thought she’d be a washout, but now her perspective on life has completely changed, “If the 16-year-old Natasha knew, I think she would have made better choices, a lot of them,” she said.

One of the wrong choices she made that ultimately turned out to be the best one, was when she decided to leave her hometown of Potchefstroom to work in Kempton Park, straight out of the countryside and deep in the city, this was a huge step for her.

“I had to choose to do this [make this move], not knowing whether it would last longer than three months, of which it didn’t – I didn’t have a place to stay but my heart said, ‘Natasha go to the city’ and I did.”

After a few years, she has become an award-winning journalist who continues to be the voice of the voiceless.

“I would like to say thank you to my whole community and the person that nominated me, in October 2022 I have officially been here [at the News] for four years. It was a rough start and wild four years, but I can honestly say I love my community with my whole heart,” said Natasha as she explains that this year was the toughest year that she has ever had in her life and that community members have supported her in ways she could have never imagined.

“They have been with me, they have prayed for me and they still believe in me, all I can say to my community and the people who nominated me is, thank you for still believing in me.”