Johanna is a quietly confident woman
"I remember when I was young my father had a passionate love for radio. He'd even play his radio on his bicycle as he cycled everywhere," recalls Johanna Chauke
LIMPOPO – Johanna (26), a Giyani Community Radio (GCR FM) newsreader and anchor, credits her late father, Solomon Chauke for being the original seed planter who, unknowingly at the time, nurtured a passion for radio in her.
This is not all his daughter is grateful to him for – she acknowledges that her father’s love for reading contributed extensively to her own.
Johanna, a soft spoken, petite woman, realised that in order to combine her two interests, journalism would have to be the career choice for her.
When GCR FM opened in 2014, Johanna, with her quiet confidence, was one of the newsreaders whose style and voice attracted listeners.
Johanna, a graduate of the University of Venda (Univen), had some prior experience in working for radio after she worked at Musina FM and Univen FM. Her proficiency in terms of language usage exceeds her years and alerts anyone listening that she is passionate about her work and reads a lot of Xitsonga literature, which is one of her favourite hobbies.
Johanna lists the likes of F.A. Thuketana and Freddy Rikhotso as some of the authors whose works make up her book collection.
She has big dreams: to have her own Xitsonga magazine and to work for a national broadcaster.
She also believes her other calling – to be a teacher – is one she is greatly suited to. With the current hours she keeps on radio, she sees how it will be possible to combine that with her future role as a teacher.
Johanna is a woman of few words but she is not just paying lip service when it comes to teaching. She is studying towards a post-graduate certificate in teaching and hopes one day she can help a child by instilling in the child the same confidence her father instilled in her.
