2015-07-15Staff Report 2 "“Growing up, I knew I was different, different in the way that I knew I was going to be great in some way.” This is how Lischen Khachas, a cheerful deejay with a catching laugh and the Equity FM radio station Manager, reminisces her childhoo. Born in 1988 in the beautiful town of Otjiwarongo, and raised between Windhoek and Otjiwarongo, Khachas is a determined woman who believes that anybody can be whoever they wish to be, all they need is to be believers and God-fearing. Ever since Khachas was young, she has always been creative although not so talkative, but also a little bit of a shy girl at the same time. For her lower education she went through four different schools since her bridge class. “This is for the fact that all of my family members wanted a piece of me and for me to stay close to them,” says Khachas. Growing up with such a vast exposure to different cultures at a young age allowed Khachas to be a diverse and to understand other an different people much better. “My major challenge growing up was the fact that I was raised by a single mother and I did not have my dad around. I remember feeling sad and wondering how it feels like when my friends at school would talk about how they are favourable to their fathers.” “Although I had my grandfather as a father figure and my uncles, it was not the same as having your very own father. I always wanted my dad to be by my side,” says Khachas. After all the childhood challenges she finally matriculated from the Concordia College in Windhoek in 2006. She then took a break for a whole year. In 2008, Khachas started doing odd jobs including waitressing and bartending at different eateries and bars around the capital to earn some incomes. “By then, I wanted to do something with my life which I was passionate about, which at the time was music since I used to perform and record my songs at the Krazzy-E Studios.” Same year, a tragedy happened when she lost her Mother to a short illness. “This really took a huge toll in my life and took long to heal,” says Khachas adding that life was just strange without her mother. As time passed by and she finally thought of life, she applied and enrolled at the College of the Arts (COTA) for Sound Engineering and Music Production. “This time, I was the only female student in my class and ended up amongst the top guys in the class. While I was still at the college, I wholeheartedly became in love with everything that has to do with media, whether it’s print media, radio or television,” she says. After trying to look for different opportunities in the media, she started doing volunteering work at the Karas Community Radio Station presenting some youth programmes and that gave her a gateway into the radio industry. In 2011 she graduated and immediately got the opportunity to work as a radio news anchor at Energy 100FM. After about three months she was promoted to Production Technician and did her own shows and co-hosted the breakfast show as well as reading news. Last year she won the Windhoek Lager Ambassador Award in the category of Arts. “I always wanted to win some kind of an award in my lifetime, but I had no idea it would be that. I was motivated and encouraged to continue to be different and unique,” says Khachas. End last year she was again offered to move back to Otjiwarongo to manage the Equity FM radio station, which she accepted. “To me this was a very big opportunity for me to grow, to learn and to lead and impart the skills and knowledge that I have gained to other people so that they can make something of their lives,” she says adding that it was also a chance for her to create a legacy for her, a chance to start something from scratch and build it up and be known and remembered as the person that was behind the success of something. “I am not done with my purpose in life; in fact I have just gotten started. I believe that I did not get this far by myself and will definitely not make it if it wasn’t for the people that have played an important role in my life. I have a six- year-old daughter whom I am raising as a single mother and she looks up in anything,” says Khachas. She intends to go back to studies next year and would like to delve into corporate communications and later on, into international relations. She is also working on her Lucious Lux brand. " 2015-07-15Staff Report 2
