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Home / Popya with Uejaa Kazondunge: Hunger, will to learn helped her grow
Popya with Uejaa Kazondunge: Hunger, will to learn helped her grow
2018-02-21Staff Report 2 Pinehas Nakaziko Windhoek-Despite achieving so much in life over the past years Uejaa Kazondunge still wants to see personal growth, achieve the highest fitness and motivate the girl child in Namibia. Born and bred in Windhoek and raised by a single mom in the dusty streets of Katutura, Groot Winkels (Big Shops), Kazondunge says her basic challenge was growing up in a women only house. But being raised by a strong, beautiful black woman taught her much and how to make it in life. She says her mom also taught her an important lesson: “If someone does you bad, don’t return the hate but treat each and every one you meet with the respect and dignity she/he deserves,” says Kazondunge. “To me I was that type of child that minded my own business. I would say an introvert, so I wasn’t very confident about being in front of people and always found it very difficult to present something in class or to a group. I never had a physical altercation –won’t know even where to start. I believe more in finding a solution rather than focusing on the problem,” she explains. Starting off as a radio presenter, Kazondunge says growing up she used to love listening to the radio, and she entered almost every competition she came across, and won a lot of prizes and always thought to herself how amazing it would be to impact peoples’ lives just by being on radio, and that’s where everything started. “I started radio back in 2005 at Katutura Community Radio (KCR), now Base FM, started with reading news and I was horrible at it but Natasha Tibinyane who was the station coordinator back then, gave me a chance to learn the art of presenting, and with the amazing crew I worked with, I learned because I wanted to prove to the critics and myself that I can do this thing called radio.” Currently a full-time employee at Shipanga Holdings as Head: Marketing, Promotions and Sponsorship, Kazondunge says she has been doing marketing for the past eight years, adding that she has certainly grown and continues to learn through this opportunity because coming from only having a radio background, she had zero experience in the corporate world. But she was hungry and willing to learn to enable herself to grow. “I had zero idea of what I was saying when I was first offered the position of marketing officer but, I said yes anyway, and made every moment in the job count.” She adds that the corporate world is certainly not for the fainthearted, as one’s got to have a thick skin to able to make it. “You need to ensure that you are relevant, innovative and remain focused on the brand’s promise,” she says. Uejaa, the brand on stage, started doing small events but the one that made people stand up recognizing her was back in 2011 when she hosted the first Namibian Annual Music awards (NAMAs), as she had zero live television presenting skills, but she was on radio at that time. “This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands, and from there on plenty more have come, major gigs and endorsements, and mainly the Pasta Polana campaigns have been nothing short of a blessing, it’s God in work.” She did her lower education at Theo Katjimune Primary, Khomasdal Primary, then Eldorado Secondary and finished at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School in 2000. “Due to my financial situation, I was only able to further my studies at university in 2013 at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), where I got my bachelor degree in journalism and communication technology in 2016, and enrolled in 2017 for my honours in communication.” She looks forward to graduating this April. Uejaa says one thing that kept her grounded and motivated is her family and her small circle of friends, who have been a great support system, adding value and quality to her life. “Don’t let their hate affect your purpose in life because you are destined for greatness, believe in your magic. Everyone is granted the same opportunities in life, what you do with them is entirely all up to you. There is enough room for everyone to win,” is her message to the youth. 2018-02-21Staff Report 2
