“Mr Hope Photographer” wows Vuwani FM listeners

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Oriphulusa “Mr Hope Photographer” Mpfumba (25) joined Vuwani FM early this year as a volunteer but has already endeared himself to many listeners. His engaging personality has secured his popularity on the community radio station as he continues to wow listeners with his amazing voice and well-informed commentary on current affairs.

“I really want to express my appreciation to the management at Vuwani FM, who trusted me enough to offer me a stint at this community radio station, where I have now become a friend of thousands of listeners out there,” he said.

Radio has been his first love from a very young age. Only one other passion drives him. “I am known on radio as ‘Mr Hope Photographer’ because I happen to have a great passion for photography.”

Oriphulusa is inspired by long-time local Vhembe presenters such as The Real NJ Munonde and Mawelewele Masindi Musanda, who had made a name for themselves as entertainers and presenters on various radio platforms.

“I love how radio challenges me to be versatile and I also love and am amazed by the process of putting a show together,” he said. “Producing for me is like putting a puzzle into place, so that my audience can see the picture.”

He also knew exactly what he got himself into when he joined the team. “I knew that volunteering to do unpaid work for the radio station would come with financial implications on my side, but since I loved what I was getting myself into, I didn't view the financial expenditure as a loss,” he said. “I want to be groomed into a professional radio personality from the practical side where I’m trained right in the field of work.”

He has always been fascinated by the science behind radio and how it works. “I wanted to understand how a voice made it to my radio at home,” he said. “Even today, when I get behind the microphone or am just in the background as a producer, I tell myself that I am only a servant to the listeners out there, who always expect quality broadcasting.”

This young man believes that one must have other guardians, apart from one’s biological parents, too. These are the people who feature as mentors in the different spheres of life, to help one to grow as a fully functional being in society. “I really appreciate my spiritual parents, Apostle Dr Shandukani and Gloria Tshitimbi of the Hope of Faith Worship Christian Centre, who helped shape the man I am today,” he said.

He currently presents two programmes, namely Thaidzo Dzashu (airing Mondays to Fridays between 00:00-03:00) and Big Time Show (airing Fridays and Saturdays between 21:00-00:00).

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.