Helga van Niekerk

Helga van Niekerk

Helga in studio (circa 2009)
Born 5 November
Harare Zimbabwe
Occupation Radio presenter
Nationality South Africa
Spouse Mike van Niekerk
Website
www.helgavan.com

Helga van Niekerk, née Sones is a Christian writer and social media commentator. She has more than 20 years experience in radio broadcasting. She is also an advertising and fundraising consultant.[1] She presented the "Rise and Shine" show on radio CCFM for ten years before leaving to focus more on writing.

Early life

Helga was born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe. At the end of 1982, at the age of 18 she moved to Cape Town, South Africa and began a career in nursing. She received her qualification as a Registered Nurse & Midwife in 1986, and soon after met future husband, Mike van Niekerk. While raising a family she obtained a degree through UNISA in Nursing Education and Occupational Health. In 1996, with her nursing education experience, she was asked to present short programs on health issues at local radio station CCFM (Cape Community FM).

CCFM and the "Rise and Shine" show

In 1997, Helga started working more permanently at Radio CCFM heading up their advertising department. She also continued as a presenter in various time-slots ranging from the "grave-yard" shift, afternoon drive show, news reader and eventually was appointed anchor presenter for the morning "Rise and Shine" show, from Mondays to Fridays between 6 and 9am.

Helga hosted the Rise and Shine show for ten years from June 2004 to May 2014. ,[2] A BBC news article quoted her saying the following about the radio program: "When I go on air it is the most fun, friendly, busiest and most energised three hours of my day"[3]

Writing

Helga is a regular blogger, posting a photo daily since December 2009. Initially located on an iblog subdomain, her blog was moved to its own domain at the end of 2011 where it currently resides.[4] Helga's writing has also extended to writing articles on marriage, life and relationships for various websites.[5] Since moving out of broadcasting, she has become a professional blogger and copywriter.

References

  1. Kentico, A. "Telethon", Cape Town TV, December 19, 2014.
  2. Rieck, A. "Helga van Niekerk", CCFM 107.5, October 30, 2010.
  3. van Niekerk, H. , "My day in Africa", May 18, 2006.
  4. van Niekerk, H. "Helga's Blog", February 15, 2013.
  5. van Niekerk, H. "Helgavan", News 24, February 15, 2013.

External links