By Staff reporter
Evelyn Maruping, founder of Ping TV favourite’s quote is, “the opportunity you have right now is preparing you for the next best opportunity leading up to the ultimate opportunity”.
Maruping the middle child out of five siblings was born in Kimberley and raised by grandparents in Kenhardt until the age of three. Thereafter she returned to Kimberley to live with her parents. She’s a survivor of a bone marrow cancer as an infant and has been cancer-free ever since.
Evelyn knew from childhood that she was destined for greater things. Her ability to choose friends was not based on social status but people with good manners and who motivated her. Family is very important to her.
In primary to high school, she participated in extramural activities such as choir, dance and drama.
The vibrant young lady, was raised and matriculated in the dusty streets of Homevale, under difficult conditions but did not allow her situation to define her.
Money was tight after matriculating, there were no funds to further her studies. She volunteered as a Presenter for 15 months at a local radio station, a job that she enjoyed.
She honed her presentation skills by attending various workshops and short courses in Television Presenting. She was selected by the South African Scriptwriters Institute to do a two weeks Screenplay Writing Course.
Evelyn also made ends meet by working as a Sponsorship Coordinator for an NPO in Johannesburg; an Assistant Teacher at a private school in Kimberley and an Administrator at church for a community project, a position that she grew up in and ended up being a Project Manager.
In 2010 she won a National Filmmaker Competition and successfully directed a documentary in Kimberley for SABC1. Her dream finally came true, when she participated in a seven-week Television Course presented by Africa Film Drama Art (AFDA) also known as School for the Creative Economy. There were four participants from Kimberly who managed to secure bursaries to study full-time at AFDA, Cape Town. She grabbed the opportunity with both hands and graduated in 2015 with an Honors Degree in Motion Picture Medium.
In 2016 Evelyn came back to Kimberley to establish a community television station but things did not go according to her plans. She got a job as a Production Secretary in Johannesburg for a soapie called “Getroud met Rugby” but had to quit due to her mother’s illness, in July 2017 and came back home again.
Her inability to establish a Television station was a minor setback, her passion led her to start Beleef TV which was relaunched as Ping TV in 2019.
Ping TV is an online video streaming platform, created for Content producers to tell authentic South African stories in particular Northern Cape, from the barren land, arts, lifestyle, culture, languages, entertainment and any story that is worth telling.
“The video streaming platform is steadily growing and attracting people from other provinces. Individuals are also allowed to create their channels at an affordable rate” said the 34year old mother to an eleven-year-old boy.
She describes herself as inquisitive, driven, natural learner and teacher, a visionary, a loving daughter who always takes care of the family need.
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