One On One With Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa

Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa is an award winning radio personality who is well known for her hard hitting show, one of the most balanced and insighful shows on Zim radio that always  leaves no stone unturned . Amazing, beautiful , humble and  intelligent, Ruvheneko is a role model to many young Zimbabweans and Youth Village Zimbabwe had an awesome opportunity to  swap roles with her and interview her about her career, aspirations and more!. Check out the interview below!

Q: Who is Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa, how do you best describe yourself?

A: a. I wouldn’t like to describe myself because I would simply tell you what I want you to think of me. I prefer to be a ‘what you see is what you get’ type person. I’d like to be accurately how you see me.

b. But if I MUST; I love to talk. I love to talk with people who listen too when I speak. I love to talk with people who I enjoy listening to when they speak. I forgive easily if someone is sincerely sorry. Grudges kill my soul and stifle my happiness.

Q: Did your upbringing influence your career choice at all?

A: Everyone’s upbringing is bound to influence their career choice. Mine influenced my career as a lawyer. So you can decide how successful that upbringing was in influencing my career choices! Lol

Q: Do you face any comparisons or expectations since you’re Dr Parirenyatwa’s daughter and if you do how does that make you feel?

A. I have never been compared to anyone just because I am Dr Parirenyatwa’s daughter. Expectations, yes. Anyone’s child has expectations put on them. So yes, I have expectations as the daughter of David and Choice Parirenyatwa. I am not sure what they are, but I do know that they look forward to me being successful – on whatever measure – if not more successful than my parents have been. If I was a boy I’m sure there would be a completely different set of expectations as Dr Parirenyatwa’s son. My brother is a doctor at Parirenyatwa so perhaps he’s the one to ask about expectations!

Q: Have you always been interested in media, how did radio come about?

A. Yes, I always have been interested in media. I used to read newspapers to my late grandmother and pretend I was a newsreader. I would watch the Oprah Winfrey Show and say, “I could do that!” I listened to radio and wondered what all the DJs looked like, what they were wearing, how the studio looks and how they got that job! I wanted to be a lawyer, however, but clearly my passion and interest surpassed that. I joined UCT Radio at The University of Cape Town as a talk show host and I’ve never looked back!

 Q: You did your varsity in SA, and you came back to work here in Zimbabwe when most people seem to be running away, why?

A: Most people are running away? There are more Zimbabweans in Zimbabwe than in the Diaspora- so that’s hugely inaccurate. However it is true that MANY Zimbabweans have left the country – some have run away – while others have left for many other reasons. I was very close to home during my university years so I always went back and forth between Cape Town and Zimbabwe – so much so that I never really felt like I didn’t live in Zimbabwe.

 Q: What’s was your role as a deputy chairperson of the Harare Youth Council?

A: My role was to support the chairperson and inspire ideas within the Youth Council for the betterment of the young people living in Harare.

Q: As a youth activist you showed leadership and played your part when you flew to Joburg to take part in a #stopxenophobia peaceful march after being denied one in Harare, why was it important to you to be there?

A: Let me make it clear that I did not fly to Joburg to take part in the march. I had my existing travel plans and was fortunate enough to coincide with the march. It was important for me to take part in that protest because I am able bodies, strongly against the xenophobic violence taking place and I believe in taking a stand against what is wrong. Silence for me, means you endorse it all. I am not one to be silent or to be silenced so there I was marching down the streets of Braamfontein with fear and fire ordering my steps.

Q: You’re a one of the in demand MCs in Harare, when did you start?

A: I started in 2012.

Q: What’s your dream for the Zimbabwean youth?

A: To stop depending on others for our success. To be self-sufficient and successfully so.

 Q: What drives you, where do you draw your inspiration from?

A: I am inspired by God and every story in that book I haven’t read enough of; the Bible. I believe he has so much grace and mercy on me that I owe it to him to get up every single day and be Ruvheneko. On another level, I draw my inspiration from many different sources. From the mistakes and success of others, from what I read, watch, see hear and feel.

 Q: Where would you like to see Zimbabwean radio in the next five years and are you still going to be on air?

A: I would like to hear some competition for ZiFM Stereo! I love my station (your station) and yes, I may well still be on air if you all still want me there.

Q: You’ve been nicknamed “the iron lady” of radio, what do you think of the title, do you like it?

A: Lol.

 Q: Which Zimbabwean radio or media personality do you look up to and why?

A: Rebecca Chisamba because she has managed to get Zimbabweans to open up and talk about anything and everything that would otherwise be seen as taboo. She’s original and consistent and makes me want to take my talk shows even further.

Q: Take us through your typical working day, what it’s like?

A:  My Monday – Thursday routine is like this: I’m up at 5 am for my quiet time, then I’m in the gym or on the road running by 6 am. Then I get back home to get ready for work and have breakfast. I get to work at 9 am and leave at 9 pm. The media industry is busy, unpredictable, fun and addictive!

 Q: What is the biggest misconception about you, do you make any effort to clarify or you don’t pay attention to it?

A: I pay no mind to any and all misconceptions about me. I’d rather draw attention to the truth about me than help spread the misconceptions.

Q: What does Ruvhi do to unwind, where would I find you on a Sunday afternoon?

A: I close my bedroom door, put my phones off or on silent and literally spend time with me. God is often hanging around so I’m never really ‘alone’. What I do behind that door is mine.

 Q: What’s the one rule you live by?

A: There’s always a way.

 Q: What is your message to young girls who look up to you, what is it that you know now that you would want them to know?

A: a. My message to young girls who look up to me is that they should not see me as someone inaccessible, for one. If they look up to me I would like to have more interaction with them than through a tweet or when I’m on a stage. I’d love to create a platform for them to not just ‘look UP’ to me but be side-by-side with me through this crazy thing we call life!

b. What I know now and would want them to know is that ‘nothing is that serious’. If you think that it’s the end of the world because something has happened in your life, God promised, not me, that EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY.

She’s @RuvhiPari on twitter, @ruvhipari on Instagram, and Ruvheneko on Facebook.