Steven Chauke, the ‘Kick for a Million’ winner, is grateful that he grabbed the opportunity to participate in the Absa Premiership’s Woza Nazo campaign with both hands.
It’s been five months since Chauke bagged a million rand after scoring all the penalties in a shoot-out in the Woza Nazo national finals at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium during halftime of the clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Bloemfontein Celtic.
That happened after he won the provincials at Bidvest Stadium in an encounter between Bidvest Wits and AmaZulu last season, which happened to be the first game he had attended.
“I am really grateful to Absa, because since I’ve won this money, my life has changed for the better,” Chauke tells Independent Media.
“Before winning, I didn’t know where my life was heading to, but now there’s direction. At the moment, I am known nationally, and that’s all thanks to Absa.”
When it comes to ensuring that he inspires others to try their luck, he always encourages most of his friends and family to attend as many matches as possible, especially those with the Woza Nazo initiative.
About six of his loved ones attended the Baroka FC and Polokwane City encounter, and some even took part in the competition.
“I always try to show people that it’s possible to win. I always back them to go to the stadiums,” Chauke said.
“Most of my friends from Limpopo were at the Baroka and Polokwane City match, with the hope of winning the provincials.
“The funny thing about them, though, is that sometimes they’d attend an evening match with the hope of being part of the campaign, so I always try to explain that this is a daylight initiative.”
The 40-year-old father of two kids, Cashier and Carol, admits that during his evening post-meetings with the banking giants Absa, there was a fall-out between him and his wife Nomsa, who failed to understand most of these “evening talks”.
However, fast-forward to a few weeks later, Nomsa’s doubts proved to be futile after Steven had bought his first car, a Toyota Corolla in cash.
“At first, my wife didn’t understand why I had to be in and out of the house during the night,” he explained.
“She assumed that I was cheating, or worse, spending this money with other women.
“But now she can see the results of those meetings, because as we are both unemployed, we can still survive and provide for our families.”
Born in Nsavuni village in Giyani, Chauke is currently renting a back-room in Tembisa as he awaits for the finalisation of the title deed of the apartment that he’s looking to buy in Soweto.
He says that he hopes to venture into the ‘apartment rental’ business, while he’s still in search of a permanent job.
Now owning a car, movement has been easy for Chauke.
As a result, Chauke and his wife will head to FNB Stadium for their first ever Soweto Derby experience together this weekend.
He hopes his beloved Orlando Pirates team will produce a positive performance on the day against Kaizer Chiefs following a string of inconsistent results.
