Celebrating the youth at Kruger Shalati
Youth unemployment statistics in the 2020 Labour Force Survey shows that around 8,6 million people aged 15 to 34 years are not in education and are not employed. …
The Women of Kruger Shalati: Cherise Sauerman
Cherise Sauerman
Accountant
Cherise was born and raised in Vanderbijlpark (Gauteng) and stayed with her mother in Durbanville, Cape town for about a year. After working for debt councillors, she moved onto being an accounts supervisor at Sabi Sands Wildtuin. She then heard about a vacancy at Kruger Shalati, and the rest is history. Now, Cherise and her husband, Harold, along with their two children, Zanelle (7) and Zayne (3), and a Pekingese named Peanut, have started a new life in Mpumalanga.
We had a chat with Cherise about her journey to Kruger Shalati.
“I am passionate about work, I believe that you should love what you do in order for you to feel proud of what you have achieved.”
What are some the highlights of the journey so far?
I have only been with Kruger Shalati for a short while, but my biggest highlight and what I am super excited about is learning the new systems. And even though I have not yet met most of my work colleagues, I feel like part of the team because everyone has been so welcoming.
Which aspect are you looking forward to the most about Kruger Shalati.
I am looking forward to seeing what an amazing project this is going to turn into. Working and helping to get everything up and running makes me so excited for the future of Kruger Shalati. I can’t wait to start working from site with everyone and see how everything just falls into place.
What animal in the Kruger park do you most relate to and why?
A Giraffe. When they walk around, they are always in small numbers and they always look at ease. I don’t like to socialise with a lot of people at a time, and when I do I feel drained afterwards. I also value the quietness of a room or the outdoors.
What’s your favourite colour / meal / drink / tv show / movie?
My favourite colour is green, I love butter chicken, addicted to coffee, enjoy watching Grey’s Anatomy and my favourite movie is ‘Life as we know it’.
What hidden talent do you have?
To be honest, I don’t think I have any talent, or any that I have discovered yet. My friends laugh at my jokes, but that is about it.
What causes are close to your heart?
Anything relating to women’s cancer and protecting our wildlife.
Do you have any hobbies?
Is cleaning a hobby? Just joking. I used to play golf, but can’t remember the last time I did. I listen to a lot of music (not an expert) but I just love how music and dancing feeds the soul.
“At a previous job, one of our directors enjoyed prank calling me; he would use an accent pretending to be someone else, and testing my patience with silly questions to see how I will react. So one day the phone rang and when I answered and heard a similar accent. I thought it was him, so I called him out and started laughing. The poor man had no idea who ‘Gerhard’ was or why I was laughing at him. I was so embarrassed and apologised at least five times during that phone call.”
We’re going to have to up our game at Kruger Shalati if we want to outsmart this one with pranks. We’re looking forward to the challenge.
