In the heart of the vibrant Durban South Basin community, a new sound has broken through the airwaves, bringing with it the promise of unity, diversity, and shared experiences - say hello to Happy Valley Radio.
The online radio station has been in the works for three years and officially went live last month.
Speaking to IOL, Happy Valley's Faime Weaich said the online radio station allowing people to tune in from wherever they are.
"Its a platform created for like-minded people from within the Durban South Basin to showcase their talent. We want to give experience to young people who aspire to get into commercial radio, television, movies and the entertainment industry," he said.
Weaich said the area of the Durban South, particularly Wentworth has unique taste in music that mainstream or commercial radio stations don't cater to.
"Happy Valley Radio will also serve as a tool to engage with the community and give alerts on crime hot spots, educate listeners about financial literacy and politics as well as social ills that plague our communities on a daily basis. While it's a radio station about good music, it's also educational and we have something for everyone," he said.
Why the name Happy Valley Radio? Weaich said the name choice was symbolic and personal.
"The name Happy Valley is actually from a specific area which pre-dates the 1957 group areas act introduced by the apartheid government. My grandparents lived in the Clairwood like so many other Coloured families and moved to Happy Valley," he explained.
"When we would gather to my grandparents’ home for family lunch which was often happened on a Sunday, they would often talk about the good old days and often mention Happy Valley and the shanty houses. So I wanted to bring the good old memories back to the current demographic we live in today,“ he said.
He added that while brainstorming ideas for the name, because of where the radio station is located, he wanted a name that was inclusive of all the communities within the Durban South Basin.
“All these communities stood together during the 2021 looting so we wanted something inclusive and we didn’t want to single out name as we want to grow beyond the community,” Weaich said.
The station features shows in different timeslots throughout the day and is physically situated in Wentworth.
IOL