Keabetswe Jan on 'O Jewa Ke Eng' success: 'I’m all about helping people, that's my purpose'

“O jewa ke eng?” was a question asked by Twitter user @akreana_ at the beginning of last year. Little did she know that it would gain much traction and open many doors for others and herself.

Speaking to DRUM, Keabetswe Jan, speaks about some of her initiatives, in the form of hashtags, that she started to help people.

“There are quite a number of hashtags that I have started this year. Ranging from #KeaJobSeekers, #KeaDrive, #KeaHustler, #KeaCupid and #KeaFridayConfessions. My thought process behind #KeaDrive was that I wanted to get people followers. I don’t want to be the only one who flourishes. There are so many opportunities that people with a lot of followers get. For example, influencing; you get to work with brands. Brands are looking for people who have many followers because they want a large audience to sell their products to. I also wanted the hashtag to create traffic. This would make it so much easier when I have to post about something important or creating awareness around a serious matter," she says.

For #KeaJobSeekers, I saw that there are so many posts about unemployment under my “O Jewa Ke Eng” tweet. It ranges from people who have qualifications to people who have only studied. It makes you wonder, “why are we studying? What are we studying for?” The reason why I started the hashtag was to help people post their qualifications, making it easier for employers to scout them. It has worked out quite well; there are a number of people who have gotten jobs through #KeaJobSeekers and my pinned tweet “o jewa ke eng” itself.

When it comes to #KeaHustler; it’s one thing posting about vacancies and it’s one thing seeking employment. There are people that are fending for themselves, there are people that are hustling, and I saw this as an opportunity to get people to promote their businesses.”

Keabetswe mentioned how all of the hashtags, that she has created, are an extension of her “O Jewa Ke Eng” tweet.

“O Jewa Ke Eng was never planned but because it has blown up as much as it did, I didn’t want to just start something and not finish it. All of these hashtags allude to the end goal; what I am doing and what I want to still do. I have also started a very important campaign because “O Jewa Ke Eng” turned one year old this year on the 5th of January. The ‘OJK Drive’ was to get donations for school shoes for underprivileged kids. I am very happy to say that I reached the target that I set for myself. The target was 100 school shoes. It wasn’t easy, it really wasn’t but the target was reached. The shoes were delivered to Kamohelo Primary School.”

Keabetswe also has a foundation named ‘O Jewa Ke Eng Foundation’ which is “aimed at creating a better future for the youth”. The foundation has not yet launched, nor does it have an official website, but it is in motion. More information about the work that the foundation has done can be found on their Twitter page.

“I’m all about helping people; that is my purpose. I have definitely found my purpose and I am so content with that.”