A cigar in the mouth, sitting on an electric bicycle and wearing a white jacket from the local broadcaster Ditishelmond. Hans Choufoer is a well-known figure in Helmond. And the population is completely in love with him. The Helmonders voted Choufoer to victory in the national Broadcasting Volunteer of the Year election.
On Friday, Hans was surprised at the Ditishelmond editorial office. And there was great joy when he received the prize. “I really didn’t expect to win. I’m so proud. That’s all I can achieve.”
The election was held by the NLPO, the Dutch Local Public Broadcasters Foundation. “After many years of hard work, this is the icing on the cake,” says an overjoyed Choufoer. Hans had to compete against nineteen other volunteers who had been nominated.
“I’m just going to talk to the people.”
Hans started as a volunteer in local journalism thirty years ago. He then worked for a Helmond neighborhood newspaper. Fifteen years ago he started at the local broadcaster Ditishelmond. He really enjoys going into the neighborhoods on his bike to document daily life there.
“These are stories that receive too little attention. I just go and talk to people, even if there is nothing to do,” he says. “For example, I see how they are committed to helping people who are much less fortunate. Making Christmas packages, for example.”
“I get yelled at and waved at a lot.”
Hans works long days on his electric bicycle, two of which were also stolen. “I get up at half past eight in the morning. And sometimes I don’t get home until eleven o’clock at night. Then I will edit my photos. I’m always working on it.” Sometimes it’s a bit too much of a good thing, as he admits. “I also need to rest sometimes and think about my health.”
But the cigar will always remain in the corner of Hans’ mouth. It is his hallmark and the people of Helmond call him ‘the man with the cigar’. “When I cycle somewhere with my cigar in my mouth, there are a lot of people shouting and waving at me,” says Hans proudly. “I am well known here, yes. It’s heartwarming.”
“That lady was thrown out with three children and that was it.”
Sometimes Hans sees things that stay with him. “I was recently confronted with a mother with three children who could no longer pay the rent. Then you see how her entire belongings are thrown into a container. That lady was thrown out with her three children and that was it.” That really hits home for the kind-hearted Hans.
Hans also sees misery in the center of Helmond. “More and more homeless people. Then I ask if I can take a photo. Sometimes it’s allowed. I think it is very important that attention is paid to it. I really care about that misery. And then it keeps playing in my head, what would they be like now?”
“We have too few people and a lot of work.”
The cycling reporter with the cigar was previously put in the spotlight, because he does not only work for Ditishelmond. He has also been active for the Castle Garden Concerts and Sinterklaas’ Castle for many years. For this he received the volunteer badge from the municipality.
He hopes that more attention will be paid to local broadcasting. And especially from the residents themselves. “It’s very important that we have this. But we have too few people and a lot of work. There is so much to do in the city. We sometimes have to say no and that is with a heavy heart.”