Yolanda Maartens Brown was born in the student town of Potchefstroom in the North West province of South Africa. Known for having one of the longest acorn lanes in the world, home of the North-West University with its High Performance Institute which was also the base for the world cup winners Spain in 2010.
Growing up in the coastal town of Richards Bay on the north coast of South Africa, she attended Richards Bay Primary and went on to matriculate from John Ross College. From a young age she has show a passion for people always wanting to make a difference. It was back then already that the stage called her and she attended private drama classes at the Ida Gartrell drama academy. Not only did she play the lead in numerous school productions she also used her talented voice and completed her grade 4 singing exam from the Trinity College of London. She received numerous awards as a singer at the Eisteddfod for singing and prose. In recent years she performed and acted in numerous theatrical performances in Bloemfontein.
This included “Liefling – die musical” for Elna van der Walt ballet school in Bloemfontein at the Sand du Plessis Theatre. (2011)
“Een kleine Lientjie” – a debut production from Anna Visser at the Free State Arts Festival (2014)
Flintstones – for Elna van der Walt ballet school in Bloemfontein at the Civic Theatre. (2014)
“Gouelokkies en die drie bere” – for PACOFS at the Wynand Mouton Theatre. (2016)
After matric she embarked on a one year Rotary International Exchange to Kleinmachnow, Berlin, Germany. Here she attended school on a daily basis, was exposed to the culture, food and heart of a European lifestyle. It was in this time that she learnt to speak German. This life changing year enabled her to grow and was invaluable in contributing to the person she is today.
Her love for languages and the year abroad motivated her to continue studying German. While studying at the North-West University, Potchefstroom campus she completed German 1, 2 and 3 as well as Business German.
She has a passion for people and has been involved in numerous events and projects in order to make a difference in her community. From being part of a team who built a house for an NGO in Potchefstroom, to giving her 67 minutes for Madiba day at the University of the Free State.
She has been the project coordinator of a sustainable development project the Girls In Risk Reduction Leadership Project based at the African Centre for Disaster Studies, for more information in this regard kindly visit the GIRRL Project button on the home page.
She is married to Charlie Brown and together with their two border collies they share a life in Bloemfontein in the Free State.
