Orangeburg resident JoAnna Ward willingly deprived herself of the creature comforts most of us take for granted -- a cozy house, plenty of hot food, television -- for a chance at winning $1 million.

She willingly traveled all the way down to the steamy South American jungle to compete on CBS-TV's latest incarnation of the hit reality show, "Survivor: The Amazon."

While the Jaburu Tribe was mired in bickering and gossip, JoAnna was the motivator -- singing, fishing, laboring and exhorting.

"You were so strong, so powerful, up at the crack of dawn every morning, working so hard, trying to pull your tribe with you," host Harry Smith observed Friday morning on CBS-TV's "The Early Show."

"And in the end," he added, "it was not the strongest who survived."

The other contestants "saw you as a real threat," Smith observed.

"Yes, that's the nature of the game for 'Survivor' ... to get rid of the person who's going to threaten you," JoAnna replied. It was the first news media interview she has been allowed to give since becoming a competitor.

"Amazon" began with eight men and eight women. JoAnna was the fourth contestant to be voted off, following Ryan Aiken, Janet Koth and Daniel Lue.

At the tribal council on Day 12 of the jungle odyssey, the women voted to oust JoAnna rather than an ailing Shawna, who had all but begged to be sent home. The episode aired Thursday night.

"I knew it was between me and Shawna, because I didn't form any alliances with the majority of the tribe," JoAnna said.

"Perhaps" that had been a tactical mistake, she acknowledged, but "some of the people in the tribe didn't have the same standards, philosophies about the game," and she was uncompromising.

JoAnna took along to the jungle a photograph of her late mother to remind herself of what her mother had taught her: "Don't lose your standards. Always have your character. Always have your integrity."

Sacrificing those character traits would have been too great a price to pay for success on the show. "Sometimes when you lose you really win, and sometimes when you win you really lose," she said.

Smith said the shows suggested a "nasty" rivalry had arisen between the older women and the younger women.

JoAnna said the rift in the Jaburu Tribe was not as much about age as "different philosophies about the game."

"A lot of them were there for other reasons, like 'I'm beautiful, I want to show the world my body' type of idea, and I just couldn't buy into that," she said.

In the third episode, some of the younger contestants preened in a topless bathing scene. Certain anatomical features were electronically fuzzed out for viewing by a family audience.

JoAnna was absent from that scene, but on several other occasions made no secret of her devotion to Christianity, which sometimes created friction with her teammates.

"Do you think your faith may have cost you last night?" Smith asked.

"Oh, no, not at all," JoAnna replied. "I represented the person that I am and the faith that I have. ... What you saw in the game is what I do in life."

JoAnna impressed a caller to the show from Simpsonville. "I just thank God for your strength," she said. "You've quoted that at the end of every trial there is a reward. What do you consider your reward after being voted off last night?"

"I know there are younger ladies watching this show," JoAnna replied, "and I want them to know that you can be beautiful, you can be strong, you can carry yourself well, and outside of Survivor, there is life and you can be successful in life, and I consider myself very successful."

JoAnna is the "baby sister" in a large family, said her sister, Gwen. "She keeps us motivated, keeps us going, keeps our minds straight. We love her!"

"You are so beautiful and so elegant," said a third caller. "You have made black women around the world so proud and provided such a positive image for girls of color. Thank you!"

"Hallelujah, O glory! Hallelujah, amen!" -- sung by JoAnna Ward as she made her entrance on CBS-TV's "Early Show" and at various times during "Survivor: The Amazon."

T&D Staff Writer Lee Hendren can be reached by e-mail at lhendren@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5552.

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