daniel chigunwe
Munya Chimanye Youth Interactive Correspondent
Many of the truly beautiful songs of recent decades, from which we can easily relate to the emotions of an artist, have a causality: artists who write poignant music are more often than not navigating the emotions of which they write.
This is no different for young Chinhoyi resident Evi Pio, 15, whose life and dreams alike have been put on hold by illness.
Evi was born in Chinhoyi Hospital on 14 December 2006 to Nomatter Sitima and Edward Pio who both welcomed their first child with open arms and excitement for the infinite possibilities that face a newborn as he begins to manoeuvre life.
His early life was shared between Chinhoyi and Harare, where Edward Pio works as a tailor, .
As a sickly child, Evi went to school as any child his age would do, acquiring the requisite knowledge and showing a passion for mathematics from an early age.
The most significant year of his life was to come in 2017, where he would first develop a passion for music, receiving the opportunity to be in a studio and record his songs, and subsequently it would be the year in which he would first fall seriously ill.
The doctors at Chinhoyi hospital informed Evi and his father Edward that the condition which the young boy suffered from was something beyond their level of expertise, and so Edward began raising funds to see a specialist idoctor in Harare.
At this time, Evi was 11 years-old, but for his age, he would not let his illnessovercome his dreams.
In 2018, Evi was taken to Harare and he was referred to Parirenyatwa Hospital amid hope for a cure to his ailment.
Unbeknown to both him and his father, this would be the first of many visits the young boy was set to make to the doctors rooms.
The diagnosis confirmed rheumatic heart disease for which Parirenyatwa doctors would prescribe several medicines to stop the infection from spreading and to treat his weak heart.
Although suffering from a weak heart, Evi Pio bravely charged forward in the pursuit of the life he wanted for himself;.
However, due to his illness and continual visits to the doctor, his education had to be put on hold until he was well enough.
That day that he was strong enough to return to school full time would never truly come, setting him back in his schooling by years.
His music, however, never stopped.
Between the years of 2017 and 2021, Evi would record up to 20 songs and release eight of them.
The eight songs that he has released are on his first album entitled “NDIRIKUBVIRA”, launched this month under his pen name, Levy D.
In many instances medicine, sometimes for the rest of one’s life, has been enough to treat a person infected with rheumatic heart disease. However, in the case of Evi Pio, 2021 showed him and those that he cares for that the truth for him would be more bleak than that.
Evi now requires to undergoheart surgery.
Coming from a lower-middle class family, options for a surgery of such nature are far from affordable, but that does not mean that the family has lost hope.
After suggestions from the doctors at Parirenyatwa, Evi’s father consulted a hospital in India called Fortis Escorts Heart Institute which needs about US$15 000 to treat his son.
Edward started a Facebook page to spread word of his plight and started a campaign on Zimbabwe’s leading fund-sourcing website Fund4Crowd.
Although the odds are most definitely steep, Edward and Evi are hopeful that through the generosity of the people of Zimbabwe and citizens of the world, Evi’s promising life will take off again.
For more information about Evi’s condition and his fundraising campaign, visit his Facebook page Evi Pio: Surgery to Save a Life.
Online Reporter