adminMbongeni Msimanga Sunday Leisure Correspondent
FORMER Liyana band leader Godwell Nzou debunked the misnotion that the arts, particularly music was the preserve of the less academically gifted after he recently excelled in his academic studies in the United States under the EducationUSA’s US Student Achievers’ Program (USAP), where he emerged the best organic chemistry student in his stream.
He was at Narazeth College in the US where he was studying towards a degree in organic chemistry.
For Godwell, faith has kept him going and achieving his dreams over the years and he was given an opportunity of furthering his academic studies after he was granted a five-year fully-funded PhD scholarship in regenerative medicine.
“I emerged as the best student in organic chemistry and I was further given a fully funded five-year PhD scholarship in medicine. This means I was the best overall student in my stream and I must say it was an achievement for me,” he said.
Although he was born able bodied, tragedy struck Godwell in 2000 when he was only 10 years old after he was bitten by a venomous snake that left doctors clueless on how to heal him.
The following year his leg was amputated.
He admitted it was hard to accept his condition as to him it meant a lot of life doors had been closed but little did he know that God would open more doors for him as he has managed to excel tremendously in his academic studies.
“I was born an able bodied person in Guruve district in Mashonaland Central Province. I was however, bitten by a snake that passed some venom on my leg and it failed to heal despite several visits to doctors. At the age of 11 after it was discovered that there was nothing that could be done to solve my condition, my leg was amputated,” said Nzou.
He said it was hard but it did not shatter his dreams.
Godwell was selected among 33 other students out of over 1 000 applications on the list to study in the US. He was admitted in the scholarship programme and since then he has been pursuing his dream of studying medicine.
“I remember when we were told to apply for the scholarship, there were about 1 000 applicants. I was lucky to be one of the 33 students who were selected to be on the scholarship and for me this was an achievement. I had never thought of achieving such a feat in my life,” he said.
His achievements have not only seen him excel in the academic field, but he was also part of a jazz band that was made up of former pupils at King George VI School in Bulawayo.
Liyana members started performing together in 2004 at the King George VI School for disabled children in Bulawayo, with Godwell being the leader of the group between 2006 and 2008.
“I used to play drums for Liyana Jazz band and at that point in time; I was the leader as well,” he said.
Liyana entered their first musical competition, the Music Crossroads provincial finals in 2006 where they walked away with the first prize.
They proceeded to the national finals where they came third and earned a ticket to represent the country in the Southern African finale. They came third again and were handed an opportunity to tour countries like Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Liyana was identified and promoted by a Zimbabwean born Lady Leslie GoldWasser who ran a foundation in America that promoted cultural events through the GoldWasser Foundation.
In 2009, the band toured the United States where they performed at some of the best venues in that country.
Music by Prudence, a 2010 short documentary film, whose main subjects were the eight members of the band Liyana and was directed by Roger Ross Williams, won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).
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