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Langalakhe Mabena
A teacher plays a significant role in a pupil or student’s life as he/she is the main person who grooms the children and guides them accordingly so as to reach their full potential, be it academic, or talent related fields like sport and the arts.
It is also the teacher’s duty to play a parent role to children while at school as they spend most of the time together, allowing the tutor to get more insight into the psychological aspects of the child. The phrase “catch them young” has proven to be effective in gripping and mentoring children from an early age so that they become responsible people once they come of age.
A child might not be gifted academically but he/she might possess certain skills and talents that needs to be identified and groomed. One of the fine teachers who are able to identify potential and talent among children is Trevor Mawaka, a teacher at Charleston Trust primary school, located in Nkulumane, Bulawayo.
Mawaka is also an expert in the arts industry having been a performer for a while — something that qualifies him to be among great mentors who groom children into arts. It is Mawaka’s dream to see kids, especially those he grooms, to become one of the household names in the arts scene in a few years to come because he has managed to “catch them young” in perfecting their talent.
In 2021, Mawaka decided to form the Charleston Trust Primary School Choir made up of pupils from the institution, who would later charm the hearts of numerous arts enthusiasts in Zimbabwe and beyond with their various artistic presentations.
The ultimate dream of the establishment of the ensemble was that learners should ultimately grow to be artistes of note, having learnt how the arts industry works from an early stage. The choir made its debut by dropping a few singles, one of them being Son of Africa, a piece which established the young stars as a force to reckon with in the local arts industry as they have been nominated at the African Children of the Year Awards in 2022.
The annual African Children of the Year Awards are the most important initiative of the Stacey Fru Foundation that recognises works done by children aged between seven and 13 years across Africa.
For recognition, the children’s works must contribute positively to their community, country and the continent, in a bid to glorify African gifts and values and market Africa as a continent of choice.
Trevor Mawaka specially composed Son of Africa as a way of helping learners reconnect with their African roots.
“The song was composed to help learners in reconnecting with their roots. It talks about different totems. All children on the song were very instrumental in the composition of the song as we asked them to research totems of their surnames. So, after their research, we combined their efforts and the song was brought to life,” said Mawaka.
The same song also brought different opportunities to the choir as they were also invited to perform at the Let Them Trust Schools Arts Festival which was held in Domboshava.
Mawaka has got the Charleston Trust Primary School Choir nominated at the prestigious Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards (RoilBAA) but such achievements locally don’t satisfy him. He has always dreamed of creating a choir of metropolitan city proportions, and his dream came true when he visited Kenya last year in December.
His trip to Kenya saw him collaborating with Rafiki Sawa Africa, a non-governmental organisation that works with children and youth. He assembled a 30-member children’s choir called Sawa Children’s Choir, which means “all is well” in Swahili.
Mawaka was honoured to be part of this project, which aims to identify and nurture young talent in Kisumu, a city in western Kenya. He said he wants to continue inspiring and equipping children with skills and confidence that will change their lives.
“To me, art has been a calling I had to heed and I’m glad to have collaborated with Rafiki Sawa Africa for this project to identify and nurture young talent. Every chance I get to create is a blessing, I want to empower these children so much that they will be able to look back and say that project changed my life. I want to make them believe. To make them grow,” Mawaka said.
With Charleston choir, Mawaka said they were busy in the studio and people have to brace themselves for quality music that will go beyond Zimbabwe and dominate the world.
Online Reporter