The Sunday Mail
RENOWNED arts education for development and employment organisation Chipawo recently celebrated 25 years of existence.
Chipawo was co-founded by Dr Robert McLaren, Stephen Chifunyise and Farai Gezi in 1989.
Donning their traditional green, red and yellow regalia, Chipawo children, representing different age groups from as young as three years, gathered at the College of Music to celebrate the organisation’s silver jubilee.
The event was attended by various stakeholders that have supported the organisation over the years .
Chairman of Chipawo Stephen Chifunyise highlighted that the silver jubilee celebrations are going to last for a year.
“This is the beginning of a year-long programme of celebrations to mark 25 years of Chipawo’s existence. The road has been tough but the organisation has remained resolute in planting the seed and cultivating the idea of arts education for development and employment,” he said.
Part of the celebrations included captivating entertainment programmes like drama, music, dance and displays of Chipawo’s achievements over the past 25 years.
A 10-minute documentary which summarised the success story of Chipawo from its birth to date was released.
The arts organisation, which is growing from strength-to-strength, continues to break new ground and provide a platform for youths to develop and fine-tune various talents in the arts industry.
Chipawo has nurtured talent that has gone on to conquer not only the country but the world in the two-and-half decades that it has been in existence. Names like Danai Gurira, Rute Mbangwa, Chipo Basopo (now Chipawo manager), David Chifunyise and the late mbira queen Chiwoniso Maraire quickly come to mind.
Danai is pursuing a successful career in showbiz in the United States. The Zimbabwean actress stars as Katana, the sword-wielding zombie slayer in “The Walking Dead”.
She has also scooped an Obie Award (annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artistes and groups in New York City) and other awards for writing and acting.
With visible achievements, children that constitute the organisation have had reason to value team work, hard work and ultimately Chipawo’s activities. The confidence has also been passed to parents and guardians that willingly release their kids to the organisation and support them through various means.
While others have taken up arts as full-time careers, there are some that have ventured into professions like travel and tourism through exposure. Chipawo kids participate in a number of cultural exchange programmes and festivals around the globe.
Chifunyise said the organisation had done well in supporting the Government’s thrust of youth empowerment.
“We have developed a brand of arts education programmes that not only make children learners but also teachers to their peers. Young people also manage this organisation and the concept has worked well in supporting Government empowerment programmes,” he said.
But just like any other entity in the country, the organisation has had to shrug off various challenges to keep traction. Chipawo depends mostly on donor funding and at one time had to close doors at the height of the country’s economic meltdown induced by illegal western-imposed sanctions.
And it was through the impact that they have had in society that the corporate world, embassies, parents and individuals around the world mobilised funds to get the organisation up and running again.
However, despite stamping authority in the country and around the globe, the organisation is yet to have a place of its own for their programmes (administration included).
Twenty-five years down the line, Chipawo uses rented offices in the capital and hires practice venues.
Officials from the organisation have been trying to acquire premises or land to develop, but due to the non-profit-making nature of the organisation, the plans have remained a pipe dream.
“There is no organisation without challenges. Chipawo has had its ups and downs due to the prevailing economic challenges.
“Sometimes we fail to get money to fund our activities and at one point we had to close operations. Business only resumed after we were rescued by well-wishers,” said Chipawo manager Chipo Basopo.
“Due to circumstances beyond our control, we have over the years had to downsize our staff as well as the number of children that we train due to economic challenges. It is our wish that corporates and sponsors continue financing our programmes as well as help us acquire a place of our own,” she added.
Despite the challenges, Basopo notes the organisation will keep on growing and spreading its influence.
Chipawo has an international arm, Chipawo World, which has influenced the creation of sister organisations such as Chipabo (Botswana), ChiNamibia (Namibia), Chieza (Zambia) and Chisa (South Africa).
“Our footprint is everywhere in the world, but we want to further it particularly in Africa. We need children from other countries to come and be part of Chipawo arts programmes. The idea is to have as many children as possible on board so that we help them realise their dreams through skills development,” she said.
During the silver jubilee celebrations, a number of individuals that were artistically groomed by the organisation gave testimonies.
They argue Chipawo was an eye-opener.
“It is through Chipawo that I got to visit a number of countries like Japan, China and Germany. The experience was intriguing and developed my love for tourism.
“The organisation taught us the importance of hard work and teamwork. This created a foundation for us and boosted our confidence and fighting spirit,” said travel and tourism consultant Abigal Kaja, who joined Chipawo in 1995.
The organisation has over the years demonstrated how children and young people can be effective ambassadors of the country through undertaking cultural exchange programmes and festivals in different foreign countries.
