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Mbulelo Mpofu, [email protected]

TREVOR MAWAKA is a man with a passion for music and a mission to empower children. He is the founder and director of Charleston Trust Choir, a Zimbabwean chorale group that has won accolades and recognition for its talent and creativity.

But Mawaka is not content with his achievements in his home country. He has always dreamed of creating a choir of metropolitan city proportions, and his dream has come true in an unexpected way.

Mawaka is currently in Kenya, where he is collaborating with Rafiki Sawa Africa, a non-governmental organisation that works with children and youth. He is assembling a 30-member children’s choir called Sawa Children’s Choir, which means “all is well” in Swahili.

Mawaka said he 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 inspire and equip the children with skills and confidence that will change their lives. “To me, art has been a calling I had to heed to and

I’m glad to be collaborating with Rafiki Sawa Africa for this project to identify and nurture young talent. Sawa means ‘all is well’ and so far, it has been good. 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.

Trevor Mawaka

Mawaka, who is a teacher by profession, has faced some challenges in his new environment, such as the language barrier and the cultural differences. He has a translator to help him communicate with the children, who mostly speak Swahili and Luo. He has also been learning about the local music scene, which he said is similar to Zimbabwe’s in terms of the love for urban genres.

“We are all nations that love urban genres. I spent the day at radio station hopping sampling their sounds and I can tell you we are in the same boat. We love urban sounds mixed with authentically local grooves,” Mawaka said.
Mawaka has also been making a name for himself in the Kenyan media, where he has been interviewed by several radio stations, such as Radio

Jambo, Classic 105, Milele FM, Kameme FM, 98.4 Capital FM, Radio Maisha, Nation FM, Musyi FM, Truth FM, and Image of Ramogi FM. He has been sharing his artistic vision and his experience in Kenya with the listeners.

Mawaka said he was grateful for the international recognition and appreciation he has received for his work. He said he believes that his genuine desire to empower children has opened doors for him.

“The international community is seeing and appreciating the work I do. I feel honoured. I think a genuine desire to empower children and knowing it’s all about them has opened doors for me,” Mawaka said.

Mawaka said he was excited and challenged by the project, which will test his ability to create out of his comfort zone. He said he plans to incorporate elements of Zimbabwean and Kenyan music in the songs that he will compose and rehearse with the children.

“The project is amazingly exciting because it’s a new challenge, in a new country, with similar but different tastes in music so it’s challenging. I wonder what type of music we will create, but whatever genre we settle for will carry traces of Zimbabwean music and a lot of Kenyan sounds. This will test my ability to create out of my comfort zone,” Mawaka said.

The Sawa Children’s Choir has already composed and rehearsed two songs, which they will perform at an event in Kenya later this month. They will also record their songs next year, under the supervision of project manager Dorothy Dulo.

Being a teacher has taught Mawaka a lot of things and one of them is the need to align with current trends.

“As I am primarily a teacher, I want to empower learners to be able to stand on their own in contemporary context, however, most schools are still stuck in the medieval era music genres that might not help much when it comes to the future. That frustrates me. I thank God that I teach at a school where creativity is encouraged. Other challenges that I have faced is the idea that choirs are expensive to run. So sometimes ideas and projects die a stillbirth,” he said.

Mawaka said he hopes to continue his musical journey and achieve more success with his choirs, both in Zimbabwe and in Kenya.

Mawaka has already proven his talent and passion for the game, with his achievements with Charleston Trust Choir, which was nominated for the Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards and the African Children of the Year Awards last year.
@MbuleloMpofu