In the groove with Fred Zindi
I am looking at myself at the age of 10 way back in the 1960s. I did not have a laptop, an iPod, Facebook, You Tube, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram account or the internet.
When I was 10, I only had one thing to play with. It was called outside! There we would gather some torn-up old blankets or clothes, roll them into an imitation football and play with the neighbours’ children. Alternatively, we would shape some pieces of wood into fake guitars and pretend to play them. We also beat the rubbish bins with sticks and made some music out of these. That was great fun at the age of 10. Jethro Shasha (who lived two houses away from ours) and I eventually became musicians as a result of playing outside.
However, in the same neighbourhood, there was one physically disabled boy (let’s call him Lazarus) who could not take part in any of our outside activities. We could all see that he wanted to be part of us and participate in what we were doing, but his physical disability could not let him. He was born with severely deformed arms and legs. As children who did not know any better, we would stigmatise this boy because he was different from us. We would use opprobrious terms to against him such as: “Hey, King Kong, what have you got tied to your feet, boxing gloves?” So went the choruses from those of us who thought it was funny to demonise a disabled person.
My mother always discouraged me from saying nasty things about Lazarus or any disabled person. She would always warn me with the saying; “Seka hurema wafa (If you want to laugh at disabled persons, wait until you die”), but as kids, we ignored this warning and continued to tease Lazarus.
Despite the stigma usually attached to disabled people, and the attendant difficulty in picturing disabled people in “normal” societal roles interacting and competing with non-disabled people, some of these disabled persons, with the right help and support, come out triumphant in later life.
This is the case with one fantastic musician in the name of Tongai “Greatman” Gwaze. I had heard about him, but had never met him until last month at the Oliver Mtukudzi send-off concert which was held at the National Sports Stadium on Saturday January 26. Despite his disability, he was lifted in his wheelchair onto the stage to perform a couple of songs. From his performance, it was evident to everyone that he has a lot of talent. He exhibited an exuberant stage persona. The crowd cheered him on showing him that he was in the right direction in his chosen career.
But who is this “Greatman” and why all the fuss about him?
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Gwaze was born on June 24, 1993. He was born with myopathy, a condition, which reduces muscle strength and power in older children and adults. Nevertheless, the wheelchair-bound 25-year-old, who calls himself “The Great Man” while on stage, has never let his disability get in the way of sharing his story through music.
Born in the small copper-mining town of Mhangura, upcoming musician Gwaze says he is here to prove to all and sundry that every human being was created for a purpose. His gift is in music and he is out to prove to the world that disability is not inability.
Last year, with help from an accomplished and already established musician, Sulumani Chimbetu, Greatman did a collaboration in a song titled Takazvarwa, which touched the hearts of many people.
When I listened to the song, it took me back to my younger days when I would irrationally be prejudiced against people with disabilities whether they be physically disabled or mentally impaired. I would often distance myself from them. I often associated disabled persons with useless people who could not do anything for themselves and would end up as beggars on the streets. This time around I was glad to know that there was a great man in Tongai and that he is able to work for himself by creating music, which touches the people’s hearts. This touching song, Takazvarwa, which he collaborated on with Sulumani, brought me to tears. I have been playing it non-stop in my car and I don’t seem to have enough of it. As the Jamaicans will say “It a big tune, man! Big tings agwaan! Come again selector man. Need a skank to it with a glass of wine, seen!”
Greatman, who plays Afro-jazz music, was born with congenital malformations and is unable to use his legs and hands, but his voice has captured the hearts of many in the mining town of Mhangura, thus attracting hordes of fans.
Sulumani, who visited the mining town sometime last year, had this to say when he discovered Greatman: “I must help this young man. He has a lot of talent. I am from Mashonaland West and I have to lead by example. He [Greatman] has proven to be a good musician whom we must assist at all costs.”
Sulumani, who released the controversial album entitled Syllabus with the popular hit, Sean Timba, on November 15, 2010, is ranked among Zimbabwe’s top artistes. His brand of music is called Dendera, which he inherited from his father, the late Simon Chimbetu
Sulumani must be thanked and praised for being brave and for bringing this young man into the limelight. Without his help, he would still be struggling to get noticed given the prejudices our society has on people with disabilities.
I spoke to Sulumani last week and he told me that the collaboration between Gwaze and himself just came naturally. He will live up to his promise in order to assist Greatman. Now they are going to do more things together. At the moment there is a tour of the United Kingdom in the offing. “We are working on the paper work. The visas are not out yet, but as soon as they come out we are UK-bound,” Sulumani said. Their concerts in the UK are scheduled for next month. We all wish great things for Greatman.
Sulumani is not the only artiste to come up with help for Greatman. Karoi-based Davidson Jambo, the son of renowned musician Mitchell Jambo, also promised to record a nine-track album for free. This will be Greatman’s second album. Greatman has responded to this assistance and has declared that as soon as the CD is on the market, he will use the proceeds to improve the life of his 72- year-old grandmother, Muchaneta Gwaze, who raised him. He says he understands and knows the difficulties involved in raising a child, let alone a disabled one.
In a way, Gwaze is lucky as he has found people who will help him. We hope that this assistance will be extended to other disabled people who need it.
We urge the government and corporate institutions to also chip in. People with disability should be treated with all the respect that they deserve. It’s one thing to talk about helping the disabled or make donations, but there is need to have genuine care for people with disabilities.
There are a lot of situations which can be created by both government and corporate institutions to help the disabled. Apart from placing donation boxes at their premises where the public can donate money, they could also help directly. To give one example, Chicken Inn could decide to give 10% of its daily takings to the disabled and that will assist people like Gwaze with recording fees. Alternatively, they could also buy his CDs and give them to the public.
Another example surfaced some years back when Coca-Cola promised to donate wheelchairs to charities whenever customers brought back pop-out tab from their Coke cans. This way, they extended help to the disabled community.
Even the public at large can also help. Simple acts can go a long way. Opening doors for the disabled, making way for them, not showing pity and instead displaying respect and admiration, are very important qualities that the public can exhibit to show that they want to help the disabled.
Let’s start a “Let’s Help Greatman Become Greater Than Ever Campaign” now!
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