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Tafadzwa Zimoyo
Senior Arts Reporter
While many artistes have been known to be reclusive and choose to stay out of the public glare, there is a sudden shift as a number of them are becoming the face of various development oriented organisations across the country.

Sungura ace Alick Macheso is an example after he was appointed Zimbabwe Red Cross Society Humanitarian ambassador in February 2014.

He went on to champion various initiatives, including fundraising for the Tokwe-Mukosi floods disaster under the Red Cross auspices.  Macheso said service to humanity was an important aspect of everyday life, thus he avails himself whenever duty calls.

“The wise say there is no more nobler profession than service to humanity, and I am happy to play my part in serving the vulnerable whenever duty calls,” said Macheso.

“The true essence of living is in remembering the marginalised and disadvantaged and as artistes we have the influence to mobilise resources for the needy.”

Other influential artistes that have joined the development drive include Jah Prayzah, who mobilised resources for Cyclone Idai victims and drove to Chimanimani for the handover.

Southerton Constituency Community Development Trust (SCCDT) recently engaged gospel musician Ellard Cherayi as its brand ambassador.

The trust’s chairman, Andrew Makahamadze, said artistes had a role to play in fostering national development.

“Community and national development is everyone’s duty and we are happy to work with artistes in reaching out to the less privileged.

“As SCCDT, we recently engaged Ellard Cherayi as our brand ambassador given his social standing and pedigree. Minister Ellard is a new generation musician whose stock continues to rise since his days at Zimpraise.

“As we look to foster national development through Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 1 aligned programmes, we are happy to work with him as our brand ambassador and we hope as many artistes embrace that thinking across Zimbabwe,” he said.

Makahamadze, who is an aspiring legislator for Southerton, also thanked various partners that are supporting SCCDT and called on more partners to work with the organisation, especially given the plans to scale up its programmes and beneficiary reach.

“Southerton Constituency is one of the richest in the country given the industries that operate here. Over 140 companies do business in Southerton and that should be a big plus for development.

“As we look to embrace the President’s vision of transforming the country into an upper middle income economy through the National Development Strategy 1, we want to thank our current partners for the support and extend an invitation to more, particularly at a time we are working with such young and vibrant people to promote development.

“Partners that are already supporting our work include Salmark Systems Africa, Twine and Cordage, Farm and City Centre, Cropserve and the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB).

“We have already championed a number of projects in the constituency and we hope to reach various corners of Zimbabwe given that the scope of our projects is not only Southerton focussed.”

Makahamadze said development was not political and the trust’s programmes were benefiting everyone across the political divide. “As an enlightened leader and a Christian, I believe wholesome development should not be politically aligned,” he said. “All in need must be assisted if we are to unite our people.

“For that reason we are taking on the President’s drive to cover and reach all Zimbabweans regardless of political affiliation, hence the programmes we have already championed like the Sally Mugabe Central Hospital water project.”

Cherayi, who celebrated his birthday yesterday, emphasised the importance of contributing to national development as an artiste, particularly as a gospel musician.

“The Bible says the true essence of ministry is in serving the poor, including widows and orphans, and I thank Southerton Constituency Community Development Trust for this honour,” said Cherayi.

“This development comes at a time when together with my wife Sharon we had decided to involve ourselves in service to humanity beyond singing gospel music on stage.

‘‘There are so many community challenges and social ills we can deal with beyond the pulpit, and this new-found status gives me a platform to champion this cause.

“I am a young person who believes in home grown solutions to everyday challenges. This brand ambassador status will, therefore, give me an opportunity to amplify the voice of the marginalised and help direct attention to development issues not only in Southerton Constituency, but in Zimbabwe as a whole.”