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Arts Reporter

Community theatre hub, Edzai Isu Trust has realigned operations in a bid to tackle various awareness programmes, especially the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As part of the realignment, the organisation has announced a new structure that came into effect on June 1.

Vibrant youthful development planner O’Brien Makore is now the executive director, spearheading operations and management in the organisation.

He is complemented by experienced accountant Felicity Tawengwa as the finance director guiding the organisation’s administration and financial sustainability while award winning artist and social innovator Tafadzwa Muzondo is the organisation’s creative director inspiring all innovations and artistic creativity.

The organisation has a board chaired by award-winning filmmaker and entrepreneur Patience Gamuchirai Tawengwa with transformative arts scholar Dr Kelvin Chikonzo, journalist and media activist Valentine Maponga, educationist and artist Ms Sithabile Sarafinah Mahubaba and lawyer with human rights interests Gwinyai Tamuka Mharapara as its members.

Commenting on the restructuring, Patience said; “This restructuring responds to a growth imperative which requires building a strong team that is strategically fit to harness the organization’s opportunities from the encouraging past three years while also responding to the growing challenges that come with increasing the organization’s footprint.

“Just from their diverse experience, we are confident that this new look set up will excel the work of Edzai Isu Trust to the next level as we have a rare combination of an energetic youth driving operations while an experienced woman guides the administration and a seasoned artist inspires creative innovation.”

Revealing the organisation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Makore noted: “After successfully mentoring 50 talented yet disadvantaged youth and women into independent community creatives and staging over 100 arts and constitutional awareness outreaches in Harare last year, EDZAI ISU is now in the process of reallocating its operations from more physical to more virtual as we respond to the challenge posed by Covid-19 on the creative sector.”

He said they will continue embarking on social transformation work to emphasise on the need to fight the pandemic.

“As we continue searching for effective innovations during and after the pandemic there are immediate needs to ensure continuation of the important social transformation work in communities by addressing challenges posed by the scourge to the creative community. Edzai Isu Trust is reaching out to relevant partners to robustly replace physical platforms with virtual platforms to ensure creatives and communities are actively involved in the fight against Covid-19 as they also continue to champion for social good”.