CREAM rises at FCC

FCC screams for CREAM! It was a beautiful scenario, a rare combination but all for one cause to promote women in the arts.   CREAM! Women in the Arts (CREAM!) was hosting a musical performance at The French cultural center (FCC) in Blantyre . The interesting thing was that this music festival was a combination of gospel artists, urban, reggae, Soul/Jazz and other Malawian local rhythms. The women artists that graced the occasion included Estiner Katengeza, Ethel Kamwendo Banda, Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma and her daughter, Chigo (poet and singer), Rina, and Lioness. Some male artists were also featured and these were Sally Nyundo, Theo Thompson and Marko Sadiki. CREAM! is an initiative of Blackmore Creatives set up with the purpose of promoting women in the Arts.   One could not miss the faces of other local musicians who were around to support the women artists and CREAM. It was a great gathering especially that it was a mixed audience each with different taste of music but everyone seemed to get the satisfaction from the performances.   Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma, a musical veteran rocked the stage with a Chichewa song addressing the issue of property grabbing in a scenario where a husband has passed away and his relatives swarm to grab the grieving widow’s property. She also sang a song about Africa and a piece in South African language (could not figure out what the language was oops!).   After Aunty Maria’s performance the stage welcomed Chigo a talented poet with a unique style of reciting and expressing the message carried in her poetry. She stood in front of everyone and words kept flowing smoothly out her mouth as she carried a smile on her face. What struck me most was that after her recital, she sang a song (or may be she sang out her poem), what a beautiful voice she had. I could not miss overhearing the audience asking one another “akuyimba ndi iyeyo?” (Meaning is she really the one singing?). She recited her poems with a sound track, talk about unique talent!   As I mentioned earlier we also had some male performances and Theo Thompson who has taken Blantyre by storm, performed one of his tracks and gave us his dancing styles which wowed the audience. As he jumped off the stage and danced among the audience, one could tell that this was no ordinary singer but someone who knows how to capture his audience. At some point two boys jumped on stage and danced with him following the rhythm, it was spectacular.   Ethel Kamwendo graced the stage in a beautiful beige long skirt and matching blouse, she gave us her three pieces to which the crowd echoed. She managed to get everyone off their seats and on their feet dancing and singing away.  As we watched the beautiful sunset over FCC, Ethel performed her last piece and the show came to a close.   All in all it was a nice gathering and I enjoyed the performances, even though I came in a bit late and missed Estiner’s performance, I hear it was wonderful.  Estiner will be launching her album “Zili bwino” at FCC this weekend.   As I walked home, my legs aching from the dancing, I could not stop thinking of what talent we have in Malawi and what a brilliant idea it was to promote women in the arts.  The women artists who represented CREAM! on this day were but a fraction of talented Malawian women. Many talented women artists are out there doing their stuff in the privacy of their own homes, now is the time to come out and join fellow writers, poets, designers, musicians, the list is endless through CREAM!.   What happened at FCC on 20th June 2010 is an indication that YES Women CAN stand out in the arts and YES WE CAN promote and collaborate with other women artists through such networks and platforms like CREAM!.   If you are interested to know more about CREAM- Women in the arts, contact  the chairperson Zilanie Gondwe on 0991674570 and Email cream.wita@gmail.com

Life is....What a day!

Have you ever had a day where you wake up in the morning and you really do not have any expectations? You just have your usual 'drag yourself out of bed' day, eat breakfast and see what the day holds. The suddenly Boooooooom! something comes out of the blue, so unexpected and just blows your mind.

I have had some of those days, its really nice when its something good and wonderful that happens.

When these days come, enjoy them and be happy, they are like a surprise gift. Like the feeling you get when you are unwrapping a present, so much expectation and so much joy and appreciation inside. Its like a nudge in your life to remind you that all is not gone, there are still better days to come.

I wish you better days and a happy life full of appreciation of all the blessings you get. The pains are there to remind us that there is healing, the sorrows are there to remind us that there are joys, the winter is there to remind us that there is summer and the dark is there to remind us that there is day. Each painful memory makes us appreciate life and see how important certain things are in our lives.

Enjoy your day.

 

Life is....I know it all syndrome

I had a previllege to mix with a team of sports women at one of their training sessions. I arrived at the training when everybody was already there and the training was in session. I quickly changed into my training attire and started doing my 5 laps around the court.

Soon after the warm up exercises it was now time to play the real game. The whistle was blown and soon hands were in the air catching the ball and passes flying in all directions across the court. Each player was screaming something, to correct a fellow player or to criticise a bad move. In no time there was chaos on the court, everyone wanted to talk and show that they knew their game. The more the coach tried to say something the louder and more chaotic the conversation went. In no time there was a long whistle blow.. the coach was fed up!

What I want to share with you were the few words that coach said at the end of the training session. she said and I qoute, " I know all of you are great and experienced players and you know what you are doing on the court, but one thing I have to say is that you have to learn and respect the one in authority, otherwsie everything will be chaos".

As I went home after the training I thought of the society that I find myself in today, many are the times we meet people around who seem to know everything. You can not advise them even try to correct what ever they say because they know it all. The interresting thing though is that those who think they know it all, usually they don't even have a clue on how even the simplest things around them work. My point is the more we pretend to know everything, the less we learn from others and the more we don't know what is going on because we do not want to learn from others.

Life is interesting, the more you pay attention to the people around you and what their views are the more you will learn what  is going on and the more knowlegeable you become.

One thing I have noticed is that when you are in primary school, you think you have acquired all the knowledge you need. Then you move on to secondary education, you improve on your primary school knowledge. Then you move on to tertiary education, then you realise there is more out here than what I learnt from primary and secondary school. When you move on to postgraduate education, then you realise you don't have a clue about so many things. The hgher you go with your education, then you realise there is what they call specialization in a certain field, because you just can't know it all.

Take time to learn from others and let's not deceive ourselves that we know everything, because the moment you start feeling that you know it all, its time to go back to school because the world is continuously changing.

Best wishes

Life is.. It could be worse!

Hi, with the weekend approaching and also being the weekend with the pay check, things are going to roll in this town. Long queues at the cash machines (ATM), banks will be overflowing with multitudes trying to get the cash out form their accounts. Some will be going to check "kodi zalowa?", which literally means has my account been credited?.

The sad thing is that on the other side of town there is someone who is always trying to live for the day, they don't have to wait "kuti zalowa", they don't even have an account. Sometimes they even wonder when they see people queuing up at the ATM to collect cash because to them money never stays. They don't have enough to survive on a daily basis, to them there is nothing like savings. Money comes through their hands and it is quickly gone. Like sand in an open hand it trickles down their fingers and they are back to where they started, just themselves and a whole list of "problem" mountains to climb.

We can wake up and say " I don't feel like having breakfast" and yet there are those who wake up and wish they could have something to eat, but there is nothing to eat. We can choose to walk because we want to be fit and healthy, and yet there are those who walk long distances not out of choice but they just can not afford (70 kwacha) to catch a mini bus. We wake up and we can not find what to wear not because we don't have clothes but we can't find matching earings, shoes or handbags and yet there are those where the only clothes they have is what they are putting on.

So do not look down upon the people you meet around because you never know what they are going through.

What a life!

Life is ..... Realising your mistake and taking responsibility

Hi, yea its one of those days, you wake very happy, or too excited and in no time boom! something goes wrong.

In my local language there is a saying " mbuzi ikakondwa amalonda ali pafupi", which literally means when you are over excited you can end up doing stupid stuff which will make you sad in no time.

Well today I came to work in my happy jovial mood, but something was not right. In trying to fix the problem, I ended up saying somethings which were really un called for. Immediately realising my mistake I apologized and tried to make things right. I was glad I did because at that moment I got the peace of mind after the person I had offended came back to me accepting the apology.

I am not trying to show off or something but just sharing the experience because I know you do go through simillar situations.

The biggest challenge we as human beings have is not wanting to appear stupid by apologizing or just saying sorry. It is a humbling and often times humiliating experience to apologize to someone even when you know that you were in the wrong. One may feel that people will think you are weak by apologizing. The truth is you are strong to apologize because thats a bold step one can ever take. The word "sorry" is the dividing line between mending a relationship or breaking it. How many things, if you look back in your life could have turned out differently if you had said sorry?

Its just my thoughts and I thought I share them with you..

Have a nice day

cheers!

Life is... failing to choose!

Hi, today its all about choices on this page. Funny (not at the time) when you have taken a shower and you are getting ready to go to work but you can't really make up your mind on what to wear? My ladies out there I am sure some of you agree with me. The problem is not that all your clothes are dirty, or you don't have any clothes at all, but its choosing the right one.

Yes, choosing the right one is a problem. Everyday we are faced with choices on clothes, jobs, partners, friends, houses, the list is endless. The challenge is usually choosing the right one, because we are faced with several choices then we are stuck, we can't just decide which one to take. The big question that is always at the back of our minds during this trying moment is always, "am I making the right choice"? And mostly one does not know whether or not they have made the right choice until after they have chosen.

Life is full of choices, we can never live a life being extra careful or trying to make the best choices all the time. Sometimes the seemingly best choices turn out to be the worst and vice versa. 

Enjoy life and do the best you can to make the best out of your choice. There is always a reason behind every choice so cherish it.

Enjoy your day!

Life is .....Chasing for what you already have!

Have you ever found yourself looking for something while you are holding it in your hands? Mmhhmm, I can see some of you reading this and nodding your heads in agreement. Yeah, you wake up in the morning all set to go to work. You have managed to gather all you collection that you take with you to work be it bags, sunglasses, car keys, bus card, name it. You are on the door walking out and you just can't locate where you left your eye glasses. AAAAAAAAAAAargh nightmare, you are running late, by this time you are either mumbling or shouting all sorts of things and calling out for help from the other occupants in the house. The funny thing is that there is always a wise one who will tell you, "but you are already wearing your glasses". And actually it is the painful truth, you are wearing your glasses.

It is the same way in life, sometimes we complain, and cry, and seek for something that we already have but we just can not locate exactly where it is. Sometimes it takes someone else to make us realise that what we are looking for is already in our hands. Pay attention to what true friends and people say to you they may just help you find what you have been looking for!

Good day!