NewsDay (Zimbabwe)

Kwaito singer Kadder’s undying love for child artists

- BY SHARON SIBINDI Sharon on Twitter @SibindiSha­ron

GWANDA-BASED female kwaito artiste, Proficienc­e Cadder aka Kadder has achieved a lot and continues to strive higher in the showbiz industry. Her lifestyle is much associated with children and developmen­t initiative­s. Kadder’s attachment to people has led her to create a vision to be one of the celebrated music icons.

GWANDA-BASED female kwaito artiste, Proficienc­e Cadder aka Kadder (pictured) has achieved a lot and strives to scale greater heights in the showbiz industry. Her lifestyle is much associated with children and developmen­t initiative­s. Kadder’s attachment to people has led her to create a vision to be one of the celebrated music icons. Strong and focused, she has managed to set up an arts academy Planet Kadder Academy (PKA) where she nurtures children in arts. The academy is officially registered with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.

Arts expedition

I had the honour to work with the best in the arts sector. From my debut performanc­e at the Ibumba Internatio­nal Festival 2008, thanks to “Mbazo” Simon Mambazo Phiri to being groomed by former Street Niggaz member, an Skyz Metro FM DJ Mjox at Emafletsin­i Studios. I have had the opportunit­y to share the stage with huge artists such as Big Nuz,

Brick, Dj Sbu, Bojo Mujo amongst others.

I am a Bulawayo Arts

Awards 2017 nominee for outstandin­g female artiste,

Starbrite 2016 poetry finalist, 2019 Intwasa short story competitio­n finalist, 2020 TESMA award winner for best kwaito song

(Tribute to Mabrr)

Legacy

I love children so much. I am a qualified

Early Childhood Education practition­er. I love their innocence and commitment. They have amazing qualities which we tend to underestim­ate as adults and I enjoy working with them a lot. I am also passionate about community developmen­t through art, hence the foundation of

Planet Kadder Academy.

I believe that if children are captured young and guided towards treating art profession­ally, our arts will then move from being a sector to a fully functionin­g industry. An industry which creates employment, promotes culture as well as leaves concrete legacies and structures for future generation­s. It hurts a lot to hear that the majority of artists die paupers. That has to change and I am playing my role through the academy.

Then in terms of grooming models, I realised that this is a capacity gap that needs to be addressed in my community of Gwanda. I was saddened by the fact that promoters have to import models from Bulawayo for Gwanda titles.

Also, I am an advocate for women empowermen­t and grooming models is a way of cultivatin­g female leaders and strong women who can stand against issues like gender based violence as well as their sexual reproducti­ve health rights

My future plans are to have Planet Kadder Academy as a recognised arts institute that trains and produces child stars as well as reputable models who will represent the country even on internatio­nal platforms.

The other plan is to have our own means of production ranging from sound systems to sewing machines so that we can train the women to be self starters and to create employment. For instance, empowering them with fashion and design skills, beauty and make up among other things.

Midas touch

I will take that as a compliment. Thank you. Firstly I am resilient, I don’t give up easily. I stand up for my idea right through the end. Afterwards, I evaluate then work on my weaknesses. Secondly, I am grateful to the various capacity-building workshops I used to attend when venturing into the arts industry. They helped a lot in shaping my career objectives. Thirdly, I am grateful to the ECD course I did as well as the invaluable advice I got from government entities like the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation. Special credit to Promise Dube as well as the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Off the arts industry and projects

I love handicraft. I do gift bags and design charts for classroom displays. I have been focusing on school for the past three years, so right now my whole attention is on Planet Kadder Academy. It’s a huge baby and I want it to be a legacy

Writing books

Actually I have an anthology titled 27 November which I intend to launch later this year. Every bit and piece of me is embedded in it.

Life lessons

I have learnt that I do not have to put my eggs in one basket. Even if someone promises to sponsor an event from A-Z, I continue to work on counter plans because I have been disappoint­ed a lot in that area. Secondly, I have learned to be tolerant. If you work with people, you meet all kinds of characters so it's best to get along with them instead of being judgmental.

One other important thing I have learnt is innovation. If you wait for resources to come your way before you can start a project, chances are high that you might never begin. Innovation has sharpened my creativity.

COVID-19 lessons

It has exposed me to the digital world and I am loving it. It has also taught me to be adaptable as well as subtle in all things I do.

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