With few amenities for extra-curricular activities, acting and poetry can fill youths’ idle hours.
This is his way of bringing school children into the “wonderful world of Shakespeare” and also encourage them to read at a time when there are concerns in Zimbabwe that there is no culture of reading among young people.
“These are stories they can easily relate to. There is always something to be learned in Shakespeare and if I can encourage these youngsters to master these texts at an early age, they could take it up to wherever they want. For example, many say they want to be lawyers, and in Zimbabwe to be accepted at the university to study law you must at least have aced English literature. So this is one the reasons why I am doing this. I teach at a number of schools in the city and the response has been great. It is not just about knowing the plays by Shakespeare, but I am also giving acting classes.
Zimbabwean youths are the largest demographic group in the country, and opportunities for school leavers remain few.
Chaka says he wants to open these young people to other career possibilities after they leave school. “I believe if taken seriously, they can become professional stage actors as theatre is gaining popularity across the country,” he said.
He has also been invited to teach literature to university students and says it feels great knowing that what he is doing is being taken seriously. “I will be teaching literature and stage acting to some university students as part of a course they are doing and this is one thing that I have wanted to do for a long time,” he says.
As the world population grows to hit the 7 billion mark, and bleak stories are beamed by international news agencies, citizens of the world such as Chaka have found other means to make this a better place and contribute towards making a difference in their own small but very significant ways.
Post published in: News