If we empower these talented people, they in turn will empower others, especially our children who are reading their works at schools and universities across the world, said Farayi Mungoshi. At the launch, the family will also celebrate the achievements of their parents, Charles and Jesesi, in the education, arts and entertainment industry.
They are working with prominent people in the arts field, including UK-based author and publisher, Sarudzayi Chifamba-Barnes of the Lion Press Ltd, to launch the Charles and Jesesi Mungoshi Foundation (CJMF) Charles Mungoshi recently fell into a coma for a whole month, and the family believes it is better to celebrate his life and works while he is alive so he too can appreciate the fact that the world appreciates him.
Apart from spotting talent among Zimbabwes children and offering them scholarships, we want to build libraries. This was my Father’s dream since the 70s when he was working for Literature Bureau when he would go around starting Libraries and trying to maintain them.
By upgrading the lives of children in the rural areas we are uplifting a future generation which will appreciate our works and in turn give back to the Nation by helping others just as they were helped, explained Farayi. Her father is a novelist, poet, short-story writer, playwright, film scriptwriter, actor, editor, translator and consultant. His books include Stories from a Shona Childhood, One Day Long Ago (Baobab Books, 1989 and 1991); the former won him the Noma Award. He also writes poetry and has one published collection: The Milkman doesn’t only deliver Milk (Baobab Books, 1998).
He has won the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa region) twice, in 1988 and 1998, for two collections of short stories: The Setting Sun and the Rolling World (Heinemann, 1987) and Walking Still (Baobab Books, 1997). Two of his novels: Waiting for the Rain (Heinemann 1975) and Ndiko kupindana kwamazuva (Mambo Press, 1975) received International PEN awards.
His books have been studied in schools as literature set-books, while his works have been translated to numerous non-European languages; Waiting for the Rain was translated from English to Hungarian in 1978, to Norwegian in 1980 and to Russian in 1983. Coming of the Dry Season was translated from English to Russian in 1985; while The Setting Sun and the Rolling World was translated into Japanese in 1995 and Stories from a Shona Childhood was translated from into Swiss in 1996 and into German in 1988.
Jesesi is an actress and featured in many ZTV drama series including Inongova Njakenjake (the play also written by her husband) and in the most popular film Neria alongside Oliver Mutukudzi. She founded JM Productions (Pvt) Ltd in 1995, and has since produced many documentaries which include a feature film project and a documentary film based on the life of the late President of Mozambique, President Samora Machel; Journey to the Ocean (a 52 minute documentary on the environment); a Childrens Video Picture Book which is on African folklore. Her 40 minute documentary, Mysteries of Mt Nyangani was blocked from screening at the ZBC by politicians.
Lion Press will publish Mungoshis book for children, which will be launched at the unveiling of the CJMF in April next year.
We want to help the Mungoshi family and the Foundation to realise their goal, that of celebrating the achievements in arts in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is full of talented people in the field of arts, and hopefully the Charles and Jesesi Mungoshi Foundation can be an inspiration to many, said Sarudzayi Chifamba-Barnes. – People interested in following the CJMF can visit their website on www.cjmf.org. Emails can be sent to info@cjmf.org.
Post published in: Arts