Women From Zimbabwe

"Being in that room, surrounded by women who had incredible stories and hearing Oprah’s story – intuitively, I could see pieces of myself in her journey, in her pain, in her struggles, in the circumstances that she had to live through such as poverty. It helped me to shift the lens through which I saw myself. I felt empowered. There was just a shift in my awareness, a shift in my consciousness"

"Upon return, during a conversation with my spiritual mother, she said I reminded her of Esther. As if this was not confirmation enough, I then decided to name it Esther because we are raising queens."

"I also intend on having centers especially in the big cities and branching to the rural areas where I feel those in the rural areas need it the most. My intention is to build a community of sisterhood that reaches every girl that needs it."

"I want them to understand that things might not yet unfold in the way that they wanted, but there is so much more waiting for them in life, and that just being here in this moment, being alive, and being an immigrant in this country which serves immigrants, is a blessing"

"In August 2017, I launched an online mentorship program for young women. The program called Esther’s Mentorship aims to assist women to win back their power, settles into their true selves, realize their potential and be the best of who God created them to be."

"Our words and thoughts have the power to shape our destiny. It is the narrative that you hold true about yourself that is manifesting in your life every day as your reality. Be mindful of the stories that you tell yourself about who you are. I am here today doing the work that brings me joy and brings joy to the lives my voice is called to touch because of a promise I made to myself and to my dear mother on her deathbed. I am a testimony that, “You become what you believe”. You are the master creator of your destiny. Your life has meaning. Your life has a purpose. Everything you need to fulfil your calling is right inside of you. I am here to help you unleash your true highest potential."

"I use my personal experiences and testimonies to empower and assist women to realize that it doesn’t matter where one has been. That through their broken pieces, there is hope at the end of the tunnel and God can use their pain."

"I made a promise to my mother that I would become a medical doctor"

"That was a defining moment in my journey, recognizing that people can judge you and put you in a certain column because they assume that you just landed here in Canada, so you are not as good as other kids simply because of where you come from"

"On this upcoming project I am not planning on having collaborations at all, my efforts are on consolidating the Janet Manyowa sound so that those who like the music can identify with the sound."

"For that part I would never protect or guard my nudity art. In fact it does not need defence."

"I would love to work with a lot more Zimbabwean designers but right now I am designing most of my clothes and sometimes Ivhu Tribe’s Jasper Mandizera does that for me,"

"It surely is the grace of God, we must be doing something to get all these nominations."

"Since I began releasing music I have been meeting people who tell me that my music helped them go through situations they were facing in life, that is enough reason for me to keep making music."

"I have lots of visual and performing artistes of different genre lined up for this exhibition. I will also be releasing the artistes soon after all the contracts has been signed up."

"We have completed the planning part of what the project is going to sound like and what is left is the execution process which we are going to do, one calculated step after another"

"Looking back, it's incredible to think that a simple glance out of a window led me to a life-changing opportunity. That accidental encounter at Megga Studios ignited a fire within me and set me on a path that would shape my music career for years."

"Unable to contain my excitement, I approached them and asked if I could join in on their rehearsals. To my surprise, they welcomed me with open arms and encouraged me to showcase my own singing abilities. With all my heart, I poured my soul into my performance."

"It became more difficult to know who I am and I just poured myself into this EP. I have been working on this EP since last year, so it took a bit more time than I normally take, but I am happy that I took my time to perfect all that I wanted done."

"I’m honoured to be part of this vibrant and dynamic music scene, and I hope to inspire others to follow their dreams."

"I believe that if we work together and support each other, we can achieve great things"

"One fateful day, as I was engrossed in my singing, I glanced out the window and noticed a music studio called Megga. This studio was renowned for hosting rehearsals for some of the biggest celebrities in the music industry. Curiosity sparked within me, and I couldn't resist wanting to know what went on next door."

"I’m reintroducing myself to make my fans know that I am a diverse artist who is comfortable in every genre. My next album will focus on one of the genres on this EP. I featured Baba Harare on ‘Ndipe Mwana’ because I love jiti, and as a diverse traditional dancer and artist I thought he would be the best to bring out my jiti traditional side."

"I am a diverse artist. I am a musician, model, dancer, choreographer, writer, actress and film director by profession. I have been limiting my potential for too long due to fear of the unknown and always waiting for people to accept me but now I am doing it all without boundaries or feeling unsure because I can do this."

"I mean I.. I.. its a very difficult one and i always says to people that its so difficult to understand the Zimbabwean situation unless if you are in Zimbabwe because theres very big disconnect between what happens on social media versus whats happening on the ground. So if you are to read the social media uhh you’d probably think we’re like in the middle of a warzone"

"Ghana is almost like Zimbabwe the people are warm they’re loving they’re umm you know receptive to new people [presenter in backgroung: Facts] I love that about Ghana so I’m literally about to by a house in Ghana."

"uh I think thats the most important thing because a lot of people don’t actually understand the context of what being spoken about by ZImbabweans"

"*FULL TRANSCRIPT: MisRed Interview With A Ghanaian Radio On Zim Situation, By Spread the love, retrieved on 8 August 2020"

"There’s a very big disconnect between what’s going on the ground and what’s going on social media"

"I am feeling incredibly grateful and honoured to have worked on the Harare project with two of the most prominent producers, Oscar Chamba and Macdee Chidavaenzi."

"My bones shall rise again!"

"I hoped the Challenge would help me to rejuvenate my writing habits by making me think outside the box, which it definitely did."

"I love the concept of writers being presented with a blind challenge rather than simply submitting previously-completed work for judging. It puts us all on an even playing field, so anything goes. And I like competing against writers of all walks of life and with all levels of experience."

"Remember – if you're not healthy, you won't feel good enough to write! But after you've had your vitamins and have done your yoga, write as much as you can as often as you can, even if you spend a lot of time staring at a blank page. If you just hang in there, you will succeed!"

"The deadline is what makes it fun. If I'd had more time to write the script, it would have surely lost some of its organic grossness. I would have tweaked that out in the interest of not making my readers sick."

"Don't forget to get up every once and a while and do some stretching and exercises. Don't let your body atrophy in front of the computer."

"There was the one life-changing teacher in high school and then the-rock-and-the-foundation writing teacher I had in college. Both pushed me to explore the limits of my creativity and were very open minded to my wild imagination."

"Whenever I step on court, I play my heart out and enjoy the game and whatever comes out of it is a bonus…this is what I did in both World Cup appearances,"

"Being part of the Surrey Storm family is phenomenal, apart from moulding me as a player, a lot has also changed socially and at home"

"This time, I told them (Gems) to get out there, play to enjoy the game and whatever the result is, be ready to work harder again tomorrow."

"To me, netball is life and everything else because everything that I have in this life is motivated or influenced by the sport"

"The beat that pulses through House music compels an individual to move their body. Yet, House music is more than an irresistible groove. In the eyes and ears of Zimbabwean-born artist Jackie Queens, House music has the power of building communities."

"House music is cathartic. I associate this feeling with house music most out of all the others. When I’m dancing, I feel renewed, and when I’m listening to it at home or on the go, I feel energized and happy. As a symbol of a fighting spirit, it stands out as a platform for the free expression of people when I consider its roots and the impact it has had on the world, especially for Black and Queer people"

"Being a visionary woman means feeling the fear and doing it anyway,”"

"At the moment, I’m inspired by people. In particular, the many ways in which we demonstrate our humanity. Sometimes we aren’t kind or generous, but even in those moments, compassion and courage shine through. A source of inspiration that never goes out of style is music. As I am continuously in awe of what we are capable of creating, it never becomes mundane for me."

"Desiree’s debut EP just came out on Bae Electronica, I’m very excited about that. It’s a pivotal release for the label because we’ve been part of her journey from the beginning. From a shesaid.so South Africa perspective, our chapter has a very special partnership with Rocking The Daisies to present the Oasis, a safe space for women and LGBTIA+ festival goers. We’re working extra hard on that right now and it’s one of the things I’m most proud of and excited about."

"Emmavie and Gina Jeanz. They are my favourite producers right now. Both are extremely good at blending the classic with the contemporary. It’s R&B/soul with Emmavie and Gina Jeanz shines when she injects 90s house motifs into her cuts. Their range of production is so dynamic and refreshing."

"There will be more music! As a label we’ve been away for a while, so I’d like to do more digging around and unearthing gems like I used to do. I would also like the work of Bae Electronica to be multiplied on the continent of Africa, and for more women to do what we do"

"In these different environments, I am inspired by the selflessness, collaborative spirit, and audacity of the people I interact with. Humility is a necessary quality for working with people of varying backgrounds. I continue to learn, not only about myself, but also about the world around me. Even if I won’t live to see the world in full colour, I’m inspired by possibilities. There is a glimpse of the future, no matter how fleeting, when there are small victories."

"I looked back at the tracks I’d been listening to on repeat the past six months. Normally, I spend quite a bit of time thinking about mixes or mixtapes, thematically, as well as how to situate the listener in a particular time or place. In the beginning, that was the plan, but then I asked myself “what am I listening to?” I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few classic tunes on there, the Dear Friend DJ SPinna remix is an all-time favourite. Although it’s recently out, I’ve been listening to Desiree’s track for a while now, I love it so much, obviously lucky enough to get dibs on that!"