Eveline de Klerk
Walvis Bay-One of Africa’s most successful songstresses and Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Yvonne Chaka Chaka graced the coastal town of Walvis Bay on Friday evening to raise much-needed funds for the Sunshine Centre.
The Sunshine Centre deals with the rehabilitation of disabled and mentally challenged persons and celebrated 21 years in existence on Friday.
Chaka Chaka also launched a song, titled Kulila, that she recorded with the children of the Sunshine Centre on Friday evening. She last year during a Unicef conference in Swakopmund spotted the kids during a performance and immediately decided to record a song with them.
Kulila is also featured on her latest album that will be launched within the next two weeks. The song was written by Gerson ‘Dollar’ Mwatile, an artist and songwriter currently volunteering at the Sunshine Centre.
Mwatile said the song describes the hardships he encountered whilst being raised by a single mother, whose husband was died before Mwatile was born.
“I can relate to the struggles of these kids and many others who experience hardships in their quest for a better future,” said Mwatile, who stayed with Chaka Chaka and her family in Johannesburg for a week to record the song. Chaka Chaka noted that the song embodies the struggles and challenges that children living with disabilities must
endure.
“These children have the right to play and reach their full potential, but it also shows us that art and culture play a critical role in achieving this,” she said.
She said she was humbled by the fact she could have the opportunity to visit and work with the children of the centre. “It is indeed an honour to lend my voice and contribute to the realisation of the rights of all children in Namibia,” Chaka Chaka said.