Oliver Mtukudzi’s advice for young people chasing their dreams
When I am asked what advice I can give to youths chasing their dreams or goals I do not restrict myself to the guidance that I offer them. When I advise youths, I seek also to counsel parents because they turn the goals of their children into pipedreams when they want to impose talent on their children. Yet only God gives talent and God takes it away. That is how I view life.
My first advice to youths chasing their dreams is to build the very difficult but achievable culture of self-discipline. Have respect for yourself first then everyone else will respect you. How you carry yourself amongst other people, how you engage others and your humility defines a well rounded youth in the context of self-discipline.
No one is born a squeaky-clean character. Self-discipline is a process that is cultivated or is inculcated. Our environs at family level, the parents, the peers, the school and social environment all have immense influence and bearing on discipline and parents are central in ensuring that children are not only raised to fear evil but to love, to learn restraint and to tolerate others who may have different views to life. Read more
Repeat after me
By D. Senda
Say these words after me hi
Say I’m not a victim, say it and mean it
I know you’re hurting
And you may not get it now while going through it
But there’s an answer waiting right now
Washing and wishing away in tears and doubting
For what with our mouths we confess
We pray to occur in our lives
Say the words.
With conviction say them
Say them from the hilltops of your pride
If you have to soar like an eagle soar
Inflate if you have to like a peacock
For every word that departs your lips conditions your mind
I am not a victim, say it nice and loud
Tell me this.
Who tells the waves of the seas to rise after they crash?
But don’t they just?
And the dust, who ever said it deserves to kiss the skies?
If dirt made for the ground will not lie on the ground in the face of a storm
What of you made and ordained to rule over all that creeps and crawls?
All that so you can sit on your self-made sword?
And drink of your cup of pity? I am not a victim!
Say it, repeat after me
I am not a victim!
I am not a victim!
I am not a victim!
I hope you mean it.
2010 Is The Year For Football In Southern Africa
2010 IS THE YEAR for football in Southern Africa and the Games have approached. Most notably, South Africa is the first nation on the continent to host the World Cup between June and July this year and it is against this background that many sports fans from across the globe have already landed in South Africa as well as to its neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe, in order to watch the proposed world cup games. The world is watching Southern Africa this year as the region hosts the soccer world cup finals. Since for four weeks in 2010, South Africa will be the centre of the world, the tournament is an opportunity for creativity and everyone is looking for something unique, something new, and something different, in order to be associated and identified with the 2010 FIFA Cup Tournament. The World Cup Games offer irreplaceable benefits to make Southern Africa more visible to the rest of the world. South Africa and its neighbouring nations, will no doubt benefit from the millions of visitors expected for the tournament, and the cream of the world’s sporting media who will be thronging the continent as they are focused on the games. THE BEAUTIFUL GAME “THE WORLD GAME” IT IS BELIEVED THAT many different cultures have played a sport similar to the modern game of soccer but no one can really say with any certainty when or where soccer began but it is known that the earlier variations of what later became soccer were played almost 3000 years ago. The last World Cup games that took place in the united States was watched by an estimated 33 million people around the world for almost 27 days. Football is the most watched single sports event in the world not surpassed even by the Olympics. This sport is bigger than baseball, football and basketball combined Football, more commonly known as r soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball . It is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world The game is played on a rectangular grass or artificial turf field , with a goal in the centre of each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by driving the ball into the opposing goal. In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to intercept a ball in midair. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout , depending on the format of the competition Football is governed internationally by International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious international football competition is the FIFA World Cup , held every four year. Football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game . The game is played using a single spherical ball, known as the football or/soccer ball. Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team’s goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. Each team is led by a captain . The primary law is that players other than goalkeepers may not deliberately handle the ball with their hands or arms during play, though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart. Although players usually use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms note-fouls Within normal play, all players are free to play the ball in any direction and move throughout the pitch, though the ball cannot be received in an offside position. In typical game play, players attempt to create goal scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling , passing the ball to a team-mate, and by taking shots at the goal, which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting pass or through tackling the opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact between opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play or when play is stopped by the referee . After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart. A goalkeeper dives to stop the ball from entering his goal At a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, the 2005 season of the English Premier League produced an average of 2.48 goals per match. The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper, but a number of specialised roles have evolved. Broadly, these include three main categories: strikers , or forwards, whose main task is to score goals; defenders , who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring; and midfielders , who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of the ball in order to pass it to the forwards on their team. Players in these positions are referred to as outfield players, in order to discern them from the single goalkeeper. These positions are further subdivided according to the area of the field in which the player spends most time. For example, there are central defenders, and left and right midfielders. The ten outfield players may be arranged in any combination. The number of players in each position determines the style of the team’s play; more fo
Blessing’s HIFA Diary - Day 6, Easy like a Sunday
Filed under: Entertainment, Arts & Culture, Zimbabwean diaries
2 May, Sunday
AON Zimbabwe
“What we teach, we will reap, from men. What we deny, we will see, from men.” - Lebo Mashile, poet.
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A good day. Slow and easy-going just like Sunday should be. I’m sure none of us were expecting Salif Keita to attend the morning press conference, freshly arrived in Zimbabwe and experiencing luggage issues but he was there and it was wonderful to have him in our midst. He has a presence that is real and awe-inspiring. He appears to be one of those people who has no doubts about his reason for being on this good earth.
It was kind of bitter-sweet, being the last day. On one hand I am glad to be getting back to the slower pace of my everyday life and on the other I shall miss the bustle and activities and spending whole days wandering around discovering friends old and new. Back to the other hand though, I shall not miss the passive smoking I did all week. My room in the mornings always smelt as if I had been chain-smoking from sun-up to sun-down. Read more
Blessing’s HIFA Diary - Day 5, Messing with my mojo
1 May, Saturday
Coca-Cola day
“Open happiness.”
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I left HIFA early today because being a Saturday, it was so crowded that it had become stressful to be there, the vibe had changed completely and the bouncers at the main stage gates had messed with my mojo.
The day started off great: press conference was colourful, with a wide range of guests and we were treated to a lovely serenade by The Magnets (an a cappella group from the UK). From there I rushed to my first show of the day, which was Musicolour, featuring Outspoken (spoken word artist) and his band The Essence, in collaboration with Trio Broz (string trio courtesy of the Embassy of Italy and the European Union), and Upmost – My Brother’s Keeper (spoken word artist). Out of the featured repertoire, my absolute favourite was one I’d never heard before; a satirical number about two domestic servants fighting over who was the best servant to baas and medem. The gardener ( Outspoken) and the cook (Upmost) do not like each other, but each one of them loves his medem and loves his baas. I laughed uproariously. These two guys have mad skills and Trio Broz were superb.
Now, Outspoken tackles issues of global politics and personal freedom. What was ironic is that at the end of a particular track, a member of the audience walked up to the stage and made a comment about the song. First of all, should audience members even be allowed to approach performers during a set? I wondered why this was allowed because none of the many festival staff at hand made a move to ask the lady to return to her seat. Read more
Blessing’s HIFA Diary - Day 4, Bedridden spirit, poetry & ZESA
30 April Friday
Lion Lager day
“Life is just a shelter for the soul.” – Phillippa Yaa de Villiers - poet (HIFA 2010)
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Today my body came to HIFA but my spirit stayed in bed. It caught up with me much later on, just before the Hot House Flowers show in the evening but by that time I could only persuade my body to stay only a little bit longer.
My day started off with Only Hope, a play at the Standard Theatre, which ironically enough began with a funeral scene, just like Hamlet did, in the same theatre two days ago. The dirge they sang was exactly the same as in Hamlet, but without the searing quality of the delivery, however, it fitted the scene. Deja-vu? I sat too close to the front and felt far too involved in the whole enterprise. I always prefer to be a little further away so as not to feel too captive an audience. However, there was some really good acting here. Read more
On The Zimbo Jam- Zambezi Express Wins Edinburgh Fringe AwardIn June last year, commenting about their now famous show, The Zambezi Express, on their Facebook profile, Bulawayo production company Siyaya said, "We aim to be the best original arts company producing original work of art that is unique to Zimbabwe, Africa and the world at large." They got one step closer to that dream at the end of last month when they were recognised for their outstanding performance at the Edinburgh Fringe in the UK.
- Akon Arrives in Harare Amid Hysterical ScenesThere was chaos at the Harare International Airport earlier this afternoon as hundreds of Akon fans waited for their icon to land. When he finally appeared from the terminal- not through the normal exit- just after 1400hrs, there were scenes of hysteria as people screamed his name, reached out to touch his hand and some burst into tears.
- The Akon Countdown...It is now just a matter of hours before Hip Hop icon, Akon, lands in Zimbabwe for what is already one of the most widely talked about shows in Zimbabwe’s entertainment history. You can feel the excitement in everyone you talk to; they want to be there when history is made. Even people who have never been to a live concert in their lives are talking of buying tickets. If you think that’s something, wait till Akon lands this afternoon. We’re expecting a show of fanaticism the likes of which we have never seen before…
- Zambezi Express Wins Edinburgh Fringe Award
- Zimbabwe Today
- Tsvangirai awarded for championing human rights - The Zimbabwean
- Stop jamming SW Radio Africa - The Zimbabwean
- Cricket legend Brian Lara jets in - NewsDay
- A call to transform Zimbabwe by prayer - The Zimbabwean
- ZANU-PF's proxy businessmen close-in on BP & Shell assets - The Zimbabwean
- ILO Gives Zim An Ultimatum - The Zimbabwean
- Gukurahundi artist faces 20 years in jail - The Zimbabwean
- South Africa to resume Zim deportations - The Zimbabwean
- Old Beneficiaries of Zimbabwe's Black Empowerment Set to Venture Into Diamond ... - The Zimbabwean
- Rushwaya hearing off again - NewsDay