MADIMBO – They call themselves Zwisiwana Boys and all of them have one thing in common. None of them has parents and they decided to come together to try their luck in the Tshingondo music industry.

Zwisiwana is a Venda word for people who do not have parents. They stay at the remote rural village of Madimbo, outside Musina. Rapson Chauke (35), Victor Chauke (22), John Chauke (23) and Lazarus Munzhelele (26)’s parents have all passed away and the four came together in September 2003 to form Zwisiwana Boys.

“It was very easy for us to get along as we come from similar backgrounds. We know what suffering is all about as we had all lost our parents at a young age. We felt it would be best to tell the world about our experience through music, hence the formation of the group,” said John Chauke, the group leader.

John said he worked in different construction companies to save money for buying musical instruments. He added: “Although we do not have a complete sound system, we are conducting shows to raise funds for buying additional music equipment. We are also raising some funds to record our debut album because we already have about 20 songs, from which we will choose the best 10. We are still looking for a company that will be interested in our music, but judging by the reaction of our fans when we perform, we are definitely going to make it in the Tshingondo music fraternity.”

Some of their original songs that are winning the hearts of their fans are Muvhulawa ha na maano, MaAfrika and Maanga.

John said the band is engaging in promotional shows to market themselves before recording. “We are playing many shows locally, so that when we release our album, our music will not be new to the listeners. People love our music and we promise our fans that we will never let them down.”