Sixteen-year-old Fortunate Malindi from Hmavhunga village in Nzhelele, an upcoming local musician, is currently selling school uniforms for a living while the lockdown regulations of the Covid-19 pandemic restrict her music career.
Fortunate, also known as Slender Girl, released her first album, titled Mmawe ndi a vha funa, in 2016 at the tender age of 12. Last year she released another album, called Coronavirus.
Fortunate is from a disadvantaged family and the sole provider for her household of five. Her mother is unemployed, and the responsibility of providing for everyone therefore rests on her shoulders. She has managed this through her music performances, but since that had to be put on hold because of the pandemic, she has had to think outside the box and come up with new ideas to keep food on their table.
"The whole family struggles if I am not performing," she says. "I am the breadwinner and had to keep the money from my music performance in December last year." She used this money to buy clothes, especially school uniforms, jerseys, socks, and t-shirts for resale, and that is how she keeps everyone in her household fed.
Her advice to other young people and upcoming artists is to look for other avenues and think of new ideas to generate an income, especially, she says, during the lockdown period.