I am a Zambian based musician and actor using my influence to influence local communities and being a motivational speaker to the youthful following that I have. I have been profiled by CNN program African Voices and have had the privilege of being a part of a USAID funded TV drama 'Love Games'. I was raised in a low income community within the capital city of Zambia, Lusaka by a single mother and while seeing members of my community waste away due to poverty, substance abuse and disease, music gave me purpose and I overcame my circumstances and I tell my story every chance I get. I understand that I have a voice in my community and by using my voice to speak to underprivileged children, I open up their minds to a world of possibility and seek to inspire them to dream beyond the reach of their eyes.
My business is in music production and performance, audio advertising, branded apparel and visual arts in the form of film. I was signed to a major record label but I felt like being dependent on it limited my personal growth so I took the bold step of restarting my career on my own. I have so far funded my own projects but I still have opportunities to grow further with a significant capital injection. My influence is fueled by my relevance and my relevance comes from having products for people's consumption in form of either audio or video form which propels the sell of both albums and branded merchandise. My typical costs are for studio, printing and video equipment which I typically outsource but would love to procure my own as time goes by.
This loan will help me settle application fees for registration of a non profit foundation providing school going children in underprivileged areas with a career guidance model to have options in what they aspire to be upon completion of their education.
In many cases when I visit schools in poorer neighbourhoods or rural areas, children only aspire to be that which they see(teachers, doctors, nurses). As much as there is nothing wrong with that, it would be beneficial to them to be aware of the options they have where career choice is concerned. My organisation, once set up, will facilitate meeting, both physically and virtually, of seasoned professionals from various professional fields with school children to shed light on these careers and provide a reference point. This is entirely out of my passion.
The registration will cost roughly about $150 and the rest I intent to use on logo designs as we set the foundation up. I will settle the loan out of my pockets from my usual music business which earns me money from touring every weekend.
It is a project I am really looking forward to starring and I believe it will make a difference in some kid's lives as role models are scarce in most underprivileged areas.