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| Tinashe Savanhu |
AN unemployed Zimbabwean youth — Tinashe Savanhu — has become a popular figure in the suburb of Kuwadzana for his unique dog-like barking “skills” which can be mistaken for a charging vicious bulldog.
After realising his rare talent, Savanhu (21) went commercial, a development which helps him earn a few dollars for a plate of sadza on a daily basis as he barks at Kuwadzana 4 Shopping Centre.
“My father was a police officer based in Mbare so I grew up there attending police fun fairs —that’s where the roots of my love for dogs can be traced to.
“I discovered the talent when I moved to Kuwadzana after my father passed away,” he said. Savanhu does not need minutes to make people gather around him as he simply barks like a dog much to the amazement and amusement of passersby who may end up giving him some coins for a repeat act.
“Ndikahukura vanhu havatane kuungana kunyanya vakadzi nevana. Pese pandinofamba muno (Kuwadzana) ndotonetswa nevakadzi vachiti mukwasha chimbotiitirai, mukwasha tiitirei. (When I bark people mob me, especially women and children. Whenever I take a walk around Kuwadzana women pester me for a performance).
“On a good day, I can make as much as $5 while on other days a $1 or so for performing dog sounds,” he said.
When the WeekendPost visited him at his Kuwadzana home, Svanhu said it is high time he to performed outside his neighbourhood.
“Apart from performing dog sounds, I am a rising reggae artiste and a talented master of ceremonies. “I am looking for a serious promoter who can help me in reaching out to a wider audience,” he said.
However, despite Savanhu’s vision and passion for dogs, his mother — Beauty Mulo — finds it hard to come to terms with her son’s rare talent.
“It is always good for parents to support their children in what they want to be in life but for my son’s talent I still need strong people to convince me.
“I am still deliberating on whether is it a talent or not. Nowadays I have changed a bit towards him — I am now grudgingly giving him support but initially I used to stop him from barking ndichiti unoda kuti ndizonzi ndakabara imbwa. Gogo vake ndovakamira naye vachiti mirai tione kwazvinosvika pamwe ndochipo chake (You want people to accuse me of giving birth to a dog. His granny stood by him, saying perhaps that was his talent),” she said.
Due to ever pressing economic environment in the country, the situation has affected mainly youths and as a result the majority of them have been forced to think outside the box in order to put food on their family tables.
Critics have interpreted the popularity of music genres such as Zimdancehall and pageants like the Mr Ugly contest as a polite way of down-trodden people, including ghetto youths to speak back to the government.
In this regard, critics have interpreted Savanhu’s barking as confirming the government’s failure to provide jobs to the youth, forcing them to live like dogs on the streets and as a result he barks to earn a living.
The government’s failure to provide basic employment for the youth has led to the majority of youths, mainly in high density suburbs including Kuwadzana, to be innovative.
Some of them engaged in various activities, including street vending, drugs, running mishika-shika in the central business district and filling up potholes in urban roads where they end up mounting illegal roadblocks — forcing motorists to pay for the service.
Popular Zimdancehall artiste Winky D has released a song entitled Survivor, trying to send a message to responsible authorities.
In the hit song, Winky D says the prevailing economic situation in the country is impacting negatively on the youths, but they are trying their level best to keep their boat afloat through running small-scale projects, including vending and mishika-shikas despite the fact that government deems these activities illegal — but youths have no choice.
Source:Weekend Post
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