28th – 29th JULY 8AM – 5PM

njabulo (injabulo) - Nbebele/Zulu noun

translation: joy, happiness, pleasure, humour

In our 11th year of The Festival and our 2nd year at the picturesque Domboshava Village we are invoking all the blessings that our ancestors have bestowed onto us by once again gathering to present all the creativity that abounds amongst us. Having performed the Nhuruka Ceremony earlier in the year we now converge once again on The Hill to witness schools from all over Zimbabwe and beyond showcase art and creativity that exhudes joy, happiness, pleasure and humour. This year's theme: Njabulo encompasses all of these emotional states and we intend to embrace them.

All participants get your acts ready and all audiences

get ready for 2 days of absolute bliss!

AMMARA BROWN WILL BE LIVE ON STAGE!

JEROME GALIAO (Dr Nyasha Mugari in eTV soap “Scandal”) WILL BE HOSTING ACTING WORKSHOPS

Our festival this year will run from the 27th to the 29th of July, starting at 8:30am until 5pm. The five featured art categories will have different sub themes namely: Drama - ‘Statutory Rape’ -to further bring awareness and action to the global problem, Poetry, Visual Art & Fashion - Ubuntu (Realizing African-ism); musical acts will have a focus on the late musician Souljah Love and participants will be required to include at least 1 song of the late musician in their allotted 10-minute performance as a way to help young people further appreciate the evolution and establishment of Zimbabwe’s music industry by such music legends; and lastly Dance will embody the theme ‘Njabulo.’

Get more information at programs@letthemtrust.org.zw , info@letthemtrust.org.zw or Call/WhatsApp +263772506506

Voice2Rep Partners with Let Them Trust to Release Fourth Studio Album

Voice2Rep, a music competition that supports up and coming socially conscious artists, announced a partnership with Let Them Trust to release their fourth studio album. The album, titled “Intetho/Hurukuro - The Expression,” will be released on July 27, 2023, at the Let Them Festival in Domboshava.

Voice to Represent (“Voice2Rep”) is a first-of-its-kind music competition searching for underground and undiscovered music artists who support greater representation, participation and accountability across Mali, Nigeria, Liberia and Zimbabwe. It gives rising stars a platform to make their voices heard, connect with socially-conscious leaders in the music industry, and build the skills they need to shape the future of the country through music.

The album features a variety of songs that celebrate the power of expression. The songs range from upbeat anthems, traditional sounds featuring mbira and guitar to more reflective ballads. The album also features a group song which all ten artists collaborated on fusing their genres, sounds and messages.

“This Festival is a wonderful opportunity for the artists to share their music and message with the people,” said Amanda Marufu, Project Officer of Voice2Rep. “The artists have worked hard on their messaging this year, and are excited to showcase the power of expression and start conversations about the issues that matter to young people.”

“We are excited to partner with Voice2Rep to release this album,” said Chido Musasiwa, Founder of Let Them Trust. “This album is a powerful reminder of the importance of the arts and the power of expression. We believe that this album will inspire people of all ages to use their voices to make a difference in the world.”

Find out more about Voice2Represent HERE

THANK YOU TO OUR DELIGHTFUL PARTNERS

MORE ARE GETTING ONBOARD

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR IN 2022

the let them annual schools arts festival 10th anniversary plus Carnival Roadshow and
5km & 10km Marathon to the Let Them Trust Village

fun in domboshava!

Live music performances.

Dance & Visual Arts theme: Tambai

Drama & Poetry theme: Child Trafficking

Time: 7am-5pm Date: 30 July 2022

10 YEARS OF THE ANNUAL SCHOOLS ARTS FESTIVAL

Born in 2012, the Let Them Schools Arts Festival held the very first event at Churchill Boys High with 12 participating schools. It grew over the years into a 2 day festival hosting up to 75 schools at a national and regional level. The festival was held at the Agricultural Show Ground Fun Park Area for 3 years, at Ellis Robins and at Harare Polytechnic for 3 years.

Schools and participatings acts from Botswana Malawi, Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have graced this festival with over 38000 watching their peers performing. Upcoming and Renowned artists have donated their services to not only perform but to also mentor participating schools. A number of brands and various organizations have sponsored our festival to ensure that students have a platform to perform and learn from seasoned acts.

During 2020 and 2021 when a physical festival was impossible to host we did not stop. We held online festivals that enabled us to host international acts and audiences. Our theme for 2020 was Unlocked because no lock down was going to stop us forging ahead.

In 2021 we streamlined our acts due to Covid 19 and the lockdowns that were put into place. We selected 5 acts, all aged between 8 and 19 years of age, from Harare, Mutare and Bulawayo, filmed them on location at the Let Them Village in Domboshava and packaged their material for online broadcast.

This year marks our 10th anniversary and our Theme is Tambai. Our platform is a space where we Let Them Play but learn whilst at play. This event is made more special by hosting it at the festival's final home:

The Let Them Trust Village.

2021 FESTIVAL DURING COVID LOCKDOWN

Let Them Festival 2021

PoetryMonth Intro

01:05

Granny talks about poetry

00:47

FARAI GRAND FINALE LETS GOOO with openng 3rd

04:00

Let Them Dance MC Intro

00:55

Let Them Festival 2019
Dreams Manifest

The 7th Schools Annual Festival ran under the theme Dreams Manifest. This year’s festival was held at the Harare Polytechnic on the 5th and 6th of July 2019. Four thousand five hundred (4500) attendees lit the venue and thronged the Polytechnic grounds to witness creative

performances from different schools and renowned artists.

See more pictures from the festival in the Gallery section and read the full article on performances in the Blog section.

THE ANNUAL SCHOOLS ARTS FESTIVAL 2018

The Annual School's Arts Festival is a two day event featuring Poetry, Theater, Music, Dance, Visual Arts and Fashion. It is open to schools from around Zimbabwe and Southern Africa.

The festival has gone from strength to strength over the last 10 years and has attracted the attention of potential stakeholders in Malawi, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa. Botswana has sent participants to the last two events. In 2018, through our partnership with Agora Zimbbwe and Eyes For The World, more than 250 children walked away with brand new spectacles from our generous sponsors. Furthemore 10 performing students were signed by Loud Africa, a new talent show that is being aired on ZTV.

For the first time ever, we hosted an international poet. The Botswana poet, Mr Sarulebe, graced our stage and performed with Innocent Chinodakufa, a student from Churchill. The Association of Botswana Schools Performing Arts (ABOPSA) sent diplomatic officials to our festival and sponsored young poet to perform. ABOPSA also funded 3 members of the Let Them Trust and one journalist to their festival in Botswana from the 15th to the 18th of August in In 2018.

We also had a six member delegation from Light of Youth of Youth Creative Organisation (LYCO), a Malawi registered trust. We are planning to partner with them such that they bring students from Malawi for our festivals and we do the same for their festivals.

Let Them Festival has many success stories. Some of the performers have featured at the Chimanimani Arts, Shoko and HIFA Festivals. A student from our festival was selected for the AfriKera Dance Trust Diploma and has since graduated. Moreover the festival has also provided a platform for schools with children with special needs to showcase their talent. Vimbainashe Learning Institute, Jairos Jiri Secondary School, Saint Giles and Emerald Hill School for the Deaf have all performed, and won in the Theatre Category.