PICTURE: A scene from 2015 edition of Ndau Festival of the Arts featuring a duet of Chiaraidze Muchongoyo of Chipinge Prison and Gaza High School of Chipinge.
TOURISM can simply be described as an activity of travelling to a place in order to satisfy a desire, especially leisure or fun. People tend to fulfil their desire for religion, sight-seeing, history, heritage and conservation through travelling.
Women play a key role in tourism. They constitute the biggest workforce in both tourism and hospitality industry. They also constitute the biggest clientele base for tourism products. Children follow women in the consumption of tourism goods and services.
While children cannot finance themselves in enjoying tourism, they have power to convince the women and men to consume tourism products. The form of tourism that children enjoy most is non-consumptive tourism. This includes viewing heritage sites and festivals.
The concept of children tourism is what Ndau Festival of Arts (NDAFA) is aiming at promoting this year. NDAFA shall run under the theme: “Creating rural arts venues – a step towards empowering rural children.”
Established in 2013, NDAFA is one of the cultural tourism events that has taken the south east of Zimbabwe by storm. Since its inception, NDAFA has been offering both school and out-of-school groups the platform to perform at its galas.
NDAFA is commemorated at Paiyapo Arts Centre at Bangira Village in Chikore communal lands under chief Musikavanhu in Chipinge East. Mr Phillip Kusasa directs the gala.
The 2016 edition of NDAFA shall take place on Saturday 23 September at Bangira. The guest of honour shall be Joyce Simango, a rooted Ndau literature writer. An author in her own right, Joyce Simango published a 90 page Ndau book titled “Zviuya zviri mberi” in 1974.
According to Mr Phillip Kusasa, the coming of Joyce Simango to grace this year’s edition of NDAFA shall give the children an opportunity to have a much insight in cultural tourism.
Said Mr Kusasa: “Children stir tourism. We need to expose them to key figures and key aspects of cultural tourism. Ndau history and heritage are very rich. What we need is to expose the children to the Ndau culture.”
Mr Kusasa added that future editions of NDAFA shall revolve around tourism for children. “Children hold our future. If they become alienated with our culture and heritage, then there we are heading for a cultural disaster.”
Last year the gala was officially opened by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Culture and Heritage, Dr Thokozile Chitepo.