Help school kids in Zimbabwe learn traditional Matepe Mbira

James Kamwaza from Rushinga is one of the few remaining master musicians and maker of the Hera (or Matepe). This very rare and therefore little-known instrument is one of the most complex mbiras (lamellophones) on the entire African continent, with a fascinating, unique and outstanding musical repertoire. Cultural world heritage!

Together with a few other musicians (including Mishek Nyamukuvhengu), he teaches secondary school children at Mary Mount High School how to play the Hera.

With the money from this fundraiser, we want to pay for the construction of three Heras, which will be made available to the school project on a permanent basis (the children are currently practicing on the musicians' own instruments).

The remaining funds will support the families of the musicians and the children in the current hunger crisis, and ensure the continuation of the project.

More from James Kamwaza here:

https://matepe.org/james-kamwaza

https://matepe.org/master-matepe-makers-playing-moments

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My name is Stefan Franke. I live in Berlin and I'm the creator of Sympathetic-Resonances.org , a free learning and documentation platform for mbira music.

In 2023, my Zimbabwean partners and I conducted cultural preservation project for matepe/hera music, supported by the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) and the German Embassy in Harare: matepe.org.