Page 37 - Number 2 2021 Volume 74

Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma 25

allegiance and connect with the right people, but she couldn’t because she did not
feel that was the right thing to do…for her. So, she started from scratch. She
decided to volunteer at Radio Alinafe for about 9 months and engage in the
occasional consulting positions with the United Nations, completing a variety of
projects in order to survive but fundamentally because promoting awareness in
women and children’s issues were her other passion.
In 2005, I returned to Malawi to attend one of my best friend’s wedding.
Alistair had asked if my mother would sing…. And so she did, and she danced,
performed! She entertained us and it was the old Maria – the artist, the entertainer.
I recall seeing some of her old friends and they were all saying…for “old times’
sake Mary, please sing Midnight Train to Georgia”! She didn’t think the band
was quite up to scratch, so she didn’t because unless she could execute perfectly,
she would not wish to disappoint her audience. Her standards were very high.
She was fortunate to finally get a part-time job at Zodiak in its infancy in 2006. I
believe from our discussions, that they too were very fortunate to employ her
because she had the nous, expertise, drive and experience to attract sponsors to
pay for advertising which was one of the sources of income with which an
independent radio could subsidise and sustain itself.
In her later years, she paid little attention to the “celebrity status” that
was assigned to her when people recalled the song Mwana Wamzako. A few years
ago, someone released a video on social media of her singing at Intercontinental
hotel with the Big Gold Six Band which was not the complete performance. I
knew she still had the original VHS video and I suggested that she should
download it onto DVD to release the complete song. She refused. I am not certain
of her reasons, but I do wonder whether it was anything to do with some of the
difficult periods she went through – perhaps a disillusionment that it never made
her any fortune. If success is defined by financial compensation alone, my mother
was very modestly successful. We were looked after, - fed, clothed and schooled
well. However, if success is defined by talent, skill and passion, then my mother
was a resoundingly successful woman,
As I watched tribute TV programmes and news commentary the weekend she
died, in utter disbelief and grief, there was so much that was said and written about
her. So many people commented on how she had influenced them in their own
lives, different professions because my mother transcended and broke so many
barriers. It was not just the women who were at the forefront of her drive, but I
was fascinated that she had influenced many men too. My mother had a way of
communicating with people, connecting with them, putting them at ease. In the
very few times when I was able to be present when she interviewed someone, I
was amazed how she seemed to ask such intelligent and deep questions when I
had not seen her prepare…it always seemed like a spur of the moment when an