Blessing Nduku
Hodzeko Arts and Culture Association (HACA) has taken a significant step towards fostering resilience and community engagement by launching the Voices of Resilience project, which highlights the work of Zimbabwean poets with disabilities.
Through this initiative, HACA brought together poets with or without disabilities, showcasing and highlighting the importance of inclusivity in the arts industry.
Speaking during the launch, which was held at the Gweru Press Club, the Executive Director of HACA, Dumisani Ndlovu, highlighted the project’s goal, which promotes inclusivity and diversity in the arts.
Voices of Resilience is an imitative that seeks to enhance inclusivity and representation within the literacy community, thereby offering a vital platform for gifted artists to express their unique experiences and viewpoints through poetry.
It is also an innovative anthology aiming at showcasing the work of emerging Zimbabwean poets with disabilities.
Ndlovu went on to explain how the project is going to promote arts inclusivity.
“The collection is titled Nhetsutsetu Dzamanyukira. will feature poems in Shona with Braille translations, ensuring accessibility for visually impaired readers.
We had planned to celebrate the resilience and creativity of around 100 poets nationwide, but due to limited funding,g we have scaled down to focus on a single Shona book.
The “Voices of Resilience” project commenced on March 25, 2025, with outreach efforts aimed at identifying and recruiting poets with disabilities from across Zimbabwe.
The project aims to promote inclusivity and diversity in the arts, providing a voice for poets with disabilities and highlighting the importance of accessibility and equal opportunities in crea tive endeavours.
In collaboration with local disability organisations, HACA will host both physical and virtual workshops focusing on poetry writing techniques and self-expression.
Hodzeko Arts and Culture Association (HACA) is a collective of like-minded individuals from various artistic disciplines, including filmmaking, scriptwriting, music, dance, modeling, sculpture, editing, performing arts, cultural heritage preservation, sociology, pottery, architecture, basketry, fashion design, fine arts, and craft.
Our mission is to empower early-stage arts communities to reach new heights.“Registered in Zimbabwe in 2018, HACA initially focused on promoting arts and talent through performances and exhibitions.
However, we have since expanded our scope to align with international standards, embracing the three pillars of sustainable development: economic growth, ecological balance, and social progress.
Currently, we have 150 affiliates and envision expanding our operations globally.
By fostering a multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approach to edutainment, we aim to shape, foster, and define excellence in the arts, while contributing to job creation and sustainable development.able development.
