JOHANNESBURG, Oct 20 : Zee TV Africa’s newest channel Zee Zonke has honoured 28 unsung community achievers in diverse fields who feature in an inaugural series on the channel.
Their stories are being told in the 15-part series ‘Amaqhawe – Our Heroes) on Zee Zonke, the only TV channel in South Africa’s largest spoken indigenous language, isiZulu. It is simultaneously being aired across the African continent on Zee Africa.
“With Amaqhawe, we have tried to create a platform to celebrate heroes of our nation who are doing their bit to make this country a better place for all of us, which many aspire for, but not many take the plunge in doing our bit,” said Somnath Malakar, Chief Executive Officer at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited – Africa & Indian Ocean Islands, at a gala event in Johannesburg where the 28 finalists were honoured.
“Every society needs heroes, not necessarily to be on the silver screen, or on history pages because they have fought for our independence. They are among us – we just need a different lens to identify them. Their stories need to be recorded and told to the world,” Malakar said.
“In a world where true heroes often go uncelebrated, Amaqhawe has shone a light on the incredible achievements of South Africans excelling across diverse fields – from arts and business to medicine and education. These unsung heroes are transforming lives and paving the way for future generations with their work in music, literature, entertainment, social justice, and beyond,” Malakar added.
Malakar emphasised that this was not a competitive exercise where there were any top prize winners, because they came from diverse fields and were all recognised equally.
Consul General for India in Johannesburg Mahesh Kumar expressed the hope that the efforts by Zee TV would inspire many others to follow in the footsteps of the heroes and heroines that it had identified.
“I am happy that this initiative was taken by an Indian-origin company – Zee Entertainment. We have great similarities in the cultures of India and South Africa with a shared love of art, music and family values. These commonalities make the collaboration between Zee TV and South African audiences particularly significant,” Kumar said.
“Initiatives like this contribute to enhance India-South Africa relations by fostering greater understanding, mutual respect and cultural exchange,” he added.
Recently appointed South African Ambassador to India Anil Sooklal, speaking via video link from New Delhi, echoed Kumar’s sentiments.
“Amaqhawe Awards is a platform that will enrich South African society and enrich the cooperation between India and South Africa,” Sooklal said.
Sooklal said the Amaqhawe Awards created the opportunity to recognise the opportunities that exist and to unearth the immense talent that is present in a country like South Africa.
Malakar pledged that the series would continue next year, this time with public input on nominations.
“For this inaugural one, we enlisted the support of many community leaders to identify those whose stories needed to be told.
“They have done well and the shortlist from almost 300 nominations was adjudged by a panel of respected community leaders as well. Judging by the responses we are getting to the programme, we expect hundreds more nominations next year and are looking forward to recognising even more unsung heroes and heroines in the community,” Malakar said. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
