A’mari committed to giving back to Africa

Social media sensation A'mari has returned to Zanzibar Island, off the coast of Tanzania.

Last year, following the success of her single Neko, she jetted there to celebrate and form new connections with music professionals. This time, although she has dubbed the trip as the 'Dutty Bungle Tour', she says "it's not just about music."

She shared "I feel appreciated in Africa; I get a lot of love and respect and I am just excited to be back. But being here is a lesson in itself. I am currently visiting the orphanages and also homes for the elderly and people who are mentally unstable."

A'mari said that she has found peace and identity in Africa. She had announced her conversion to Islam in December 2020, and recently hinted that she now has a fiance who resides in Zanzibar.

"We have to be out there to see what's going on. It's heart-rending to see the lost look in children's eyes even after giving them things I think they want; it doesn't change how they feel. I was always reminded as a child that my mother abandoned me at six weeks old in Jamaica," she said. "To interact and hold a child whose mother gave birth and threw her in the bushes was touching. It made me see that there is too much to be done here, I'm here two weeks now, and will maybe go on for six because while I can always go and come back, I don't want to leave."

The entertainer, given name Veneice Fung-Chung, is committed to providing long-term assistance for children's needs including healthcare, psychiatric counselling and education. She has also been making her rounds on various television and radio programmes. The plan is also to travel to Ghana but the COVID-19 situation there poses a challenge.

Egypt, Dubai and Jamaica were also named as possible stops. "Well, I could not leave out Jamaica. That's where 'Dutty Bungle' was inspired and it definitely is receiving a buzz. But I realise you have to bond with people, can't move too fast. I want to spend time studying their way of life and languages, find out their style of music and incorporate it into mine," A'mari said.

-S.L.