07 May 2018

It has always been said that most Batswana have tremendous talent in the creative arts industry but more often than not, when a child chooses to shift their focus from academics to the arts, it attracts the wrath of parents who place success solely on good education.

Such is the case with aspiring artiste, 19-year old Daniel Leero who started singing at church at the tender age of six.

Leero said he had to strive to balance his schoolwork with being an artiste to win the support and trust of his parents, though he notes that he had the privilege of having an outstanding mentor in his mother Tebogo Leero who helped unearth his talent.

The gifted young Sefhare native plays the guitar, drums, keyboard and sings as well as being the organiser of the group The Chosen Ones?

In an interview recently, the multi-talented Leero said he formed a charitable organisation named Lame Agency whose mission was to bring youngsters together to explore and expose their talents.

“We discovered and nurtured youngsters who have amazing talents and we formed the group, which plays live band music. We have so far shared the stage with the likes of

Shanti Lo and Punah Gabasiane at a Jazz festival held to raise funds for the charitable organisation,” he said.

He said performing at the event exposed them leading to more invitations.

Leero said his greatest achievement so far was being listed in the Top 40 of melody gospel television show competition which airs on Botswana Television.

He said the performing arts in Botswana is challenging as there is not enough funds to buy instruments, and that as novices in the industry, they often fall victim to promoters who fail to pay them.

He appealed to established artistes to take them under their wings and work with them to give them more exposure.

Meanwhile, Leero advised that one needs to use their talent and constantly reinvent themselves to reach greater heights.

“Whatever the challenges that they face, the most important thing is to have courage and never give up until you make it. The problem with most artistes is that they dream big but never work towards achieving those dreams,” he noted.

He said the creative industry is a tool for behavioural change which reflects real life situations over and above educating and entertaining. ENDS