By Duncan Mlanjira
After the success of her debut album entitled ‘I Worship’, gospel songbird Shekinah (Gloria Phiri Walusa) has produced a single which will be released on Christmas Eve through radio and television stations, Spotify and Malawimusic.com.
Shekinah says she is in the process of producing her second album but before that she decided to release the single in collaboration with several artists she works with both local and international.
After looking at life on earth, all the ups and downs, I realized that Jesus is all we need. If you have Jesus, your life and future is secured. So I titled this single ‘All I Need’.”
Shekinah taking greater heights
She said she believes the ‘I Worship’ album was a success considering the testimonies and feedback she gets from her fans, which has been very positive.
“I have received overwhelming support from fans and this makes me to push forward knowing that there is someone out there who counts on me.
“This makes me feel that I am fulfilling that which God called me to do,” she said of the first album that she launched on April 27 at Hotel Victoria, which was supported by artists like Allan Chirwa and Faith Mussa and was graced by the presence of Football Association of Malawi Walter Nyamilandu-Manda guest of honor.
“The album launch itself was also the highlight of ‘I Worship’ as I received support from the corporate world. It was so amazing to see the corporate world come in to support someone who is a first-timer.
“This made me realize that the ministry which God has placed in my life is huge and is going to impact nations. And even the turnout of the people at the launch was awesome.”
Shekinah also does social responsibility by reaching out to school girls what she named ‘Girls Pride Project’ where she donates reusable sanitary pads to post-pubescent girls in rural areas.
“The aim of this is to keep girls in school throughout the school calendar year and reduce absenteeism due to menstruation which makes them miss important classes which then has negative impact on their class performance.
The first album
“So I also encourage them to work hard in class as they are the leaders of tomorrow. Above all I encourage them to have faith and hope in God for He is the holder of their future.”
Some of the schools she has reached out to include Montfort Demonstration School, Kanje Primary, Chawe Primary, Maryview school for the deaf and St.Theresa Primary — all in Chiradzulu District.
She encourages aspiring artists that for them to succeed they need to work hard and stay firm to their dreams and not to be discouraged but take lessons from criticisms.
A banker by profession, studied at Mzimba Secondary School where she passed MSCE with an impressive 11 points that made her get selected to study Bachelors Degree in Business Administration at the University of Malawi, The Polytechnic College.
Shekinah sings in her church, Global United Believers Ministries’ Praise Team since she was 16 years old and she decided to go professional through encouragement from her family and her church friends.
She says most of her inspiration is taken from the Bible, which serves as her salvation.
“I thank all those who encouraged me to go professional with my singing rather than just sticking to the church’s Praise Team. They saw the potential in me that I can reach out to as many people as possible through worship songs,” she said.