Book Shungudzo

Shungudzo is a Zimbabwean-American singer and songwriter whose path to music ran through elite gymnastics, humanitarian work and reality television. Born Alexandra Shungudzo Govere, she trained in dance and ballet as a child and made history as Zimbabwe's first Black woman artistic gymnast on the international stage, competing at the 1999 All-Africa Games in Johannesburg as the youngest member of the national squad. An academic standout, she finished high school by age 14 and went on to study civil engineering at Stanford University. As a girl in Harare she began collecting clothing for children orphaned by AIDS, and by 2002 the effort had grown into the Kijana Project, an international organization she and her sister ran that supported orphans in six countries with clothing, toys, school supplies and tuition. She also raised funds for Red Cross relief after floods in Mozambique. In 2011 she reached a wide television audience as a cast member on The Real World: San Diego. As a recording artist she released her debut album I'm not a mother, but I have children in 2021. Shungudzo brings a powerful voice and a remarkable personal story of purpose and resilience to the stage.