In Chawama township, one of Lusaka, Zambia’s most densely populated communities, the journey from youth to adulthood is rarely linear. It is shaped by a complex mix of economic hardship, limited institutional support and social environments that often narrow rather than expand the horizon of possibilities.
For many young people, daily life is defined by the need to navigate uncertainty, where access to education, employment, and creative expression is constrained, and where the absence of opportunity can easily translate into cycles of frustration and disillusionment.
Within this context, the choices available to young people are often framed less by aspiration and more by survival. Substance abuse, petty crime and gang affiliation become not just social concerns, but symptoms of deeper structural inequalities that leave many feeling excluded from meaningful participation in society. However, even within such environments, there are young people who actively resist these trajectories, choosing instead to carve out alternative pathways that redefine what is possible.
It is within this landscape that Emmanuel Phiri’s journey takes shape, a story that is reflective of the broader realities facing youth in underserved communities and the potential of youth-led initiatives such as Dreamers Youth Alliance.
Early Influences: Creativity as Exposure and Foundation
Popularly known as DJ Divine to the public, Emmanuel was born and raised in Chawama township and attended Libala Secondary School, growing up in an environment where creativity and hardship co-existed in equal measure. Raised by his mother, a practicing artist, his early life was marked by a unique form of exposure that would later influence his life’s journey in unexpected ways.
“My mother was an artist, and she would take me to rehearsals and recording sessions when I was young,” Emmanuel recalls. “At the time, I didn’t fully understand what I was seeing, but being in those spaces stayed with me.”
Unlike many of his peers who were drawn to performing, Emmanuel developed an interest in the technical processes behind music production. He became fascinated with how sound was captured, manipulated, and refined, an interest that would later evolve into a skillset grounded in sound engineering and digital production.
This early exposure is significant not only because it introduced him to music, but because it provided a glimpse into an alternative world, one where creativity could be both expressive and economically viable. However, this foundation would soon be tested by a life-altering event.
Navigating Grief and Instability
The death of Emmanuel’s mother while he was in Grade Nine marked a turning point in his life, introducing a level of emotional and economic instability that reshaped his circumstances. As an only child raised by a single parent, her passing meant the loss of both a caregiver and a source of inspiration.
“When my mother passed away, everything changed,” he explains. “I had to move in with my grandmother, and life became much more difficult.”
This transition reflects a common reality for many young people in similar contexts, where the loss of a parent often leads to disruptions in education, increased financial strain and heightened vulnerability. Despite these challenges, Emmanuel remained committed to completing his secondary education.
“I knew that even if things were hard, I had to finish school,” he says. “It felt like one of the few things I still had control over.”
Life After Secondary School
After completing high school, Emmanuel encountered a structural barrier that continues to limit the potential of many young people across Zambia: the inability to access tertiary education due to financial constraints. Without the resources to pursue college, he was forced to enter the informal economy, taking on piecework jobs in order to survive.
“I couldn’t go to college because there was no financial support,” he explains. “So I started doing piecework—anything I could find just to get by.”
This period of his life highlights the broader systemic challenges faced by youth in low-income communities, where the transition from education to employment is often characterised by uncertainty and limited upward mobility. However, Emmanuel’s response to this situation revealed his ability to think beyond immediate survival and invest in long-term growth.
“I didn’t want to remain stuck,” he says. “So I started saving small amounts of money so I could learn something that would help me move forward.”
Emmanuel enrolled in a short computer course, using the limited resources he had accumulated through piecework. This decision marked a strategic shift toward skill acquisition, particularly in the area of digital music production.
“I wanted to understand how to use computers for music,” he explains. “That’s where I saw an opportunity.”
With access to a friend’s laptop, he began teaching himself music production software, gradually building his technical expertise through experimentation and persistence. This self-directed learning process reflects a broader trend among young people who, in the absence of formal training opportunities, turn to informal and peer-based methods of acquiring skills.
“I spent a lot of time just learning on my own,” Emmanuel says. “It wasn’t easy, but I knew that if I kept going, I could build something.”
Entrepreneurship as Survival and Opportunity
From these beginnings, Emmanuel established a small recording studio in Chawama, initially as a means of generating income and achieving a degree of financial independence. However, the studio quickly evolved beyond its original purpose as he began to engage with other young people in the community.
“At first, it was just about creating an opportunity for myself,” he reflects. “But as time went on, I started seeing that there were many others like me.”
Young people began to gravitate toward the studio, bringing with them not only their talents, but also their shared experiences of marginalisation and limited opportunity. This organic growth transformed the studio into a community space, where creativity served as both an outlet and a form of engagement.
“I realized that many young people had talent, but they didn’t have a place to develop it,” Emmanuel explains. “That’s when I started thinking beyond myself.”
This shift in perspective led to the formation of Dreamers Youth Alliance, a youth-led initiative aimed at addressing the challenges faced by young people in Chawama through creative engagement, mentorship and peer support.
“Dreamers Youth Alliance came from the idea that young people need a space where they can grow and stay away from negative influences,” Emmanuel says. “It’s about helping them discover what they are capable of.”
The initiative brings together young people from similar backgrounds, creating a platform for talent development while actively discouraging involvement in substance abuse and criminal activity. Importantly, it is grounded in the lived realities of its members, making it both relevant and responsive to the needs of the community.
Partnership with ZGF
Dreamers Youth Alliance is among the youth groups supported by the Zambian Governance Foundation (ZGF), whose work centers on strengthening communities, supporting civil society, and advancing locally led development approaches. This partnership reflects a broader recognition of the importance of investing in initiatives that are rooted in community knowledge and driven by local actors.
For Emmanuel, this support represents both validation and opportunity.
“Being part of something that is supported by ZGF shows that what we are doing is important, it gives us the confidence to continue and to reach more young people,” he says.
ZGF’s engagement with Dreamers Youth Alliance illustrates a shift away from externally imposed solutions toward models that prioritise community ownership, participation, and sustainability. By supporting youth-led initiatives, the organisation contributes to the creation of ecosystems where young people are not only beneficiaries, but leaders and innovators.
Emmanuel’s journey challenges dominant narratives that often portray young people in communities like Chawama as passive or problematic. Instead, it highlights their capacity for resilience, creativity and leadership when given the opportunity to thrive.
“When people look at places like Chawama, they often only see problems,” Emmanuel reflects. “But there is also talent, there is potential, and there are young people who want to do better.”
This mindset is critical in shifting how youth development is approached, emphasising the need to move beyond deficit-based frameworks toward approaches that recognise and build on existing strengths within communities.
To learn more, feel free to reach out via info@zgf.org.zm
