By Heather Dugmore, October 2007

Songstress Yvonne Chaka Chaka has launched herself on a new venture: fighting the scourge of malaria throughout the continent.

She has that unmistakeable 'It' factor attributed to silver screen stars like Marilyn Monroe: playful, vibrant, alluring and overflowing with feminine power. Yvonne Chaka Chaka has a tangible life force that physically emanates from her. 'I love living, I love life and I live to the fullest,' she says.

Born Yvonne Machaka in 1965 in Dobsonville, Soweto, she launched her hugely successful musical career at the age of 19. Now, 22 years later, she still performs with passion and has just released her 20th album. It was produced by her 23-year-old son, Themba.

Family has always played a vital role in Yvonne's life. Her mother, Sophie Machaka, who raised her and her two sisters single-handedly on the death of her husband, was Yvonne's pillar of strength. Sadly, she passed away in April at the age of 73. 'Not to have a mother is terrible,' Yvonne says. 'She was our parent, our friend – she was everything.'

Perhaps that's why she herself takes motherhood so seriously. Married to medical doctor Mandlalele 'Tiny' Mhinga, she has four sons, aged from 14 to 25, and an adopted daughter of 28.

But Yvonne is more than a mother and a consummate performer. Completely and proudly African, she uses her voice and superstar status to raise awareness for the social and health problems our continent faces. She has supported various causes over the years, including Aids and literacy projects, but since 2005 has thrown herself into battling malaria, a scourge that kills 3000 people in Africa each day.

In March this year, she took her anti-malaria campaign a step further when she launched the Princess of Africa Foundation. Its mission: to facilitate the achievement of accountability to the communities of Africa who bear the burden of malaria. Reader's Digest caught up with Yvonne in July at her home office in Bryanston, Johannesburg, to talk about music, family and reaching out to the people of Africa.

RD: Tell us about your latest album.
Chaka Chaka: It's called 1828. The two numbers are very significant to me: I was born on March 18. My son, Themba, was born on March 28. My mother passed away on April 28. The President's birthday is June 18. Mandela's birthday is July 18. I think there is a lot of connection there. I always wanted to make an impact in the world or in the societies that I live amongst. My music should entertain, but people should also be informed and be educated. Njulasa talks about Aids. Let the Children Live is dedicated to children suffering from hunger and diseases.

RD: You perform all over, but where do you most enjoy performing?
Chaka Chaka: I actually do not have a specific place. As long as I have my mike and my audience, I just give it out. I love performing for audiences more than in the studio and I still rehearse even after 20 years of being in the industry. When I have a show, I rehearse for a week or two and perfect the repertoire. I travel all over the world, and around here I do lots of corporate gigs. But I want to go and perform for my people. I am planning a tour to showcase my music from 1985 until 2007.

RD:You are widely known as the Princess of Africa. How did you get this name?
Chaka Chaka: I went to perform in Uganda in 1991 and 5000 people were at the airport. I asked my promoter what they were there for and he said, 'They have come to see the Princess of Africa.' When I came out, people had placards 'We love you Chaka Chaka, you are the Princess of Africa'. I had goose flesh, I couldn't stop pinching myself. That is why Uganda has a very special place in my heart.

RD: You're best known for your singing, but there are many other sides to you. Can you tell us more about your philanthropic projects?
Chaka Chaka: I go out and do public speaking to sensitise communities, to tell them about the importance of giving. My mum taught me that when you die you are never going to take anything with you. So when I have, I share with others. That is why I looked after ten kids in Soweto, paying for their school fees. One of my boys is studying law and he comes from the squatter camps.

RD: Weren't you involved in an adult literacy project?
Chaka Chaka: I taught, ja. It started when I went to Woolworths one day and this poor guy was buying three packs of pet's meat because they were cheap. He was illiterate and didn't realise it was pet's meat because it was nicely packaged. So in the 90s I went to Unisa and got my diploma in Adult Education. I taught people in Alexandra out of the love of it.

RD: Today you are a malaria goodwill ambassador for Unicef. How did that come about?
Chaka Chaka: I have always done fundraising and in January 2005 I was invited by Unicef to Bob Marley's 60th birthday in Ethiopia. When I got there, one of Unicef's representatives said, 'I have come to entice you to be one of our goodwill ambassadors.' He explained that goodwill ambassadors highlight a plight and that they needed popular people to highlight malaria, child trafficking and Aids. With all those big numbers of Aids in South Africa they thought I would say Aids. But I said malaria and told them the story of Phumzile.

RD: And what did . . .?
Chaka Chaka: Phumzile Ntuli was my backing singer. We were the main act at a fundraiser for the Cancer Association in Kenya in July 2004. They had musicians from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Phumzile contracted cerebral malaria and died after coming back home. For me, it is something very personal, very close to my heart. When she died, I did research. Malaria is the number one killer in Africa and it is so sad that people do not know this. I found that malaria is curable and preventable and I got angry. I thought, OK, I travel all over the world. How can I help to sensitise people, to make people aware, to talk about malaria and get people to take precautions? It [the position as malaria goodwill ambassador] was like a puzzle that was coming together for me. I believe I am a great advocate, sensitising communities and talking to people in higher places who have got the know-how. I started my own Princess of Africa Foundation because there are just too many things happening here.

RD: When did you start the Foundation and what does it do?
Chaka Chaka: It was launched on March 14. We work with different NGOs in different countries. Governments in Africa get donor money from the Global Fund, from the World Bank, from Bill Gates or wherever. I would like to see donor money being used appropriately and effectively. People need to be educated, to know their rights. Children under five, pregnant women, they need medication, they need nets. And they must demand such things.

RD: So you collaborate with the NGOs and contribute almost a watchdog function to ensure that the funds . . .
Chaka Chaka: Are spent correctly and rightfully. I think different people do different good work out there, but would like to see it happen more and more and people knowing their rights, knowing what they are getting, knowing that they are not supposed to buy things when they are supposed to get them for nothing.

RD: You widely travel the African continent. Can you give us your impression of what Africa is like today?
Chaka Chaka: I really love Africa. There is warmth – even the poorest of the poor have love in their faces and strive to live. I would love to see them living a better life. I get very upset with our leaders, but the West came and raped Africa, stripped all the minerals, took everything. It is just so sad that the West had to have a piece of cake in Africa. It is high time we did things for ourselves.

South Africa is the power house of Africa and we have a great leader with a vision to make Africa a better place. But Uganda is the first place where I saw people living positively with Aids. The numbers have turned around there because people talk about it and there is no stigma.

RD: You are away an extraordinary amount. How do you cope with that in terms of your relationship with Tiny?
Chaka Chaka: Tiny understands and helps a lot. He makes a very good father to his children and is amazing. When he married me, he knew I was an entertainer. Sometimes he thinks I take on more than I can handle and complains when I am away. I tell him he has got me for ever; these people have me for a little time.

RD: What is the core strength of your relationship?
Chaka Chaka: Giving each other space, communicating, respecting each other and knowing when to toe the line.

RD: You have four boys and an adopted daughter. What does motherhood mean to you?
Chaka Chaka: Motherhood is being there for my family, trying to work hard for them. I know what it is like to sleep without food. I know what it is like not to have. So for me being a mother is wanting my kids to have everything that I never had and making them better people. But you cannot always just give, give, give. Kids have to work for it.

RD: How did you come to adopt your daughter Kagiso?
Chaka Chaka: I am the face for First National Bank and every time I went to the marketing meetings, Kagiso would be there. She was quite young then – 20, 21. I said to her, 'You contribute a lot and you know your story. Your mother must be proud of you.' She started crying and told me that she did not have a mother. I said, 'You found one now.'

RD: Your dad passed away when you were 11 and your mum raised you.
Chaka Chaka: My mum was not that educated – she had a Standard 6, but she had been a teacher in the olden days. As a single parent, she had to make ends meet and was a domestic worker for a Florida madam. We lived in one room in the yard and the master hated us. I grew up being an angry child because I could not understand why. But my mum made me the woman I am today. She instilled so many good values, like respecting yourself, loving yourself unconditionally, never wishing to be somebody else. She was a very strong person, very straightforward. I will always miss her.

RD: While performing and raising a family you've also built a business empire. What is the secret behind that?
Chaka Chaka: I make money from my music so people ask me if I am a business person or a musician. I say music is business. I registered Chaka Chaka Promotions in 1989 to take care of my life and my business. I work for myself, but you cannot work alone, you need advice, so I have consultants that I work with.

RD: How do you divide your time between your career, your family and your community involvement?
Chaka Chaka: It is easy, you know. You do not live alone – you live with communities, you live with your family, you are amongst others. I get very upset when people say, 'I did not have time for this.' We can always make time for anything. We can make time to go to a wedding, we can make time to go and see sick people. Sometimes I feel I overstretch myself, but then I sleep a lot over a weekend. I can sleep from Friday wake up, brush my teeth, have my coffee, go back to sleep, wake up, have dinner, go back to sleep.

RD: You are 42 now and looking younger by the day. Where do you get your love of life and your energy from?
Chaka Chaka: I am not a very complicated person. I get my strength from just being happy. I do get depressed, I get angry, I get upset. But at the end of the day I wake up and say: 'God, thank you for the life that you have given me.' I am a selfish prayer: I pray for myself first, then for my husband and my family, because I want God to give me the strength to wake up in the morning and smile and talk.

RD: Do you eat healthily?
Chaka Chaka: I am not very particular with food but I try to eat low fats, take my bran, make sure I have all my vitamins. My weakness is that I have a sweet tooth. I like cakes, I love desserts . . .

RD: And you do not drink?
Chaka Chaka: Not at all. I tried drinking in Standard 8, Standard 9, and I got so drunk my friends laughed at me. I felt ill and I felt dirty. I was throwing up, I was smelly, and I decided I would never drink again.

RD: What is your greatest fear?
Chaka Chaka: I do not have fears. I used to, I used to be so scared of dying. They tried to hijack Tiny and me a while back and I started praying. Two came with guns, one on Tiny's side, one on my side. They had a gun to his head and stripped Tiny's pockets, took his money, his watch, his bracelet, his rings, the car keys. I was waiting for them to start shooting, but at that moment they recognised me and said, 'Oh Mama Africa! It is you! You are the people's person.' Then they gave my husband everything back and asked us for forgiveness.

After that, I used to be so scared. We have an electric fence, CCTV, we have beams everywhere. Then I said to myself they might not kill me in the yard. You could be in Washington, you could be in London, anything can happen. So I stopped being scared and now I am ready to meet my Creator.

RD: What is your ultimate goal in life?
Chaka Chaka: You know, I would love for all people to be equal in the world and just to know that God loves us all. It is wishful thinking, but if we can wake up one morning and all live freely . . . because when we are born, we come with our hands closed, we have nothing. And when we die, we die with nothing.