Rita Paulsen Interview

“I saw there were Tanzanian youths with so much talent but just lacking a platform to showcase it”

Hit TV talent show Bongo Star Search is well known for the moving stories of its contestants and Rita Paulsen – the show’s founder and one of its team of judges – has her own story to share of overcoming challenges to achieve success. Here she talks to Jahazi about being ostracised as a teenage mum and how she found the strength to help herself and now enjoys being able to help others reach their potential.

Bongo Star Search has been a huge success with this year seeing the broadcast of its 11th season. Who, for you, has been the best act in the show’s history?

Thankfully every year we get different talents, new contestants showcasing fresh unique styles, with varying background stories, which are always moving. It is rather difficult to pick a particular favourite, but if I must I would say so far my favourite was the Season 6 winner Walter Chilambo because his transformation and how he evolved on this show was quite shocking to all of us. He came on this show unnoticed, not calling for too much attention, but as the show went on, he slowly captured everyone’s attention including mine and to this day, he is one of our great ambassadors doing very well in the gospel music industry.

You also have to burst the bubble of a lot of people’s dreams if they are clearly not as talented as they think they are. Is that hard?

It’s a very difficult task, I always get emotional about it because I know how much they want to make it in life and they need this opportunity, because I’ve been there wanting to do something and you don’t want to lose any chance you get. I try to convince the other judges to be slightly soft on them and we fight a lot. If it was only up to me everyone who makes the top 10 would be a winner. It really is painful and a very hard thing to do when you know this is someone’s dream, someone’s future.

The judges are crucial to the show. You all have your own distinct, strong characters, but seem to get on well. Is that the case?

Funny enough we do get on so well, and we have good chemistry despite all of the judges standing up for their cause as they are experienced music industry figures and they understand exactly what to look for in an artist. Generally we get along very well, though we fight here and there and do have our misunderstandings. We are all there for the same cause. It is so much fun working together.

When you started the show, did you expect you would find so much singing talent among Tanzanians as you travelled the country with your auditions?

Yes, I actually knew we would find a lot of talent out there, because before I started Bongo Star Search I did notice there were a lot of youths with so much talent but were just lacking a platform to showcase it. Before that I used to do music videos for talented people who could not afford to pay for them. The reason why I chose to do Bongo Star Search was to give a platform to many! Running my production company [Benchmark Productions] I used to offer just one video to one artist every other year, then I figured there is so much talent out there and this show would give them a chance to show stakeholders their talent, because you never know who is watching!

You became pregnant at 14 and experienced some ostracism in the Karagwe District, where you grew up, and had to put aside ambitions to become a lawyer as a result. Yet you did not let those experiences define you and went on to build your own media empire. How do you feel you can be a role model to young girls who may feel the same pressures as you growing up?

Yes, I was a mother at the age of 14, it is true! And it’s true that I owned my own business by the age of 25. It was definitely not easy, but there was a voice inside me that told me ‘I am a winner’ and that I will get over it. Maybe it was because I was so young that nothing really bothered me or completely broke me, so I was strong without knowing where I was getting the strength from.

From the tender age of 14, I started thinking like a 40-year-old woman. I was like here I am now, I have a child, I have a life that I have to take care of, so I had to stand up for the child and that made me very mature. Well, yeah I went through all of that and God blessed me with all those people who were judging me and segregating me. I ended up being someone who took care of their children, who educated their children. I honestly forgave [those who ostracised Paulsen] and didn’t take the treatment to heart as I thought I did wrong, maybe I deserved to be treated that way, but then am like ‘how do I fight it?’. I figured I can only fight it if I succeed, despite being a mother at 14. That is the answer!

I can be a role model to young girls as I am proof that if something like that happens it is not the end of the world – there is another life. I advise parents to talk to their daughters, to their children at a very early age. Most of the times these things happen because of ignorance. That is how I raised my children, I talked to them and we had discussions. So they never went through what I went through – that was my dream; they didn’t have to go through what I went through, so I had to apply a different approach towards raising them, in ways that I didn’t experience while growing up with my parents due to stigma.

So yes, it is not the end of the world. Someone having a child doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to go to school, they don’t deserve to be educated. The brain is still there, and they can be very important people in the world! I stand for that. It doesn’t mean when you have a child that you are a gone case.

What are the most important lessons you can pass on to other budding entrepreneurs on how to start their businesses?

When you want to start a business, you really need to know what you want to do. The business I started was something I passionately loved. I love what I do, and it was my dream to do what I am doing now. When you start a business you are very fond of you do it so well. Of course, you have to have discipline and not give up. Business is not easy, so if you start business in one year and things are not working out and you give up – you will never make it in business! You have to have perseverance. If you expect after two years, you’re going to find lots of money in your account, that not going to happen! You need to have discipline and work very hard to sustain the business and if your business survives past five years then you are doing very well. But even if you fail, you have to keep trying. The magic is to choose a business you have a passion for. I had so much passion when started my business and I think that was the key to my success.

As host of The Rita Paulsen Show do you enjoy meeting new people and finding out about their stories?

The Rita Paulsen Show is another dream project of mine that I managed to fulfil, which developed from my love and admiration of [US chat show queen] Oprah Winfrey. I do enjoy meeting new people and exchanging ideas, but my core purpose for this show was to make a difference in people’s lives and impact viewers in a positive manner. The show aimed at giving each invited guest the avenue to share and educate the audience about their life’s struggles and successes. The show delves into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people, with the objective to enlighten, entertain, inspire and provide sustainable solutions to various problems in our society.

Who are your Tanzanian heroes?

Wow! Interesting question. I would have to say Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, [Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations] Asha-Rose Migiro and Samia Suluhu, Tanzania’s first female Vice-President.

How would you like to be remembered?

As a very strong, passionate, kind, loving and hard-working woman who has changed a lot of people’s lives.

Do you have a special place in Tanzania where you go to escape and relax?

Yes, I love Zanzibar very much. Generally I love nature and I have been to most of the exotic places in Tanzania but more frequently to Zanzibar.

What was the best kiss of your life?

I was lucky to meet Nelson Mandela, and he kissed my hand – so that day I will never forget. I felt very special and I actually cried. I really loved him.

To whom would you like to say ‘sorry’?

I always say sorry to everybody who I have wronged. Most likely the person I would like to say sorry to is not alive.

What keeps you awake at night?

Whenever there is something am working I tend to stay up late, building on the idea as I am, sadly, a perfectionist.

What has been your biggest challenge in life?

There have been so many challenges in my life. But I actually embrace the challenges that I have experienced as I believe they have made me who I am today. When something is very easy it actually bores me. I feed on challenges and I always overcome them.

Rita with the other Bongo Star Search judges Master J, Ommy Dimpoz, Christian Bella and host Idris Sultan

Images: Mark Photography