There is no better person to attest to this other than Mombasa's Songbird herself Mwanaisha Abdalla aka Nyota Ndogo.
Born and raised in the Coastal city of Mombasa some 34 years ago, Nyota has lived to be the classic definition of grass to grace. To this day, I've never been able to find the right words to tell her story 'cause much as I try, my tears get the better part of me, making me weak and doubt the kind of decisions I've been making all along. I know you didn't ask for any, but I'll give you some advice for free; grab your handkerchiefs, boys and girls, it's about to get teary here!
To start with, Nyota Ndogo never had the luxury of finishing school like most of her type we see around trying to fake accents, she is what most of you would like to call a school drop-out. This however doesn't mean that she didn't have the brains to fend for herself then, hell no, Nyota defied the odds and found herself something to do, though not the best of jobs, she worked as a maid, not as a maid of honor but a house-maid!
Nyota's star began to shine when she got discovered by a Mombasa-based producer Mr. Andrew Burchell who held her hand through the musical journey. She became the talk of town when she won the Kisima Award for best Taarab Singer in 2003 and going even further to win the best female singer in 2005.
Since then, the Watu na Viatu singer has worked with quite a handful of big names both locally and internationally, with some of her notable achievements being representing Kenya in various countries and festivals around the world, with the latest being The Smithsonian Festival in the United States. She was also one of the judges at the popular show, Tusker Project Fame.
On behalf of the Pwani Celebrity Awards crew, I want to continue wishing her well in all that she does.
Nyota yako na ikazidi kung'aa..
