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"Imisebenzi yezandla 2" - the NSA Training Arts Programme
Judith King. HIVAN Media Office
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On show until the end of October at the NSA's Park Gallery is a showcase of the NSA's Training Arts Programme, which is divided into two components: a creative and therapeutic programme for children, and an intensive skills development programme for adults.
The NSA runs creative therapeutic arts projects at Wylie House Children's Home and King George V Hospital's children's TB ward, both of these projects being funded by the AIDS Foundation South Africa. The adult Training Arts Programme is conducted at the Mazenod/Chesterville Community Hall at Cato Manor, where training is provided in looped wool rug-making, creative embroidery and weaving. Presently financed by the SEM British Trust (London), the aim is to make this project self-sustaining from the middle of 2003.
WYLIE HOUSE
Wylie House is a multi-cultural home for girls who have, for their own safety, been removed from their parental homes by the Children's Court. There are no admission criteria at Wylie House, and the girls are accepted in accordance with how the Individual Development Programme can benefit each child. The girls placed at Wylie House are from suburban, township and rural areas, and although every effort is made by Wylie House to maintain contact with the girls' families, many are abandoned.
Two art workshops per week are run at Wylie House, one for Juniors aged three to 10 years, and the other at Intermediate level for those aged 10 to 15 years. The aim is to offer art as a healing modality by providing an expressive outlet for the girls, and also as a means of stimulating the girls' imaginations. These processes lead to the development of motor skills (hand-to-eye co-ordination), social skills (sharing and communicating with each and their caregivers), awareness (pride in their own culture and respect for each other's) and technical skills (such as cutting, painting, designing and drawing). This creative self-expression also helps to restore their self-confidence, which (because of their past experiences) is always at a low ebb.
KING GEORGE V HOSPITAL
Children from KwaZulu-Natal who are suffering from tuberculosis, many of whom are from rural areas and HIV-positive, are hospitalised and treated at King George V Hospital. Their treatment lasts for a minimum of six months to two years, during which time the children have little or no contact with their parents and community. Art therapy is one of the most positive ways to encourage the children in their pursuit of health.
The art therapy workshops at King George V have been running since 1992, until recently on a weekly basis; with support from the AIDS Foundation, the classes are being held three days a week at the hospital school. This allows the children to be taught in their relevant age groups and so are far more effective. The concept behind this project is to offer artistic activities that can and do become part of the child's healing process, restoring their confidence on their return to their communities.
Through their art, the hospitalised children have the opportunity to improve their motor skills, foster cultural awareness and avoid loss of self-esteem and other social disorders. Their teacher, Vincent Sithebe, recently attended a special course in AIDS awareness and lifeskills, and he is incorporating these aspects into the children's art courses.
CHESTERVILLE COMMUNITY
Situated in a school hall owned by the Roman Catholic Church, the Mazenod/Chesterville Community Projects at Cato Manor provide training aimed at facilitating either co-operative or self-employment. The programme is run by members of the SEM British Trust and the NSA, and the Trust funds the projects which are administered by the NSA. Recently, the Trust financed a full upgrade of the hall, and the women now work in this excellent facility, which has been secured for them for the next five years.
The aim of the project is to make this group of women independent. They recently attended EmboCraft's administrative and marketing courses and have formed themselves into a co-operative under the name "Senzokuhle", which they hope to make self-sustaining by mid-2003. This entails buying their own wool, recording all financial transactions and finding local outlets for their wares.
The craftswomen have made enormous progress in the past year. Their mats and embroideries are visually very appealing and skillfully made; the SEM Trust has sold many of their products overseas, so that the women have benefited financially. However, to ensure sustainability of the project, a local market for their goods needs to be secured and augmented.
For more information, contact:-
Nkosinathi Gumede, Assistant Curator at the NSA Gallery
166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban
Tel: (031) 202 3686/7
Cell: 082 220 0368
e-mail: [email protected]
To view the artworks, click on the "HIVAN Photo Gallery" button on the righthand side of our Home Page |
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An enbroidered scene by a Senzokuhle Co-op crafter
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