The First Workshop

It’s Saturday and our apparent love affair with Kwa Thema continues, we just can’t seem to get enough of the place – or do we have a serious amount of work to do? Our lives have been reduced to a total dedication to Kwa Thema, we spend the whole day there, leave in the evening, get home, jump onto the computer to write blogs and plan our next steps. Get to bed really late, wake up really early and off to Kwa Thema for the next day’s onslaught.

Today was possibly the most draining of them all, but it was incredibly rewarding. The schedule said ‘Painting and Kite Making Workshop’, should have been more like ‘Painting and Kite Making Workout’. Twenty 8 year old children from Sakhelwe Primary School joined us for a morning of energy and excitement. The day started with us sending the charged children out to find us 50 bottle tops each. They would receive R5 per 50, they were full of enthusiasm and we quickly had a large number of bottle tops. Then we divided the children into the painting and kite workshops respectively. It seemed as though the younger children were more interested in making kites. Catherine with some help from Khula managed this workshop, while Robyn and I controlled the painting. The children were asked to paint a picture of themselves, their house or the beer hall on a large block – together with their names. These blocks will be fitted into our massive abacus which will be used for basket ball scoring. Here the craft of the children hands them ownership and a sense of belonging in the new structure, they had a part in making it.

The kite makers faced the gusting wind with much zest as they desperately tried to make their kites. These kites, made from plastic and reeds, are usually made by children in Kwa Thema, we wanted them to make as many as possible to fly at the launch on Saturday. Both workshops running simultaneously was a real sight. I found myself in the position where Catherine and Robyn were busy elsewhere (Gareth was collecting the remaining grass) and Khula was generally disinterested. I was faced with a band of marauding children, painting each other’s faces, climbing up the structure, tangling each other’s kites, and I felt completely overwhelmed. Children really do need constant attention, I’m not sure if I have the stamina to sustain it for long periods. After both workshops were complete, we handed out hot dogs to the participants and our volunteers who were continuing to plant trees. Mr. Cindi’s kitchen made the perfect base for Catherine to cater from.

We spent some time planting 5 more trees, and were rolling in hysterics trying to fit tyres over the trees, to act as a protective barrier at their bases. We spent the rest of the afternoon in Mr. Cindi’s lounge, out of the sun, sand and wind, planning our next step. Tomorrow is reserved for our paired projects, so we don’t have to go into Kwa Thema. Monday will be an amazing day, everything should happen then.

Today we activated the beer hall with children from the surrounding community. Their presence now marks a significant deflection in the path of the structure’s life. We have involved the community on every level, and are eagerly awaiting our next workshop, one on recycling, this Thursday.

Interview Sound Clip (opens in QuickTime):

http://web.omnidrive.com/APIServer/public/z6wuGYW3nhTkLJbpd8agz2yP

Stanley Sibanyoni on the community's reaction.

Video:

Children's Workshop 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1cRMlcm6U8