Justice through education

Sick Room Project:
There is also an urgent need to revamp a very sad sick room that makes you feel more sick when you are in it than out! Here are some ways it can be improved:
Donate some cool coloured paint to repaint the sick room;
Donate a fan as the room is very very hot;
Donate a bunk bed and foam mattresses so that we can house more kids in the sick room rather than them having to ly on the floor!

Library Project:
Do you have books suitable for teenagers - both fiction and non-fiction? Bring them along to donate to the school library. If you have interesting paintings/posters that would appeal to teenagers and encourage learning we need to brighten up the walls. Or donate a TV for the "media" room.

Computer Project:
We are trying to setup a computer facility at the school because it is imperative that kids these days are computer literate. We are in need of some more machines or laptops to get this project moving forward. Also if you are IT savy we need some advice on a best solution for internet connection in both the library and computer room so that kids can access the world of online educational resources.

A good friend, Travis Gale as part of an AppleTree project has in recent months coordinated and facilitated really fantastic evenings called “Story Sessions”. Hosted in interesting Durban venues with even better speakers (Gareth Gale, Aaron McIlroy and Shaun Thompson), these uniquely Durban nights create the space to tell stories and for unheard stories to be shared. These story nights are not just about listening to others but have the power to inspire the wider community to live out their own unique life story. As said by the Story Session team

“we aim...to create a community of people who not only listen to the stories of others but become intentional in living out the most authentic and unique expression of their own stories. ”

On Wednesday 15^th February 2012 at 6.30pm at The Stable Theatre, the Story Sessions featured speaker is Gcina Mhlope- internationally renowned story-teller, author and poet. I get the feeling that she is going to blow everyone’s socks off as she shares not just African tales but her own life story. I am truly interested in how she manages to do what she does with such talent and passion. I am also ecstatic about the opportunity this night creates to “Spark-off” of a library and reading project at a local school Sparks Estate Secondary.

The first encounter I had with Gcina’s talent was as a school girl attending a production at Clifton Preparatory for Boys. A single teen at the time, I probably should have been more interested in the young ‘okes’ on stage than some person I had never seen or heard of before telling an African tale. But I was mesmerized watching and hearing this woman. I had never seen one person almost entirely fill a hall with nothing else than inner talent. I recall an African royal projection that caught me by the collar, pulling me closer as each new word or whisper was uttered. She had an ability to almost hold the atmosphere with just a subtle body movement or blink of an eye.

These days my experience of Gcina is through her poems as our Micah6 girls prepare for their English literature exams. If you ask a student at Sparks Estate Secondary “Who is Gcina Mhlope” they will easily be able to say “She is a poet, we study her poems in class”. In a few days time; however, when I ask this question again they may be saying “Gcina is the lady who gets libraries working, who gets our library working”. This is because at next weeks Story Sessions, audience members will have the opportunity to purchase a book from an Adams store to donate to the Sparks Estate Library Project. (Thanks Travis)

Micah6 are facilitating a process of resurrecting a closed and outdated library at Sparks Estate Secondary School. Every child should have the opportunity to read and the resources to effectively engage in research for school projects. I can’t think of a better way than for Gcina Mhlope, a living story, to spark off a drive to fill our library with books and stories. It is a great opportunity to be a part of a night that both entertains and inspires its audience but also shares the power of story with marginalised kids in our community.

For more information on Story Sessions, Gcina Mhlope and the evening go to storysessions.co.za