Ayouth theatre group
from the Western Cape
townships of Mfuleni
and Khayaletsha is preparing to
take a dance-drama inspired by
last year’s xenophobic violence
on tour to Gauteng and the
Cape Peninsula.
The Iqala Ngam (it starts
with Me) Group is part of the
MaAfrika Tikkun Youth Development
Programme which
provides the most vulnerable
school children in township
communities with holistic support
in dealing with the chronic
poverty and associated trauma
and abuse most face daily using
theatre and dance.
MaAfrika Tikkun is a registered
Non-Governmental and
Public Benefi t Organisation that
is focused on the sustainable
transformation of communities.
The touring Iqala Ngam
Group, consisting of 12 high
school girls and post matric,
who have been part of our after
school programme since 200.
They are part of Ma Afrika
Tikkun Chid and youth care
programme which is facilitated
in Western Cape townships of
Mfuleni, Delft and Khayaletsha,
will be in Johannesburg from 13
to 17 July. They will perform at
MaAfrika Tikkun’s Youth Development
Centres in Diepsloot,
Orange Farm and Alexandra.
Thereafter, the Group will take
the production on a tour of
schools in the Cape Peninsula
and the centres in Mfuleni and
Delft.
Iqala Ngam leader and
founder, Lizeka Rantsane, says
the dance-drama performed by
the Group is developed out of
life skills discussions, research
and workshops attended by
children involved in the programme.
Over 1000 children
between the ages of 8 and 19
have participated in Iqala Ngam
over the past eight years.
Dance and drama provides a
creative outlet for these children
to express their thoughts and
feelings about what are often
sensitive and painful issues
for them. We normally
end each discussion session
with an impromptu
dance-drama, she explains.
The xenophobia piece
developed from some of
these discussions and valuable
input from MaAfrika
Tikkun volunteer and UCT
lecturer, Gabriella Sulcas,
helped them to transform it
into a 35-minute theatrical
production and help to
write the script.
Xenophobia and other
forms of discrimination
directly affect many of our
children. The production articulates
the complex issues that
underpin the phenomenon and
addresses the children’s own
fears and perceptions about it.
We believe that our audiences
and those at MaAfrika Tikkun
centres in both Gauteng and the
Cape as well as schools in the
Peninsula – will identify very
closely with what we present,
Rantsane adds.
More than a theatrical production
MaAfrika Tikkun COO Mark
Gamble says that what makes
Iqala Ngam a highly successful
intervention to girl-children of
township communities is the
fact that it is delivered within
the context of a model that
supports the full development
of the child – in this instance
children who face chronic
poverty and associated trauma
and abuse.
This model is the MaAfrika
Tikkun Holistic Circle of Care.
It is the approach used by
MaAfrika Tikkun in its work
with vulnerable children, youth
and families in several Township
communities in South
Africa, he explains.
According to Gamble, the
Holistic Circle of Care model
seeks to serve the whole development
of the child. This
includes any combination of the
various dimensions of development
- physical, emotional,
social, spiritual and intellectual.
In addition, the model understands
development of the child
within the context of the child’s
family and community. This
can be best understood from the
African proverb that states: It
takes a whole village to raise a
child.
It is very important to understand
that the emergent model
of practice within MaAfrika
Tikkun as articulated in the
Holistic Circle of Care, has
been developed in considering
a body of practice that the
optimal likelihood for healthy
development. This is in full
alignment with policy and
practice of the South African
government in working with
vulnerable children, he
says.
The Iqala Ngam group is a
very effective demonstration
of this model.
There are fi ve Iqala
Ngam groups, one senior
and four juniors providing
healthy developmental
experiences to over 100
children. Dance and drama
is the key activity for this
group, but the support
reaches into family support,
educational support,
addresses advocacy issues
on behalf of the children
ñ all with the objective to
support the optimal development
of the child.
This all sounds very theoretical,
maybe even idealistic, but
what does it mean to a young
person who belongs to the
group?
It is through the medium of
dance and drama that we get
to understand the child and the
needs of the child. This could
mean in one instance that we
assist the young person in their
schooling. In another instance
it could mean that a range of
family support is offered. It
could also mean that statutory
intervention is provided to
ensure the safety of the child.
It short the medium of dance is
used as a gateway to support the
full development of the child.
When you watch a MaAfrika
Tikkun dance you are witness
to more than choreographed
movement and music. You are
experiencing the child who…
* Has returned to school
* Is assisted with food parcels
to support herself and her
younger siblings.
* Has a new home to live in
* Is receiving counselling
* Is about to attend a leadership
camp
* Is on a learnership in Child
and Youth Care to herself work
to build the lives of the many
vulnerable children in our
country.
* And a child who has a vision
about her future
When you watch a MaAfrika
Tikkun dance you are witnessing
one of the most accurate
demonstrations of developing
children who are vulnerable
and considered to be at-risk,
Gamble concludes.
* For more information about
the Iqala Ngam tour to Gauteng
and the Peninsula, or if you
would like to attend one of
their performances in your area,
please contact Amanda Zar,
MaAfrika Tikkun marketing
manager, Western Cape on 021
448 0120:
For additional information,
please contact: Amanda
Blankfi eld, Marketing Manager,
Gauteng, MaAfrika
Tikkun. 011 325 5914
Amanda Zar, Development
and Marketing Manager,
Western Cape, MaAfrika
Tikkun. Tel 021 448 0120
www.maafrikatikkun.org.za
Marilyn de Villiers, Troika
PR. 011 884 0775Ayouth theatre group
from the Western Cape
townships of Mfuleni
and Khayaletsha is preparing to
take a dance-drama inspired by
last year’s xenophobic violence
on tour to Gauteng and the
Cape Peninsula.
The Iqala Ngam (it starts
with Me) Group is part of the
MaAfrika Tikkun Youth Development
Programme which
provides the most vulnerable
school children in township
communities with holistic support
in dealing with the chronic
poverty and associated trauma
and abuse most face daily using
theatre and dance.
MaAfrika Tikkun is a registered
Non-Governmental and
Public Benefi t Organisation that
is focused on the sustainable
transformation of communities.
The touring Iqala Ngam
Group, consisting of 12 high
school girls and post matric,
who have been part of our after
school programme since 200.
They are part of Ma Afrika
Tikkun Chid and youth care
programme which is facilitated
in Western Cape townships of
Mfuleni, Delft and Khayaletsha,
will be in Johannesburg from 13
to 17 July. They will perform at
MaAfrika Tikkun’s Youth Development
Centres in Diepsloot,
Orange Farm and Alexandra.
Thereafter, the Group will take
the production on a tour of
schools in the Cape Peninsula
and the centres in Mfuleni and
Delft.
Iqala Ngam leader and
founder, Lizeka Rantsane, says
the dance-drama performed by
the Group is developed out of
life skills discussions, research
and workshops attended by
children involved in the programme.
Over 1000 children
between the ages of 8 and 19
have participated in Iqala Ngam
over the past eight years.
Dance and drama provides a
creative outlet for these children
to express their thoughts and
feelings about what are often
sensitive and painful issues
for them. We normally
end each discussion session
with an impromptu
dance-drama, she explains.
The xenophobia piece
developed from some of
these discussions and valuable
input from MaAfrika
Tikkun volunteer and UCT
lecturer, Gabriella Sulcas,
helped them to transform it
into a 35-minute theatrical
production and help to
write the script.
Xenophobia and other
forms of discrimination
directly affect many of our
children. The production articulates
the complex issues that
underpin the phenomenon and
addresses the children’s own
fears and perceptions about it.
We believe that our audiences
and those at MaAfrika Tikkun
centres in both Gauteng and the
Cape as well as schools in the
Peninsula – will identify very
closely with what we present,
Rantsane adds.
More than a theatrical production
MaAfrika Tikkun COO Mark
Gamble says that what makes
Iqala Ngam a highly successful
intervention to girl-children of
township communities is the
fact that it is delivered within
the context of a model that
supports the full development
of the child – in this instance
children who face chronic
poverty and associated trauma
and abuse.
This model is the MaAfrika
Tikkun Holistic Circle of Care.
It is the approach used by
MaAfrika Tikkun in its work
with vulnerable children, youth
and families in several Township
communities in South
Africa, he explains.
According to Gamble, the
Holistic Circle of Care model
seeks to serve the whole development
of the child. This
includes any combination of the
various dimensions of development
- physical, emotional,
social, spiritual and intellectual.
In addition, the model understands
development of the child
within the context of the child’s
family and community. This
can be best understood from the
African proverb that states: It
takes a whole village to raise a
child.
It is very important to understand
that the emergent model
of practice within MaAfrika
Tikkun as articulated in the
Holistic Circle of Care, has
been developed in considering
a body of practice that the
optimal likelihood for healthy
development. This is in full
alignment with policy and
practice of the South African
government in working with
vulnerable children, he
says.
The Iqala Ngam group is a
very effective demonstration
of this model.
There are fi ve Iqala
Ngam groups, one senior
and four juniors providing
healthy developmental
experiences to over 100
children. Dance and drama
is the key activity for this
group, but the support
reaches into family support,
educational support,
addresses advocacy issues
on behalf of the children
ñ all with the objective to
support the optimal development
of the child.
This all sounds very theoretical,
maybe even idealistic, but
what does it mean to a young
person who belongs to the
group?
It is through the medium of
dance and drama that we get
to understand the child and the
needs of the child. This could
mean in one instance that we
assist the young person in their
schooling. In another instance
it could mean that a range of
family support is offered. It
could also mean that statutory
intervention is provided to
ensure the safety of the child.
It short the medium of dance is
used as a gateway to support the
full development of the child.
When you watch a MaAfrika
Tikkun dance you are witness
to more than choreographed
movement and music. You are
experiencing the child who…
* Has returned to school
* Is assisted with food parcels
to support herself and her
younger siblings.
* Has a new home to live in
* Is receiving counselling
* Is about to attend a leadership
camp
* Is on a learnership in Child
and Youth Care to herself work
to build the lives of the many
vulnerable children in our
country.
* And a child who has a vision
about her future
When you watch a MaAfrika
Tikkun dance you are witnessing
one of the most accurate
demonstrations of developing
children who are vulnerable
and considered to be at-risk,
Gamble concludes.
* For more information about
the Iqala Ngam tour to Gauteng
and the Peninsula, or if you
would like to attend one of
their performances in your area,
please contact Amanda Zar,
MaAfrika Tikkun marketing
manager, Western Cape on 021
448 0120:
For additional information,
please contact: Amanda
Blankfi eld, Marketing Manager,
Gauteng, MaAfrika
Tikkun. 011 325 5914
Amanda Zar, Development
and Marketing Manager,
Western Cape, MaAfrika
Tikkun. Tel 021 448 0120
www.maafrikatikkun.org.za
Marilyn de Villiers, Troika
PR. 011 884 0775