BULAWAYO - More than 30 less privileged children took part in the World AIDS Day paper prayers - an art exhibition organized by the Children First project and funded by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy.Speaking at the exhibition, Susan Kajura the Director of Children First said her organization this year decided to use art as a tool to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS in the lives of children and young people.
The commemoration today and activities leading up to it, have allowed us to reflect on the role of arts in strengthening our response to the epidemic. In May this year we were fortunate to convince celebrated artist, Calvin Chimutuwah, to volunteer his time to work with children from satellite schools in the high density suburbs. In October Calvins work was significantly enhanced when, with funding from Public Affairs, he was able to join two artists from the Artist proof studio in South Africa who conducted a workshop in Bulawayo that taught the paper prayer technique to teachers, gallery staff and Children First staff, said Kajura.
The exhibitors, drawn from schools in the high-density suburbs, were taken through an exercise called In my Life which elicits empathy and speaks to issues of stigma.
All the participants were asked to list 10 important people in their lives and from them select three to whom they should think about how they would break the news they had just tested HIV-positive. Participants had to think about why these three, how they would approach them, and envision their reaction. This process and others related to the epidemic were then reflected in print-making through the use of symbols, textures and colours that bring out intangible concepts like fear, anxiety and release, explained Kajura.
Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, David Abell said this year his government supported care services to approximately 540,000 Zimbabweans infected or affected with HIV, including orphans and vulnerable children.
The Children First project was started in 2008 and works with 17 NGOs and many schools and clinics to reach over 80,000 children in areas around Harare and Bulawayo with Education, Health and Child Protection Services. One of its collaborative partners in this endeavour is a non-governmental organization called Grassroots soccer, which uses soccer as a tool to provide information and develop innate skills.
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