Help us get a group of teens from Nkosi’s Haven to the ASSITEJ Cradle of Creativity! These learners have been exposed to the Arts through the artsINSIDEOUT project and are hungry for more diverse opportunities to learn, grow and witness the exhilarating and transformative power of theatre. The festival will be a chance for the learners to be inspired and to bring back a rich legacy of diversity, creativity and opportunity to others at the haven
Nkosi’s Haven at Cradle of Creativity
Nkosi’s Haven History:
Nkosi’s Haven Village (NKH)isan NGOin Johannesburg,that offers residential, holistic care and support for mothers and their children, as well as orphans, whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS. NKH aims to improve the lives of their residents through providing access to medical care, therapy, education and skill building workshops. The goal is to empower residents while providing a safe, dignified home in hopes that all mothers and children are able to become responsible and contributing members of society.
Nkosi’s Haven was named after Nkosi Johnson,an AIDS activist who dedicated his life to ensuring that mothers and their children are kept together under the belief that no mother should have to leave her child due to HIV diagnosis. Nkosi’s Haven recognizes mothers who show initiative, drive and enthusiasm, by developing their capacity in running the various operations, for which they are paid a stipend, for example, four mothers run the on site bakery and four mothers run the kitchen.
Nkosis Johnson with his adoptive mother Gail Johnson, founder of Nkosi’s Haven Village
At the time of inception, it was the first and only long term care centre in South Africa that provided residential care for mothers living with HIV/AIDS and their children.
artsINSIDEOUT history
artsINSIDEOUTis a group of professional artists and students whohave been personally affected by HIV/AIDS. Our mission is to travelto areas of the globe that have been hit hard by the AIDS epidemic towork with young people and mothers who have been similarly impactedby the epidemic. Through acting, singing, dancing, storytellingtechniques, stage craft and the visual arts, artsINSIDEOUT inspiresits students to unleash their creative energy and communicate theirown experiences. For the past five years, we’ve partnered withNkosi’s Haven in Johannesburg. Founded by Gail Johnson in memory ofher son who, when he died in 2001 was the international face of AIDSin Africa, Nkosi’s Haven offersholistic care and support forHIV/AIDS infected mothers and their children, and resultingAIDSorphans (infected or not).
Fortwo weeks every year, artsINSIDEOUT’s team of artists works withover 100 children, ages 6-20, and 25 mothers, culminating in aperformance at the Lab at the Market Theatre in Newtown Johannesburg.
ASSITEJ SA and the Cradle of Creativity
ASSSITEJ SA works to ensure that every child has access to qualityarts experiences as part of their growing up from the earliestpossible age, regardless of the circumstances in which they may findthemselves. We believe that the arts can be empowering andtransformational for children and young people and can make a realcontribution to building a more engaged, empathetic and creativecitizenry.
Thisyear we are hosting in South Africa a very important, unique andexciting event – the biggest event within the international ASSITEJthree-year programme – the 19th ASSITEJ World Congress and PerformingArts Festival – which will be held on the African continent for thefirst time in the 52 year history of the international association.
Named”Cradleof Creativity“,the event will take place from 16-27May 2017 at venues across Cape Town,including Artscape, Baxter, City Hall and in four community hubs intownships/outlying areas, with support from the Department of Artsand Culture, NAC, corporate funders, cultural agencies, Lottery etc.
Theevent consists of a Festival, Conference and Congress, all themedaround the idea of “Intercultural exchange in theatre for youngaudiences”. The festival will see some 40 productions, chosen frommore than 800 applications from 80+ countries, and representing thebest of children’s theatre from across the globe.
Accessto the arts is a valuable means of countering hopelessness and ofawakening a desire for learning as well as developing tools inlearning how to learn from an early age. We couldn’t be happier that a group of learners from NKH are hoping to join us at our Cradle of Creativity performing Arts Festival, and urge you to support them!
http://www.assitej2017.org.za/
Goal
To raise enough money to make sure a group of ten teenagers from the haven are able to attend the Cradle of Creativity in Cape Town in May 2017.
From the Teens: We the children of Nkosi’s Haven ,NKH (a non profit organisation for mothers and kids that have had personal experience of HIV/Aids), have been very fortunate to be involved with the Arts. Organisations like artsINSIDEOUT, which is an American, non profit organisation, provides us with improvisation, dance, story telling, visual arts, music and stage craft , through a two week intensive programme each June/July during our school holidays. This programme works with both US and South African artists who offer inspiring lessons.
artsINSIDEOUT has opened up a high level of confidence throughout the 6/ 7 yearsthat it has been in operation and always culminates in a major production to showcase our talents and growth! We are hoping to raise enough to attend the 19th World Congress and International Theatre Festival for Children and Young People in Cape Town during May 2017, which is a once in a lifetime affair showcasing the very best, International exciting theatre work for young audiences
Run by ASSITEJ SA , the Cradle of Creativity will not only be a learning experience but an awesome, exciting opportunity, which will further deepen our appreciation of Art and Culture.
Please help support our fundraiser and keep our dreams in the Arts alive! We can’t do this without all of you
Milestones:
Tipping point:
R 10 000 will ensure that the group gets to cape Town, has accommodation and can watch a series of high quality excellent productions
Full amount:
R 20 000 ensures that the group gets to Cape Town, has accommodation, will watch a series of high quality excellent productions AND give access to a series of internationally hosted workshops, special events and VIP evening performances as part of the festival!
We are a group of teenagers who live at Nkosi’s Haven. Very passionate about the Arts and wanting to be exposed to more of what is out there in Cape Town and the Cradle of Creativity!
Please support us by donating now!