With another holiday season in full swing children find it difficult to avoid the onset of boredom while their parents painstakingly endure the chaotic eruption that takes place from within the living room.
With another holiday season in full swing children find it difficult to avoid the onset of boredom while their parents painstakingly endure the chaotic eruption that takes place from within the living room.
The Children’s Arts Festival, running alongside the Grahamstown National Arts Festival for more than 20 years, is hosted by St Andrew’s Preparatory School. It caters for children between the age of four and thirteen and includes activities such as music, dance, drama and hand craft workshops as well as the opportunity to see the cream of the crop of the Festival productions for children. It also offers a boarding program which attracts students from as far as Johannesburg and Durban.
With the aid of sponsorship from companies such as Remgro Ltd, the Children’s Festival are able to extend their program to Grahamstown East schools such as George Dickerson, Archie Mbolekwa, Grahamstown Primary and Ntaba Maria Primary where a select few participate free of charge. All their activities have full adult supervision .
This year the Children’s Festival includes a marquee at Village Green including a children’s edutainment area. Although parents will not be able to leave their children completely unattended, as no child minders are present, they will be able to enjoy a relaxed meal nearby while keeping an eye on their loved ones. The entertainment area will include puppet shows as well as tables and chairs where children can draw and colour in.
Mhloli Mvemve takes his three children Sinalo (6), Ndoda (5) and Sange (4) to work with him during the school holidays as he can’t afford a child minder. His job is to sell vegetables on a busy street corner for his mother. When he negotiates sales Sinalo, Ndoda, and Sange have to entertain themselves nearby.
Further up the road near a busy construction sight Anele and his friends (the oldest being 10) entertain themselves on a pile of building rubble. He excitedly shouts out, "Habana, I’m Habana, look at me run!" In a nearby neighbourhood a group of teens play a game of soccer in the street. The exhiliration of the Confederations Cup combined with the advent of the 2010 Fifa World Cup is clearly visible on these young ones’ excited expressions and lively gestures.
Tisco Mati from the local Department of Sport is running a Come and Play informal program where school children can entertain themselves during the Festival period. It will be run from an open field behind the Recreation Hall near Currie Park until 15 July for three hours a day between 9am and 12pm and includes activities ranging from touch rugby to skipping rope.
Various organisations such as Child Welfare, Eluxolweni Children’s Shelter and Raphael Centre stretch their budget in order to help local children in Grahamstown. The Raphael Centre is set up to take care of children who are affected by HIV/Aids and Siyaphumalela, a performance presented by the children of the Raphael Centre, can be seen on the Amazing stage at the Village Green.
Nola Elliott of the Raphael Centre says she has plans to involve street children in the Festival for next year but says it will need to be a combined effort with other businesses and organisations and plenty of volunteers are needed to bring it to fruition.
