Dance4life is an initiative that uses the power of hip-hop dance to inspire, educate and mobilise young people to take action against HIV/Aids.
Dance4life is an initiative that uses the power of hip-hop dance to inspire, educate and mobilise young people to take action against HIV/Aids.
Dance4life is active in 25 countries, where the concept is implemented by local partners around their existing life-skills programmes. Together with Restless Development (formerly known as Student Partnership Worldwide, SPW) they have been doing the rounds in the Eastern Cape.
In May they visited eight schools in Zozo location, Kwelera: Bongolwethu Senior Secondary, Tuba Primary; Zozo Combined, Mtunzi Tsolekile Primary, Jongilang High School, King Mission Primary School, Nokhala Primary School, and Gwaba Combined School.
“We’ve seen great changes in the behaviour of students since Dance4life came here. Kids are more willing to learn and they are active in the community,” said Sibakhulu Maqungo, Head of Department at Mtunzi Tsolekile Primary School.
The Dance4life programme involves learners from Grade 7 to Grade 10. It educates the pupils through a form of dancing in which their moves always contain a life lesson, which the pupils can enjoy at the same time as they learn something.
Asekho Dastile, Project Manager at Restless Development and Dance4life, said: “Dance4life is working together with Restless Development going to rural areas. We have peer educators that we train so that when we are not around the pupils have someone to talk to. We have 48 peer educators here in Eastern Cape. They are also students who are always around the school”.
South Africa is one of the first countries to set up the Dance4life programme and to date they have reached 40 000 young South Africans between the ages of 13 and19.
Siyabonga Gelem, a grade 10 student at Mtunzi Tsolekile Primary School, said: “We are taught about HIV/Aids, that we should eat healthy food and try to exercise. Also when we go back home we should share what we’ve learnt with the rest of the community. Our parents are also happy with what we are being taught here at school.”
Dance4life has the support of famous people including Desmond Tutu, Gold Fish, DJ Tietso, and current ambassador Jenerik Soul. After the kids complete the schools programme they become ‘agents4change’ attempting to create social change worldwide.
On Saturday before World Aids Day all the agents4change will celebrate their achievements at a closing event. They will be dancing together with thousands of young people from all over the world – connected via live satellite.
