Njabulo HIV/AIDS Residency Programme

Overview

Over the past 4 years in Southern Africa, CWB-South Africa has developed an innovative program strategy called Project Njabulo, using laughter and play as a means for emotional relief and resilience to children and their primary caregivers who have been affected by HIV/AIDS.  We collaborate with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) throughout Southern Africa who provide support to communities in Home-Based Care and Orphans and Vulnerable Children services. Our teams consist of professional performing artists, educators, and logistics personnel with experience working with populations affected by trauma who focus on the following areas of intervention: performance and arts education.  

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Performances - CWB South Africa visits the schools with which our partner community organization has an existing relationship. These are primary and secondary schools where the children in the CBO's outreach program are learners.  Our performances use nonverbal physical comedy, music, and dance to create an atmosphere of celebration.  They are offered in a neutral location to reduce the stigmatization of children who have been impacted by the pandemic.  While humor and play is the primary focus, the performances also raise awareness of important issues facing communities relating to HIV/AIDS that are normally associated with socio-cultural taboos and discrimination.  The performances also provide CBO staff with an opportunity to communicate messages to the gathered student body as well as give them the chance to relax and enjoy a rare live performance.

Arts Education - Our educational program consists of 10 day workshops on Emotional Wellbeing with specific children and their caregivers who have been directly affected by HIV/AIDS and already participated in a counseling program.  The residencies are divided into morning and afternoon sessions for caregivers and OVCs, respectively: 

Orphans and Vulnerable Children Sessions

The children's sessions are designed for a consistent group of 20-35 children ages 10-14 who are already part of a OVC support program that you offer.  Activities range from games, circus skills, songs, storytelling, and drama exercises.  The major focus is allowing the children to be children again and to have fun in a safe and nurturing environment. 

We usually teach directly after school for 1 ½ hours (2:30-4pm) and provide a snack for the children at the end of the workshop (sandwiches, fruit, and juice). If possible, sessions are held onsite at the children's school in a hall or empty classroom.  We divide the sessions into 4 main parts: Warm-up, Games, Circus Skills, Core Lesson.  The Core Lesson explores themes from a traditional Southern African story while creating a dramatic presentation of the story with the children. 

It is important for this group to be the same children each day as the sessions build on each other culminating in a performance/sharing by the children for their peers and caregivers at the end of the residency. For an exploratory visit, we can usually teach 2 different groups of children basic circus skills, theatre games, and empowerment exercises.

We can also offer a Life Dreams workshop that explores the children's dreams, hopes, and career aspirations through theatre.

Caregivers and Primary Guardian Sessions

Our Caregiver workshops complement the OVC sessions.  They are for caregivers and/or guardians who are directly responsible for the children we are working with in the afternoon.  The workshop is designed to develop a sense of play and joy in their lives by offering exercises that help them relax and reacquaint themselves to the life of a child and creativity.  We use storytelling a lot in these sessions as well as songs, games, and simple movement exercises. They also get the opportunity to briefly explore the same circus skills that their children do in the afternoon. This helps them incorporate play in their interaction with their children at home and alleviate the stress of their daily lives. 

Sessions are usually from 10-12:00pm every other day though we tell the caregivers to arrive at 9:30 (taking in account time to travel and a flexible sense of time).  We also provide a snack at the end of each session.

At the end of the residency, both groups come together in a culminating activity that includes a performance by the OVCs for their caregivers.  All of our workshops then conclude with a reflection so that the group can process the experience as a group as we provide tools for continuing the work beyond the classroom. 

Implementation

Project Njabulo has been implemented with many different community based organizations throughout Southern Africa.  We adapt our model to fit the needs of the commnunity as the situation differs in each region. CWB-South Africa is currently embarking on a year-long project in Swaziland to develop the local capacity of communities to carry out Project Njabulo's workshop activities. We hope to implement this model on a wider basis throughout the region. 

For more information, please contact us at info@cwbsa.org.