SEEKING HELP WITH MY ISLAND PROJECT AND MOVING TO THE NEXT ISLAND

DAWTAS OF THE SUN uBuntu creative expressions

                                                             

Dear Friends and Allies, 

I'm writing in the hope you can help me accomplish my instrument making project around the Caribbean.

For those don’t know me my name is Thobekile “Thobs the Zulu Queen” Mbanda. A young South African woman residing currently in Dominica, I am a spoken word artist, story teller, educator, activist against human trafficking and community activist, my work portrays my deep rooted passion for the well-being of people, promoting self-love, self-respect, identity and self-sustainment. I am the founder of Red Gold and Green Educare Centre in Cape Town South Africa.

As a creative I think it is important for us to create spaces for the youth to express themselves, be it singing dancing, acting, playing an instrument we have to support these avenues, with social pressures how do they express what they feel? We need to harness their energy in a positively productive and creative way. Not just the youth but all living beings should be able to have creative expressions.

ubuntu |oǒ'boǒntoō|

Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning 'humanity to others'. It also means 'I am what I am because of who we all are'.

uBuntu creative expressions is using arts as a medium of expression we have things we want to express, we seek and we blessed with ways of expressing, in the same breath many are not aware of the positive ways that could help them express themselves.

Ubuntu creative focus on the below methods to work with the youth that come from disadvantage homes that just need a someone to believe in them that need someone with a different perspective on the realities of this life, someone to show them love how to give and receive it, for the greater good of us all.

Methods used

·  Drama/story telling/acting

·  Dancing

·  Painting

·  Singing

·  creating

We do this so to empower the youth with a skill that requires creativity, to empower them with knowledge of the world outside what they know.To educate them about self-care, self-respect and self-love through creativity. To encourage a sense of responsibility to one’s self, society and the environment. Sometimes, it may be difficult to reach teens with health and safety information because they feel invincible or untouchable regarding serious diseases so through this project they can use their own voices to tell what they see.

Current Project

We are making berimbau’s, rain sticks and calabash shakers. I have found good material at the Caribe Territory which comes at a cost.

To make the instruments will take us 3 weeks. When they are done with the instruments, they are going to write a short story about a social issue that they feel is relevant to them based on what they write I will help them make a play, which they will present to the school and their community as way of fundraising for their school.

The younger children I do environmental awareness; mostly we focus on the litter on the beach front which we pick up and sort out and take what we can use for instruments and the rest we send to recycle.

For the past year and a half as ways of keeping active I have been teaching children to make music instruments using recyclable goods and teach them some south African songs using their instruments, before my group was younger so I use child friendly material and now that I am in Dominica my work is attracting young teenagers, so I am using more natural material, bamboo, calabash and coconut etc.

Currently I am doing an 8 week program we meet twice a week to create.

I tutor children at a children’s centre 3 times a week and help them with their community projects i.e. feeding the elderly, cleaning the street, doing plays, take them for hikes, do sports days and help them organise fundraiser events for their centre etc. The centre is based in New Town where the rate of unemployment is high, so mostly my work is volunteering.

I am not sure if you’re aware how I started to travel to get the rest of the story and would like to help me carry on with the projects. I except donations via Western Union for any amount but if you'd like to know how much I need for my project and travels,just reply with subject line : How much

My Experience

I am qualified TEFL English teacher, (teaching English as a foreign language)

I am a upcoming internationally celebrated South African singer, poet and educator.

I am a play writer Princess Magogo the rise of a star successfully showcased in South Africa and Barbados for 2 nights, writer of Dawata’s of the Sun.

I am also the founder of Red Gold and Green Educare Centre.

                                                                                                                            

Artist page :

https://www.facebook.com/TheZuluQueen

Educare Centre :

https://sites.google.com/site/rggeducare/

My work :

http://badilishapoetry.com/artists-profile/166/

 Thanking you in this regard and look forward hearing from you just drop me an email if you want to help support my initiative and to move to the next place.

Somebody crown me with love, somebody crown me with care,so to survive being a alive.