Tuesday, November 30, 2010

CDP Trust

The CDP Trust is an NGO that works with refugees, orphaned children and abused women. They have created a programme called Arts For Advocacy where they use art to assist people to tell their stories, as well as create promotional material to create awareness for their plight.

A collection of their work is currently on display at Constitution Hill during the 16 Days Of Activism campaign.

They also teach people skills like fabric dyeing and screenprinting, that can be used to earn a living. They have not only succeeded in promoting healing and building awareness, they have also succeeded in building sustainability for thes people.

Women come to the centre and tell their stories. They feel heard, very often for the first time in their lives. They learn and share, and when they leave they are armed with new skills that they can use to make a living for themselves, so that they can grow out of their past experiences and begin new lives for themselves.

They work with paint, clay, fabric dye, mosaics, collages and other media to share their message with the world.

Pop in at Constitution Hill this week to see this astonishing collection of work.

Have a great day in full colour!

Kind regards

Melanie

0835689150















Thursday, November 18, 2010

Sew Easy







I taught a class at the Sew Easy Head Office on Saturday and had an enormous amount of fun! The students produced such gorgeous T-shirts I just have to show them off. Consider the fact that these are all first attempts...














Have a great day in full colour!
Kind regards
Melanie
0835689150

































Monday, November 1, 2010

Magical Moments



I often work in the most magical places amongst the most magical people and last week was an exceptionally magical time for me. I worked with a small group of ladies who, between them, feed and care for more than 900 needy children in the townships.
Magical Moments is a volunteer-driven organisation that helps small, grass roots NGO's to co-ordinate their work in an effort to grow and thrive. Magical Moments goes into these organisations and and delivers Magical Moments to the children so that they may have some magical experiences of their own to build valuable memories of their childhood.
A Magical Moment can be as simple as eating their first ice cream. I grew up in a "previously advantaged" environment. We had ice cream in the fridge at home all the time. It is hard for me to imagine a life where a child has his first experience of real ice cream at the age of 7 or 8 years old. Imagine how magical it must be to experience that icy sensation for the first time, in an environment where food is scarce, fridges are unknown and very often there is not even a fresh water supply.
On the day that I did training in this particular home, where they feed hundreds of hungry children every day, there was not even water in the taps.
What is most magical to me, is the dedication of the volunteers who run these places. The selfless people who give of themselves to help those who are in dire need, no matter what the personal cost. Those who have the courage to do the job that few have the heart for, the time that others cannot justify.
I salute all of the unsung heros who work at the point of pain within our society. I salute your courage and your heart. I salute your giving nature.
Imagine, if you can, a world where such people are not a small minority, but rather the larger majority. A world where every person feels the responsibility of the group, instead of saying "This is not MY problem. I did not create this challenge so I have no reason to do anything to fix it."
Day by day we can each make the small internal changes necessary that will have sweeping external effects on society. If each one of us does a little more than is necessary, we can share the load and effect massive social change.
Thank you to Magical Moments for giving me a truly magical moment with your group.
Have a great day in full colour!
Kind regards
Melanie
0835689150