This little boy lives in an Ebola orphanage with over 15 other children who have lost their parents to Ebola. They live a few houses down from our country director Prisie, and she shared with me her observations. When Prisie first visited the home, according to the house mother, the children were shut down emotionally and struggling to cope with the loss of their family. The children in the neighborhood refused to play with them due to the Ebola stigma, and they would even come over to harass and bully the children in the house.
“Auntie Prisie when are you coming to play with us.” Not only are the children playing when Prisie is present, they have begun to create art on their own and the house mother says that their affect and behavior has changed drastically. They have learned to support one another and learned how to support their healing. Because Prisie brings them outside in the neighborhood to play, the neighborhood children are now calling on to play with them as well. We are saddened to hear the news that recent news Ebola cases have been discovered in Liberia. The entire Playing To Live! team will continue to provide the care and support as the country deals with this recurrence. Our hearts go out to the young boy who recently lost his life and the family members who cared for him.
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After two weeks of intensive preparation, volunteer trainings and plenty of help from our local partners at TLF the holiday program has launched to an enthusiastic group of kids who are eager to make art, play and do yoga! Here are a couple action shots from the recent workshop, which involved our kids creating superhero capes about their strengths and dreams! We are so proud of the fantastic volunteers and kids who bring their love, enthusiasm and creative curiosity to each day of this program. These creative superheroes continue to amaze us!
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to make this program a reality. We only have 2 week more week left to reach our goal and we need your help to get there! Please help us by sharing our campaign- get the word out! Spread the love! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-south-african-children-playing-to-live#/story Alexis shares her experience traveling back to Liberia- the place where the Playing To Live! program was born... It’s been 24 hours since I have arrived back to South Africa and as I recover from jet lag and 6 days of non stop work, I feel as if the reality of Playing to Live! is hitting me in strong waves. While I was working and traveling in Liberia, my mind and heart was focused on getting as much work done in the little time I had. I visited three sites, met with our core staff, met with our program associates, met with the amazing UNICEF representative who believes in us so much, amongst many others. When I visited the children, it was only for a few minutes. My role is to be in the background so that the children see our Liberian staff as the representatives of our program, but even still the children greeted me with a sign that says “I love you.” I immediately locked eyes with this young boy, and he quietly said “I love you.” I knelt in front of him and through small tears, I told him I loved him as well. I felt an urgency to make him know how much my heart has been with him since we started the program and how much my heart is with him after I leave. How much work people around the world are doing to support a smile on his face and a healing in his heart. The urgency that I felt was relieved when I reminded myself that he will be reminded of how special he is through every play activity and every moment that our staff has with him. He will be reminded through the lasting effects that teaching healing arts can have. As long as we work to support this work, the Playing to Live! children will continually be reminded of how special they are. #playingtolive #Ebola #Ebolasurvivors #UNICEFgrant #RESH # Liberia # SouthAfrica #creativesuperheros #creativearttherapies #playtherapy #arttherapy #yogatherapy
5 days in #Liberia has been a whirlwind and one thing we can say is that our #UNICEF grant in partnership with #RESH is in full swing and greater than anyone could have ever imagined. Yesterday Alexis visited more sites and was greeted by a handmade poster by a child at the #Ebola orphanage who has loved participating in the Playing To Live! program. It was an emotional moment for everyone, but especially Alexis who is seeing the smiles of these children we have all been working to help for the very first time.
Here are a few more pictures from Alexis's trip. The Liberia team, pictured below, has been working so hard to make Playing To Live! Liberia a success and we are so proud of them! Thank you!
Since October Alexis has dreamed about seeing this project that has affected her life and the lives of so many others. As she made her way to Liberia she couldn't even comprehend the excitement and anticipation of being there!
We look forward to bringing you along on this journey... Please continue to support our mission by donating to our fundraising campaign at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-south-african-children-playing-to-live#/story I am constantly amazed by the enthusiasm we at Playing to Live! receive from our partners here and in Liberia. In my studies in Public Health, we receive warnings that communities may be resistant to what we are bringing. There is a fear that the programming and training is only geared towards western ideals. Before we start any training, we sit down with our cultural liaisons and ask them to work with us to adapt our programming and training to match it with the ideals and language of the community. Even then we ended up having a discussion today about how our training will need to once again be adapted when we move it from urban Pretoria to rural South Africa. One of our participants spoke about how certain words and explanations would not translate well in a rural setting. This type of critique is very exciting because it shows us that we are building an empowering space for the communities we work with to take ownership over our work! We have invited her and others to meet with us after the 3 week holiday program to address how to adapt and build. Help us continue our training program by donating to our South Africa fundraising campaign! Time is running out so donate now! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-south-african-children-playing-to-live#/story Today at TLF we started our second Playing to Live! training. This time for coordinators of the different programs within the organization, including half way houses for families and homeless outreach. Around half of the coordinators are certified social workers while the others are well experienced due to their daily work. Something beautiful that continually struck me was how much the individuals were getting excited about our training. They were sharing examples of how they have used the techniques we are teaching them, but they didn’t know it. Our expressive arts therapy training acted as an affirmation for the incredible work they are already doing, but it also is teaching them techniques to build on. Time is running out to support this important programming in South Africa! Donate Today! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-south-african-children-playing-to-live#/story
The training program is off to an amazing start! Our volunteers are learning and growing each day and the PTL! team is so excited to share with you the work of these incredible individuals! Dance and music is a huge part of our training and it helpings volunteers embrace their own "inner child" and learn to play! Rock on PTL! South Africa!
Help support our training program at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-south-african-children-playing-to-live#/story |
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We will be providing you with stories of the communities we support. The children and their caregivers featured in this blog have provided consent to share their art, pictures and stories. Archives
April 2020
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