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LifeLine/Childline Western Cape, through its
youth development department, has been involved
in a partnership programme with the Artscape and
SANTA, with generous funding from GrandWest Corporate
Social Investment. Known as Soundtrack4Life, this
programme focuses on high school learners in the
Western Cape, and as a whole, the programme looks
something like this:
ST4L equips high school communities of the Western
Cape with skills to face the challenges of HIV
and Aids. It offers life skills training and performing
arts at schools, enabling participants to explore
personal choices in an interactive environment.
In an effort to change the attitudes that inform
much of the high-risk behaviour of South Africa’s
youth with regards to HIV and Aids, GrandWest
Corporate Social Investment was instrumental in
the establishment of Soundtrack 4 Life (ST4L)
in 2004 in partnership with Artscape Audience
Development and Education (ADE). ST4L aims to
empower learners to make the correct behavioural
decisions in order to prevent the spread of the
HIV pandemic.
Theatre is potentially a very powerful tool to
facilitate change in communities as it can impart
information in a non-threatening, entertaining
and simultaneously educational way. The use of
the performing arts to address the serious and
growing HIV pandemic is one of the main strengths
of Soundtrack 4 Life. And so, ST4L presents two
theatre based programmes: The Road Show and Theatre
4 Social Change workshops.
A one-hour fun, funky, edutainment stage show
delivering basic HIV/Aids information aimed at
entire High Schools. It never preaches but rather
opens up the issues and questions surrounding
HIV and the spread of the virus. During 2007 the
question ST4L asks is “Why?” If we know how to
protect ourselves against this virus – and most
teenagers claim they do know – why is it still
spreading at such an alarming rate?
The Road Show was extremely well received during
the second term and performed at a wide variety
of schools across the greater Cape Town area.
(As
a team we were amazed when this form was faxed
back to us a week later. The learner had taken
a lot of time to complete and think. One of those
that should be replicated as a whole. But here
is an abridged version)
It was a very good impression, in my own opinion
it’s the best show I have seen. They showed us
facts that we did not know about. How to avoid
peer pressure and make our own decisions by choosing
the positive facts in life. I myself three days
after the show decided to go and have an HIV/Aids
test and tested negative.
It taught us how to practise safe sex, how to
take care of HIV /Aids people that are infected
and affected by it, how we have the right to privacy
when we test positive. HIV/Aids and teen pregnancy
is real to us. In order for us to prevent it,
we have to have the facts in mind that contraception
does not control HIV, it only prevents pregnancy.
They should keep up the good work, because there
is no person that could waste a lot of time, teaching
us school children. We do not listen or talk when
elders tell us to abstain and have safe sex.
These highly interactive and intimate workshops
are in line with the Education Department’s Life
Orientation curriculum. Participants (grade 10
learners) seek their own practical solutions to
problems raised by the facilitating team. The
workshops focus on Personal Well being and sexuality,
encouraging participants to take personal responsibility
for their lives.
During 2007 each grade 10 class participates
in a 5 workshop cycle. Worksheets and assessments
are given, and learners who fulfil the requirements
receive certificates of participation. The themes
for the workshops are: Strengths, dreams &
goals, sexuality and how to negotiate personal
safety, gender attitudes (both male and female),
teenage pregnancy and rape.
ST4L recognized the importance of training and
supporting educators in counselling and mentoring
skills. The most often expressed sentiment from
HIV Coordinators in High Schools is: “I am burning
out. Nobody else is interested and I have become
the Social Worker of the school – every and any
problem is sent to me. I have no support.” The
intervention designed as a reaction to this was
to place peer counsellors in the schools – the
fact that kids talk more readily to other kids
being the motivation. But for this to be sustainable,
adult supervision and effective infrastructure
needs to be in place first. Accordingly, a methodology
was designed by LifeLine/Childline Western Cape’s
Youth Development Department. Educators were trained
in Personal Growth, Counselling Skills, Youth
at Risk and Supervising Skills at a three-day
camp.
Soundtrack 4 Life remains primarily a performing
arts-driven project as learners find the theatre
medium easily accessible. Because HIV and Aids
is such a complex issue, it was decided to broaden
and reinforce the project’s performing art component.
As a consequence, Artscape’s High School Drama
Festival was included in 2006. It is an exciting
and innovative way to develop learners, to showcase
and highlight their voices and issues, and to
expose them to the experience of theatre broadening
their horizons beyond the local, often crime-ridden,
community within which they live.
During 2007 the festival has been extended to
include community-based mini festivals and rural
outreach. From these 15 schools have been selected
to take part during 10 – 15 September in the Artscape
Arena Theatre.
Many schools expressed the need for a referral
system, particularly for community-based organizations,
that they could call on in case of emergencies.
Accordingly, SANTA Cape Town seconded a Community
Researcher who was tasked with producing and updating
a list of referral organisations.
Margie Pankhurst
Project Manager ST4L
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