The Murongwe Enrichment Project and the Amplifying Community Voice of Students Association (ACVOSA) from the University of Venda's Institute of Rural Development hosted a creative youth festival to commemorate youth month.
Learners from Tshidimbini, Khubvi, Makonde and Vhutalu schools took part in the day-long activities held at Khubvi Primary School last week. The festival is a part of the series of festivals held in each significant holiday of the year to accommodate learners during the school intervals.
The activities started with an indoor interactive workshop by professional artists Rendani Mudau and Thomas Musubi from the Thohoyandou Arts Centre. Learners were taken through arts orientation lessons to give them an overview of the different mediums of visual art, and they were also given a chance to interact with the artists.
Nndoweni Malala, the executive director of the Murongwe Enrichment Project, said the main purpose of the festival was to provide communities, art organisations, schools and individuals with opportunities to participate in artistic, craft, and cultural activities. "This is in line with Murongwe's view of community arts as a tool to address social challenges and inspire rural development and nurture the soul of society. Through these festivals, we want to emphasize the socio-cultural value of the arts as mechanisms to build a sense of heritage ownership, cultural understanding and provision of recreational platforms."
Malala said the festivals taught the learners the significance of holidays on the national calendar. "Through this festival, we strive to ensure that anyone has a lesson taken from a range of performances and talks."
The principal of Tshiseluselu Primary school, Mr Humbulani Musandiwa, whose school has been taking part in the festivals for the past four years, said that they were happy about the progress and improvements so far. "This clearly displays that collaboration between schools, NGOs and parents is a great step towards the development of arts in our communities. We are grateful that this event is inclusive and based on the needs and aspirations of all stakeholders."