Humanizing Social Development — Lessons from the Bees

/

Photo by Laura Lauch on Unsplash

In September this year a group of social impact leaders from Southern countries gathered in Istanbul for what would have been one of the most significant experiences of my life. Our hosts, the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, (AVPN) invited us to grapple with social impact issues from a Southern perspective, creating a platform for activists and practitioners on grassroots level to share learnings and be in conversation with each other. We shared the goal of voicing insights from the South, that does not often reach the ears of the dominant Northern systems.

Four Seasons Under One Sky: Arts As A Collective Approach To Creativity And Healing In South Africa

/

Glimmer Boxes Shine Light On Tools For Health. Koue Bokkeveld, 2023. Credit: Sp(I)eel Arts Therapies Collective

sp(i)eel is an arts therapies collective (including drama, music, dance/movement, and art) of arts therapists, applied arts practitioners, and arts activists addressing intergenerational and complex trauma in South African communities. Over two centuries of colonialism and the oppressive regime of apartheid has left a nation grappling with systemic inequity and intergenerational trauma. Ongoing poverty and high incidences of violence and crime coupled with a dire lack of mental health services are contributing to complex and ongoing trauma, with more than a quarter of South Africans suffering from probable depression (Craig et al, 2022). This mental health crisis our country is facing is a systemic issue, not an individual one, and it needs a collective response. Our approach to mental health is culturally informed and sees people as each other’s greatest resource and source of support. As a result, our ultimate goal is to develop collective resilience that can affect social change.

Arts for Health South Africa

/

In 2017, a Cape Town-based NPO, MusicWorks, initiated the coordination of a network of arts-based organizations that uses the arts to offer psychosocial support in South African communities. The purpose of the community of practice (CoP) is to serve as a platform for connection, sharing, collaborating, advocating and lobbying for the Arts in Health in South Africa. In 2019, The Learning Trust mandated the CoP with a research project that investigates arts-based psychosocial programmes for children and youth in South Africa. UNICEF, University of Pretoria, Brunel University and the National Department of Sports, Arts and Culture are all contributors towards this effort to map the current landscape of the Arts in Health and well-being practice with children and youth in South Africa.

Sp(i)eel is excited to share the new Arts for Health webpage, click here to learn more.

karim mandjra.jfi

Organisations Unite to Provide Psychosocial Support Amidst Covid-19

/

Click here to read the full article from Valcare on this exciting psychosocial project.

“Both during the preparation and presentation of these workshops I was touched by the capacity and desire for the human spirit to want to reach out and connect to each other, especially during difficult times. Despite the challenges presented by an online platform and developing a new project without ever meeting in person, we found universal themes in our stories, moments of shared laughter and tears and a bonding around the creative tasks that affirms we are stronger together and left me with a sense of hope and gratitude for what is possible under extreme circumstances,” Marlize Swanepoel, Sp(i)eel Arts Therapies Collective.

Article picture.jpg

Free Crisis Counselling

/

Sp(i)eel is part of a group of Arts Therapists and practitioners offering free online and tele-counselling for frontline workers and members of the public who are in need of mental health support. As we are preparing for a phased approach to lifting lockdown over the next few months, we are offering training to groundworkers for immediate psycho-social support and debriefing to families. We will also offer additional programmes to support children and their teachers in processing the effects of the lockdown in its aftermath.

Please get in touch if you can think of ways our organization can support beneficiaries in your network. We continue to believe in the arts as a life-giving tool to mediate times of crisis and support personal health and well-being.

Frontline Support.jpg

COVID- 19 Response

/

We are sending our thoughts and well-wishes to our beneficiaries, partners, collaborators and practitioners  during the current COVID-19 pandemic. All our therapeutic programmes have been put on hold, but we are staying in touch with our beneficiaries via other platforms. Please check out our Facebook page, Instagram account  and the Free Resources tab on our website for creative emotional supportive online content that we are creating for our families. Feel welcome to use and share with your networks!

Huisstories.jpg
Balloon breath.jpg
Sirkels van beheer.jpg

SaamSpeel

/

We know the young children we work with love to sing, dance and share stories. As adults we also know the value of creativity and play in a child’s development. SaamSpeel (‘Playing together’) is a project that aims to offer a creative space for families to enjoy being together. There is a different theme every month, and we use drama, movement, dance, music and art. Most importantly, while we play together, we are nurturing relationships, building the child’s self-esteem and developing emotional intelligence.

Thank you to Jessika Jones from Overmaatjies Créche for helping to facilitate this project and to Cape Wine Auction for funding it.

nbieblgogdanclae.jpg

Time to Thrive

/

Time To Thrive is a youth leadership program that combines art therapy with coaching, utilizing a combination of visual arts, directive art therapy, drama, play and movement, coaching tools and written reflections, breathwork and mindfulness. It is a unique and exciting approach, engaging youth through creative learning. The main goals are to keep kids in school, and to teach life skills and soft skills, uplifting individuals by building EQ. The main outcomes are resilience and confidence, as well as a motivation to learn, grow and achieve, to aim high and work to create new futures for themselves. The central theme is that education is key, their key for empowerment. The intention is to equip learners with leadership skills that can have potential far-reaching consequences.

We want learners to strive to Thrive; it’s time, Time to Thrive.

Monteith Farm

/

In November this year, the sp(i)eel team was invited to host an end-of-year event for the staff at Monteith Farm. Our brief was to offer an interactive, creative space that would facilitate the staff team to look back on the past year and connect with each other in reflection and celebration of the story of Monteith in 2018. It was a touching afternoon and we are particularly impressed with the fact that the whole of the staff team, from pickers to managers to owners of the farm turned up and engaged in the event. When communities come together in this way, they emerge stronger and more resilient to face work and life challenges ahead. Here is a glimpse of what happened...


Monteith Xmas Tree.jpg

The Liberator

/

We are thrilled to announce the continued support from the Wine Cellar; this time in the form of wine.

The brand is Liberator, created by a UK Master of Wine with South African roots, Richard Kelley. 

The idea is that these wines essentially don’t have good homes and Richard liberates from the industry. They can then also be used to liberate the beneficiaries of sp(i)eel at the same time, through a product of the winelands.

The Wine Cellar will be offering a portion of the proceeds to sp(i)eel as a collaboration.

Bottles can be bought online from this link.

The wine is delicious and it goes towards a meaningful cause. Spread the word and treat yourself and sp(i)eel!

Thanks again to Wine Cellar!

image1.jpeg
image2.png
image1.png

Indigo Heritage Tour Applied Theatre Workshops 2017

/

Over a two day period, three drama practitioners ran a series of workshops with High School Learners from Loriesfontein, Protea and Hantam High School.

We collaborated with Indigo Development and Change to facilitate a creative process where learners would share aspects of their personal heritage, as well as exploring collective heritage in South Africa. The workshops culminated in a showcase on the second evening.

The process definitely gave participants an opportunity to connect, learn about each other from each other and have fun together.

IMG_20171004_152311.jpg