Cape Town – Public spaces on the Cape Flats are being transformed into vibrant canvases of cultural expression.
Organisation HoneyBush Healing Arts Platform has created an opportunity for children from the Cape Flats to express themselves by painting murals with a message of peace and healing.
The organisation is the brainchild of SabaZahara HoneyBush, a community arts facilitator, communications specialist, digital marketer, and filmmaker.
Her blog echoes the sentiments of her work and “belief that creativity, when harnessed for community good, can be a powerful force for positive change”.
“Saba” is an alternative form of Sheba (as in the Queen of Sheba). In Swahili it means seven. Zahara means flower in Swahili.
HoneyBush and her organisation have been awarded a scholarship to pursue a Humanitarian MBA for Groups through the Roxbourg Institute of Social Entrepreneurship in Switzerland.
They plan to complete seven child-led art murals in seven underprivileged areas by the end of this year which will be spearheaded by volunteers.
One of the volunteers is journalist Alicia English, an award-winning magazine editor and founding director of The Olive Exchange; Iymanyi Belachew, a maths and arts teacher; broadcaster Gael Reagon, photographer Janine Stompies; videographer Jeremy Rezant; artist and musician Teba Shumba; Joy-Faith Kronenberg; linguist and priest and visual artist, Nativ Solaris and Rafiqua Mosaval.
SabaZahara told Weekend Argus that the initiative aimed to bring hope and positivity to communities with dilapidated, broken and drab infrastructure.
“Children on the Cape Flats need to take ownership of the space around them – dull walls, neglected parks, the lack of quality visual arts education.
“These murals give children who are enormously creative a holistic outlet. They help beautify, heal and build community in areas ridden with social ills post the forced removals.
“Our vision is to eventually make the walls both physical and virtual, allowing children around Africa and the world to engage while painting.
“We are also producing a full-length documentary with a child-led narrative.
“We would appreciate any donations, investment for paints, tools, logistics, food, seedlings, regenerative agricultural, permaculture liaison, technology, or stipends for our community arts facilitators and documentation crew, CSI partnerships and nature-filled outings for children.”
English, who also has an interest in child-authored books, said she decided to volunteer because the artwork would help to mould children.
“It is important to expose our children to a world of arts and reading,” she said.
“I have seen how reading and writing has transformed my life and that of my children,” she said.
“What led me to this programme was the fact that it was child-led. We want our children to change the way they think about themselves.”
In January, the project was launched in Mitchell’s Plain with a Helping Hands mural in Tafelsig.
In February, the children from Tafelsig joined hands with the children from Jim Se Bos to create a mural named Firewall, following the raging fires that affected Schaapkraal, Philippi.
The organisation began working with Pastor Raymond Katts, of Love in Action, who runs a feeding scheme and children’s workshops.
In December, 60 homes were razed in a fire in an informal settlement, leaving many destitute. Katts and his organisation began rebuilding the homes and people’s lives.
“We built over 60 homes. The fire on Christmas morning was very traumatic for the children,” he said.
“HoneyBush Healing Arts Platform came to visit and I thought, this is an awesome idea for children to do painting which will be a form of healing due to the trauma they have experienced, and they would be expressing themselves via the arts, love and joy.
“This lit up the community and it is so beautiful.
“Now there is a positive message being sent to those living there.”
Gloria Veale, of Abbas Restoration House, who is also involved in projects and a feeding scheme in Jim se Bos and other communities, said working together helped to restore people’s hope.
“There is so much hopelessness in our communities, so few people stepping in,” she said.
“The important thing is to bring hope and to help people rebuild their lives.
“I live by the philosophy that we need to be part of the solution, particularly when it comes to the vulnerable and the poor.”
Jim se Bos resident Iona Gelderbloem said the newly painted wall showcased how much talent they had in their community and was an inspiration to many who were passing by on their way to work, school or home.
