CBN proudly hosted its very first workshop in October, 2012. Red Hill is an informal settlement that lies in the mountains behind Simon’s Town. Around 2000 young residents live in the area that is segregated into three parts. Unemployment is high and many families are not financially stable.
Twenty children between the age of 15 to 17 (grades 9-11) were invited to take part and the attendance was good. The children chose to write in English, the language used at school, but their mother tongue is isiXhosa.
The programme used a variety of mediums to engage the children in the power of words including; writing, drumming, photography, art, performance, and reading. Some activities were more successful than others, photography worked very well for this age group as did the speakers and storytellers.
Sindiwe Magona (one of the founders), Jose de Prada and Helena Cuesta Gonzalez (Spanish storytellers) Kabbo and Basse (drummers from Senegal) and Mikhail Hendriks (a prize winning writer and scholar from the Cape Flats) all engaged with the children in their own way at the workshop, imparting knowledge to the children and teaching them in an exciting way.
As well as hosting the workshop, CBN donated about 300 books in English and isiXhosa (some were multiple copies to aid group reading) for the Red Hill library which is in the process of being refurbished. Redham House and Lesley Beake also donated books.
