Dear readers,
It's been a while since I last posted. For the past two years, I was engaging in other discoveries and creations. It's been good. Really good.
I'm back at Vac'Art and today was our first session. Connecting back with the kids was great, a bit nerve racking but great. The beginning group starts small, just 6 kids today. We watched the documentary, specifically part II of the document. Although the kids requested to watch the entire documentary film, after about 5 minutes, they asked that I skipped to the part where they are featured. They watched proudly, recalling their time 2 years ago. The new kids were curious and excited to be part of this artistic venture. Together, we identified the missing persons, everyone has recruitment homework: get a phone number, call or connect through social media.
We spoke about the rhythmic storytelling plan, what to expect in general as we interpret the 4 traditional tales for the August 4 finale.
Exciting news to share:
A returning girl shared her innovative creation, I wont' say much about it. Nevertheless, we have invited her to host a workshop and teach other about her art. We encouraged her to find a Bàsàa name for her creation. Her homework is to provide us with a list of the materials needed to host her workshop. We agreed on July 19 for her workshop. She can teach a maximum of 5 kids ages 10 -12. If it is successful, we could possibly host another session.
We also learned that a former participant is now a chef, so we will also invite him to host an applied culinary workshop in parallel to the one the grand mothers will teach.
It's fabulous to see them grow and continue to create new art form. Our goal is to integrate and highlight them in the camp.
Already taking ownership:
By the way, the kids changed the meeting time--not surprising😅! We are now meeting from 9am-1pm instead of 10am-3pm. We will work by stories, each group will chose the story they would like to interpret.
Their homework, think about group names and their Bàsàa equivalent
Monday, July 2, 2018
Friday, July 29, 2016
June 29th: DDay
Week 4 ... day 5
Tumultuous day with the kids.
I brought the budget duo, including a floater, to grocery shop today. They kids raised 38500 FCFA, they were 2000 over the estimated budget and were proud of their work. They bought all and more of what they need for tomorrow.
I am realizing that I did not remind the kids who were giving donation in nature to bring their donation tomorrow. I hope they remember to bring it!
Following the grocery shopping the girls joined back the groups rehearsing the different songs. The rehearsal was in their outfit. They all looked gorgeous and proud! The kids are ready to bring the house down and checking on the final details. I am so nervous for tomorrow, I hope all goes well.
I trust in the kids to make their parents proud!
Tumultuous day with the kids.
I brought the budget duo, including a floater, to grocery shop today. They kids raised 38500 FCFA, they were 2000 over the estimated budget and were proud of their work. They bought all and more of what they need for tomorrow.
I am realizing that I did not remind the kids who were giving donation in nature to bring their donation tomorrow. I hope they remember to bring it!
Following the grocery shopping the girls joined back the groups rehearsing the different songs. The rehearsal was in their outfit. They all looked gorgeous and proud! The kids are ready to bring the house down and checking on the final details. I am so nervous for tomorrow, I hope all goes well.
I trust in the kids to make their parents proud!
July 28th: A day at the Museum
Week 4 ... Day 4
A day at a museum!
We had an incredible moment at the museum with the kids. We visited the Blackitude museum located downtown Yaoundé, which is showcases the culture of northwestern and southwest Cameroon, I beleive. The kids were captivated by the beauty of the artifacts, inquiring about the many elements presented to them. The constant questioning revealed the level of engagement they manifested at the museum.
To better explain some of the elements presented to them, we brought it back to Bàsàa culture in order to make meaning of the described and/or presented object. That way, the kids were able to draw cultural parallel and give examples from home. It was a fabulous cultural exchange with the guide who seemed a bit overwhelmed by the kids questions.
Socially, the convenience of the museum is for adults, therefore, guides have not yet developed the language to explain simple things to the kids. Nevertheless, I hope that the visit sparks interest of their Bàsàa cultural wealth.
The grandmother who was present congratulated us for the work we are doing with the kids. She said many speak and no one acts. To see our effort give her hope that the culture will thrive. She has suggested that we document the few remaining individuals who can still communicate through tam-tams because that's a wealth of cultural knowledge. In some parts of Bàsàa territories, this type of communication is still taking place.
It's was an incredible time with the kids. Friday is going to be a crazy fun day!
A day at a museum!
We had an incredible moment at the museum with the kids. We visited the Blackitude museum located downtown Yaoundé, which is showcases the culture of northwestern and southwest Cameroon, I beleive. The kids were captivated by the beauty of the artifacts, inquiring about the many elements presented to them. The constant questioning revealed the level of engagement they manifested at the museum.
To better explain some of the elements presented to them, we brought it back to Bàsàa culture in order to make meaning of the described and/or presented object. That way, the kids were able to draw cultural parallel and give examples from home. It was a fabulous cultural exchange with the guide who seemed a bit overwhelmed by the kids questions.
Socially, the convenience of the museum is for adults, therefore, guides have not yet developed the language to explain simple things to the kids. Nevertheless, I hope that the visit sparks interest of their Bàsàa cultural wealth.
The grandmother who was present congratulated us for the work we are doing with the kids. She said many speak and no one acts. To see our effort give her hope that the culture will thrive. She has suggested that we document the few remaining individuals who can still communicate through tam-tams because that's a wealth of cultural knowledge. In some parts of Bàsàa territories, this type of communication is still taking place.
It's was an incredible time with the kids. Friday is going to be a crazy fun day!
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
June 27th: Getting fitted
Week 4 ... day 3
Today was another day dedicated to dancing. First thing first ... was the fitting for all dances. For the Makunè, Tata Carine only has 8 garments for the girls and 4 for the boys. Needless to say competition was tight. We only chose the most dedicated to the dance i.e. the people following the simple instructions, for instance smiling, clapping and always in the same directions. As a result of the cut, only 8 girls and 4 boys were selected to dance the Makunè.
The two groups then rehearsed their Assiko/Essani steps and performed them. Tata Carine wanted to have tomorrow to continue working on routine. Unfortunately, tomorrow is a relaxing day, we will enjoy ourselves all together at the museum. We though it will be beneficial for them to cool down a bit before the big day on Friday and the finale on Saturday.
Practice, practice, practice was the word of the day ... only the best were chosen to performed.
Of course, for the kids who were absent, it was hard for them to follow and get into the routine. We promised that we will find a role for them throughout the day so that they feel included.
That's all folks!
Julu 26th: Marching to the beat with smiles and attitude
Week 4 ... Day 2
The day was dedicated to mastering and finessing all choreographies starting with the larger dance, which is Makunè and then finishing up with Essani and Assiko.
Tata Carine drilled the kids. They had no choice but be on task with the choreography. What's to lose, well one push up for every mistake, it's a tab of my count in addition to Tata Carine's. So first round the kids had a total of 35 mistakes. They did 15 push ups, we stop them and offer them a chance to pay their push up debt or double it up. We restarted and they made so many mistakes so fast, perhaps with the assumption that they didn't complete the push up series, so we will not double it up. or better yet erase everything. We stop the music and reiterate what needed to be done. Then once the music started to play, we watched and took those who did not want to apply the simple rules of smiling, following correct direction and clapping. At the end, 2 kids and 2 teens came out. Surprised by the remaining group being the final dancing group, they proposed to join the group back with the intent to apply themselves. And so they did, but for about 1.5 minutes into the song. And so we took them out again, this time for good! We'll see how they do today.
Following, they work on the smaller group routine with minor changes given the group's inconsistent numbers and the positioning needing some adjusting.
We had a total of 23 kids. I am sure that amount will up on Saturday.
As of yesterday, the youth had a total of 26 500FCFA. They need an additional 10000FCFA to meet their budget objective.
In addition to Friday, Tata Carine is planning on coming Wednesday to allow more time for the rehearsal as the kids are not as tight as she would like to see. Wednesday is packed with grocery shopping, rehearsal and letter to the successors as well as to us.
The day was dedicated to mastering and finessing all choreographies starting with the larger dance, which is Makunè and then finishing up with Essani and Assiko.
Tata Carine drilled the kids. They had no choice but be on task with the choreography. What's to lose, well one push up for every mistake, it's a tab of my count in addition to Tata Carine's. So first round the kids had a total of 35 mistakes. They did 15 push ups, we stop them and offer them a chance to pay their push up debt or double it up. We restarted and they made so many mistakes so fast, perhaps with the assumption that they didn't complete the push up series, so we will not double it up. or better yet erase everything. We stop the music and reiterate what needed to be done. Then once the music started to play, we watched and took those who did not want to apply the simple rules of smiling, following correct direction and clapping. At the end, 2 kids and 2 teens came out. Surprised by the remaining group being the final dancing group, they proposed to join the group back with the intent to apply themselves. And so they did, but for about 1.5 minutes into the song. And so we took them out again, this time for good! We'll see how they do today.
Following, they work on the smaller group routine with minor changes given the group's inconsistent numbers and the positioning needing some adjusting.
We had a total of 23 kids. I am sure that amount will up on Saturday.
As of yesterday, the youth had a total of 26 500FCFA. They need an additional 10000FCFA to meet their budget objective.
In addition to Friday, Tata Carine is planning on coming Wednesday to allow more time for the rehearsal as the kids are not as tight as she would like to see. Wednesday is packed with grocery shopping, rehearsal and letter to the successors as well as to us.
Monday, July 25, 2016
July 25th: All admin work
Week 4 ... Day 1
The kids can't wait until Saturday, those where the words most of them uttered as they greeted and waited for the others to arrived. Total count of those who have stayed the course is 16. We are 4 kids shy of our intended objectives.
I am assuming that many social convenience factors influence the sudden disappearance of kids. The first one being the emergence of fees to prepare a small collation for parents at the end of the camp on the 30th, the house chores, and many other factors.
Today for instance, I noticed that a few kids are not able to come up with the amount the budget duo came up with. Together, we figure contributing alternatives...with the understanding that everyone has to contribute. I explained to the kids that we all have and bring different assets, we work with what have and remain content with what we can gather.
So, today we were able to determine everyone's contribution. After a final check, as a group we figure out that they will raise about 1/2 of what they budgeted for. On the other hand however, some kids are bringing enough apero that there will be no need to purchase additional amuse gueule. Therefore, the amount collected will purchase drinks.
After we told the kids about the field trip to the museum, we distributed the slips and moved on to the rehearsal. The plan is for most to bring the money by tomorrow and the remaining by Wednesday. We will grocery shop on Wednesday and write letter to the successors, museum on Thursday and Friday ... relax and perhaps think of how we can decorate the place for Saturday.
During the practice something wasn't quite working, and we try to switch it around and due to the fact that we are not expert in dance, we will have to refer to Tata Carine tomorrow so she can give her magic touch as always.
Until then ....
The kids can't wait until Saturday, those where the words most of them uttered as they greeted and waited for the others to arrived. Total count of those who have stayed the course is 16. We are 4 kids shy of our intended objectives.
I am assuming that many social convenience factors influence the sudden disappearance of kids. The first one being the emergence of fees to prepare a small collation for parents at the end of the camp on the 30th, the house chores, and many other factors.
Today for instance, I noticed that a few kids are not able to come up with the amount the budget duo came up with. Together, we figure contributing alternatives...with the understanding that everyone has to contribute. I explained to the kids that we all have and bring different assets, we work with what have and remain content with what we can gather.
So, today we were able to determine everyone's contribution. After a final check, as a group we figure out that they will raise about 1/2 of what they budgeted for. On the other hand however, some kids are bringing enough apero that there will be no need to purchase additional amuse gueule. Therefore, the amount collected will purchase drinks.
After we told the kids about the field trip to the museum, we distributed the slips and moved on to the rehearsal. The plan is for most to bring the money by tomorrow and the remaining by Wednesday. We will grocery shop on Wednesday and write letter to the successors, museum on Thursday and Friday ... relax and perhaps think of how we can decorate the place for Saturday.
During the practice something wasn't quite working, and we try to switch it around and due to the fact that we are not expert in dance, we will have to refer to Tata Carine tomorrow so she can give her magic touch as always.
Until then ....
Friday, July 22, 2016
July 22nd: The invitations are out
Week 3 ... jour 5
The hard work of today was making a personalized invitation to the parents.
A member of the budgetary duo prepared an invitation for the entire group. She read her proposition and the group voted to adopt her letter and personalized it for their parents. The budget is ready and kids are requesting 1500FCFA to their parents either in material or financial form.
The kids are working very hard to make the 30th a success. I am now thinking about who I would like to invite i.e. inviting family members who have kids so potential recruits for next year. We have scheduled for about 60 people with kids included in the count. We've got to make sure that we have adults who come through so that the kids actually get to practice what they worked hard for.
For homework, they must think of the outfit they will wear for their performance. Monday they will work with Tonton Black Joe for the makeup they need to finalized their outfit.
For next Thursday, we have a field trip schedule at a museum as a thank you and also to give them a taste of what next year will look like, because we will up the production. This year was a trial to see whether or not there was an interest in learning language through art. The community confirmed that there a need.
I shared in the last post that we've got a request to come back next year. The lady in charge of kids programming would like us to work early so that we can get the necessary assistance to finance the camp. She also talked about the possibility of opening it up to other churches. To recruit Bàsàa people, we must use the spaces they go to, in the case, the social convenience dictates that those spaces are churches.
So, we will work on putting it together for next year and bring it to the next level. Our camp is officially an international camp as we had participants from Cameroon and Canada attend the camp.
The hard work of today was making a personalized invitation to the parents.
A member of the budgetary duo prepared an invitation for the entire group. She read her proposition and the group voted to adopt her letter and personalized it for their parents. The budget is ready and kids are requesting 1500FCFA to their parents either in material or financial form.
The kids are working very hard to make the 30th a success. I am now thinking about who I would like to invite i.e. inviting family members who have kids so potential recruits for next year. We have scheduled for about 60 people with kids included in the count. We've got to make sure that we have adults who come through so that the kids actually get to practice what they worked hard for.
For homework, they must think of the outfit they will wear for their performance. Monday they will work with Tonton Black Joe for the makeup they need to finalized their outfit.
For next Thursday, we have a field trip schedule at a museum as a thank you and also to give them a taste of what next year will look like, because we will up the production. This year was a trial to see whether or not there was an interest in learning language through art. The community confirmed that there a need.
I shared in the last post that we've got a request to come back next year. The lady in charge of kids programming would like us to work early so that we can get the necessary assistance to finance the camp. She also talked about the possibility of opening it up to other churches. To recruit Bàsàa people, we must use the spaces they go to, in the case, the social convenience dictates that those spaces are churches.
So, we will work on putting it together for next year and bring it to the next level. Our camp is officially an international camp as we had participants from Cameroon and Canada attend the camp.
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