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Research

Schools Research Year 1 - Uganda

Working at three local schools in the Walukuba and Masese districts of Jinja, ten weeks of workshops took place February - May 2024. All sessions were led by local arts facilitators and groups met after school and were split into boys and girls from the following schools:

  • Masese Seed Secondary
  • Lakesite Primary
  • Walukuba East Primary

The young people worked through a number of different topics on the theme of communication, using creative methodologies - drama, drawing, writing and poetry. They looked at communication between parents and children, teachers and students, boys and girls, elders and youth. Each week they attended to work through the following:

Week 1: Listening to others and how it feels to have something to share but not be listened to

Week 2: Being unheard

Week 3: Advice or other forms of help

Week 4: The barriers to good communication between family members

Week 5: Why are people mean to each other?

Week 6: Bad Words and Good Words. How being kind and supportive is easier and better than being mean?

Week 7: Body Changes - Challenges and Support. Everyone goes through puberty it is normal but body changes can be different. Peer support is important at this time.

Week 8: Facts, Fears and Myths about Sex

Week 9: Discrimination of Children and how it effects their lives

Week 10: Responsibilities and Hindrances. What makes an individual happy or unhappy about their gender?

Dramatic scene or tableux created by school girls entitled 'Why are we mean to each other?'

Dramatic tableaux of 'Why are we mean to each other?'

Final Discussions

In the final discussions the students were asked to give thoughts about the workshops overall, in terms of what they enjoyed most, what challenged or surprised them, what they looked forward to each week. Here is some of the feedback:

  • They looked forward to the soda and snack, the games that started the sessions and the methodology.
  • They liked the drama element because they watched a lot of TV drama and wanted to act like people they see on screen. Interestingly, this explained why the young people adopt a Nigerian accent when speaking in character in their dramas.
  • They took away the importance of treating each other well, being kind, being able to play with boys but not get trapped into sexual acts, being active, creative and open minded.
  • They also took away the importance of being clean and bathing frequently, helping them to look smart and smell good.
  • The need to simply talk straight to your peers instead of backbiting about them.
  • Quarrelsome individuals at the beginning of the workshops confessed that they no longer abuse their peers thanks to what they have learnt through the workshops.

When asked to compare the workshops to the other classes, they pointed out that;

  • They liked the fact that they were never called out as wrong or right.
  • The class was fun because it started with games.
  • Each of them was allowed to participate openly.
  • Their confidence was boosted, being given a chance to share their thoughts with the rest of the group without judgement.
  • They were challenged by the little time given to create pieces of work but also liked how fast they worked with each other despite changing groups regularly.
  • And, most importantly, there was no beating or abuse encountered during the workshops.

Conclusion

The teachers were very supportive and the students enthusiastic. The challenge of absenteeism due to not paying school fees was an issue but they tried to return in the evening to participate in the workshops whenever they could and the school did not stop them.

An image of the artwork created in school - The Good Words

The Good Words group work created in school for Week 6's topic

Community Research

Year 1 - Uganda

10 weeks of weekend workshops took place at Walukuba Community Centre for the wider community of adults to engage in the project. This was in addition to the regular weekly workshops and school holiday projects.

A mixture of generations attended - elders, parents and youth. The groups were split so that they could speak freely.

Using arts-based methodologies, the facilitation team worked on a number of issues around communication including:

  • Listening
  • Barriers to good communication within families
  • Why are people mean to each other?
  • Why children are undisciplined and who is responsible for this?
  • 'Stand in my Shoes' Hot-seating to solve problems. Being a good communicator.
  • Witchcraft Tales - Juju and its use to blame for problems or to solve them.
  • The discrimination of Children and how it affects them.
  • Responsibilities and hindrances to person fulfilment.