SAFE festival unites children

Tafadzwa Zimoyo
The second Southern African Festival for children (SAFE) hosted by Children Performing Arts Workshop (Chipawo) ended on a high note, with peace, love and unity lessons being drawn.

The festival ran under the theme, “Making it together” and was held from August 18 to August 21. It saw children from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana taking part.

Chipawo manager, Chipo Basopo, said all went according to plan and they were pleased with the overwhelming responses from all over Africa.

“The festival went on well and I am happy with the response we got from different countries. The children shared ideas and skills apart from learning different cultures and traditions.

“We chose the theme before the coronavirus pandemic had reached us. We believed that in all things we do, we work together as a team and this has driven the message home, now we are all at home,” she explained.

“We could not postpone it because it was already on the calendar. So we decided to go virtual where children performed in the comfort of their homes after getting scripts to follow. We did it on our own and I am happy it came out as planned.”

All the Chipawo children took part in the pre-recorded production.

Most of the plays screened online were performed by Chipawo long back but it was also decided to incorporate performances that were specific to the theme.

They took the memorable performances. But they also had productions from Malawi, Zambia and Botswana.

Some of the performances include 2084 by team Malawi (YDC Theatre) which centred on land and how it is being affected by climate change. Chiedza Trust from Zambia had their own play entitled “We are sick and tired of your manners”, while Botswana and Zimbabwe had dance performances.

Chipawo later had a story-telling by Uncle Stephen Chifunyise titled “The Brave Grasshopper” as well as modern dance medleys from different Chipawo centres.

The festival gave children and young people a platform to shine and appreciate their culture and tradition, giving them a true sense of belonging — identity.

It was conducted on Chipawo World social media pages.