Alex Sudheim : On show in Durban
The residents of Emalendeni hostels are always hungry. The 90 physically-disabled children and youths living in the low, bleak buildings on the outskirts of Durban’s Umlazi township no longer receive food aid from the government, and survive on the 10 loaves of bread a day donated by a nearby tea room.
Since there are no longer any adults supervising the hostels, each morning someone has to steam off on crutches or in a wheelchair to fetch the bread.
The crippled youngsters live in a world of surreal insularity, a sort of constructive version of Lord Of The Flies in the midst of a city housing over 3.5 million people. Though none can walk without crutches and many are in ancient, rickety wheelchairs, the children have to rely entirely on one another to survive in the absence of any capable adults.
Up until April 1998, Umlazi’s Prince Mshiyeni Hospital paid the hostels’ electricity and cleaning bills and provided meals for its inhabitants. However, the departments of Education and Welfare announced their inability to continue maintaining these costs, and planned to shut the hostels down.
Thanks to protests, this move was stayed and the kids allowed to remain in the buildings, though now without water, electricity or food. Compounding the situation is the fact that since the mid- Eightiess the kitchen, laundry and staff accommodation have been squatted, forcing the crippled children to cook on paraffin stoves in the dormitories and wash their clothes in the baths. Despite these dire circumstances, other hostels in the province which are too full are still referring children to Emalendeni.
In the face of all this adversity, the young people are resourceful and resilent. Their haphazard instruction at the adjoining Mason Lincoln School only lasts until 2pm, whereafter they keep their spirits high by organising choirs and football matches to relieve the hours of boredom and hunger. It is in this context that the Thuthukani Art Workshops play a vital role. Organised by the Art Works Trust, a small NGO patronised by Mary Benson, Darius Brubeck, Ela Gandhi, Gcina Mhlope, Janet Suzman and Andrew Verster, the Friday afternoon workshops are one of the few extra-curricular activities available to the residents of Emalendeni.
Aimed at developing the self-esteem of the handicapped inhabitants of the hostels, the classes also equip the youngsters with skills, and, most importantly, provide them with an escape from the harshness of their lives. As Nurse Ndadane, one of the gifted young lino-printers at Emalendeni, says: “Now to me everything I see around me is art.”
Since the Thuthukhani Workshops began in 1996, works produced by the children have been shown in the United States Japan, Australia, Germany and Britain. The most recent fruits of their labours are currently on show as Singakwenza – We Can Do It! inside the Bat Hall, at the Bat Centre on the edge of Durban harbour. Included in the show are some magnificent lino-prints by Nurse Ndadane, Nkangiso Masango, Gugu Lukhosi and Philani Cele.
Their strong, simple lines and evocative, childlike use of magic realism would have international collectors of naf art drooling on the floor. The kids have also produced a range of beautiful, whimsical mobiles of chameleons, shongololos, birds, fish, stars and planets made out of junk and found objects.
Addressing the audience at Singakwenza’s opening while his guide dog stretched and yawned, Louis Nzimande, Secretary-General of the KwaZulu-Natal Federal Council on Disability, spoke about how the concept of a caring society needs to be deepened.
Charity and pity is not enough, and only full recognition by society of the unique talents and abilities of every individual disabled person will enable those facing harship, neglect and handicap to take their rightful place in the sun.
Singakwenza is on at the Bat Hall, Bat Centre, Durban Harbour. Tel: 332-0451/2