CHIPAWO — the educational, non-profit-making trust that aims to benefit and empower Zimbabwean children through participatory arts education — will present its annual Christmas show on December 14 at Theatre in The Park in Harare.
Under the Chipawo banner, children from diverse backgrounds, aged between three and 16, will come together to create what organisers say will be a memorable show that will be based on the children’s feelings about Christmas. Chipawo stands for Children’s Performing Arts Workshop, but is also a Shona word which means “give” or “give also”.
According to Victor Peturo, director of Arts Education for Development and Employment, rehearsals begin today and will run for a week until Friday next week.
The six-day camp will take place from December 8 to 14.
“We will be in camp preparing for the show,” Peturo told IndependentXtra. “Chipawo is under new management and the children asked if they could have their camp back and we listened. This year’s theme is ‘What We Want’ and is inspired by Chipawo celebrating 35 years of existence.
“We want to hear from the children what they want Chipawo to be in the years to come.
The Christmas summer camp started in 2016. Chipawo has multiple affiliated centres, including Mufakose and Mbare community centres and several schools, namely Alfred Bait School, Admiral Tait, Pote Primary, Tynwald, Acacia, Chiedza, Karoi High and Haig Park School.
“Some schools and centres are still confirming. We are working on engaging some organisations that work with children.”
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Founded in 1989, some of Chipawo’s objectives include guaranteeing that children know and appreciate cultural values that are expressed in Zimbabwe, the Southern African region and the continent as a whole.
It also seeks to ensure that through the arts, children learn, develop and grow up as balanced, harmonious whole human beings who, in turn, help to make a balanced, harmonious and whole society.
In a Chipawo session, children are given a chance to express and share their views on life and how they would make a change in this world.
The Christmas show is when they meet and put these ideas and stories into play by working together for a week to create a show.
Peturo said these activities help the children to understand the importance of working together and is also a way for them to kickstart careers in performing arts.
Some of its programmes include arts education for development and employment and the Children’s Council, where children at Chipawo centres elect their representatives to the Children’s Council, which is in turn represented on the board of trustees.
