Music Academy Christmas Concerts & Art Project Sales

A Programme of recorder consort music, together with marimba and uhadi bow.Works by Saint-Saens, Abdullah Ebrahim, Pachelbel, Renaissance Dances and Christmas Carols.

HAMBURG Old Hall,
Friday 17 December 2010 @ 17h00 for 17h30
Donations at the door

Ceramic studio and Gift Shop will be open on 16, 17 and 18 Dec with artists in attendance.

Enquiries: Helen 082 664 1190 / helen@keiskamma.org


'Classics at the Castle',
Port Alfred,

Saturday 18 December @ 14:30 for15h00
Tickets in advance only @ R60 from Kowie News Agency (tel 046-624 2036)

Enquiries Sue 082 4567 437 / gordofam@iafrica.com

All proceeds to support the Keiskamma Music Academy.

Art and craft articles from the Keiskamma Art Project will be for sale aswell as the new book of the Music Academy.

The Keiskamma Music Academy is a programme of the Keiskamma Trust in ruralEastern Cape. We enhance and enrich the lives of the vulnerable ruralchildren of Hamburg and surrounds through the opportunity of a musiceducation.

Music Academy - UNISA Exams

The Keiskamma Music Academy entered 16 students for UNISA exams this year, and what was really special was that the exams were held in Hamburg! This was a first for UNISA and an initiative that they were very supportive of, as they have set a goal of reaching out to rural communities. The idea to bring the exams to Hamburg was proposed by the Helen Vosloo, the founder of the music academy, and the choice of UNISA (over the other possible exam boards) was made by our specialist recorder teacher at the time, Senja Barthel, who also prepared the students for the exam.

The students were all nervous but ready and in the end achieved four distinctions, four merits, and eight passes with no failures. Four students entered for Grade 2, eight for Grade 1, and four for Pre-Grade 1. The general comment of the examiner Mr. Botes Gresse was “I can see you are all very focused, you’ve worked hard, and you’ve all done excellently. I look forward to hearing your progress in the years to come”.

There was lots of behind-the-scenes organizing going on, from the purchasing of sheet music to tuning of the Hofmeyr’s piano and an excellent invigilation process conducted by Unathi Meslane. It was a real team effort from the Keiskamma Trust! Many thanks to all involved.

The UNISA examiner, Botes Gresse (rector of the Drakensberg Boys Choir School), standing outside the Hofmeyr’s home (our exam venue) with our invigilator and PRO of the Keiskamma Trust, Unathi Meslane.

Art- Exhibition in Gaborone with Kuru Project - from the 24th of November to the 3rd of December 2010

'After almost three years, celebrated San artists affiliated to the Kuru Art Project in D'Kar, will return to Gaborone to showcase their artworks at the Botswanacraft Gallery in about two weeks.(...) The exhibition will also feature some beautiful embroidered pieces by artists from the Keiskamma project in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The Keiskamma project, which works amongst the underprivileged in the Eastern Cape, are well-known for their large multimedia pieces like the Keikamma altar pieces and the Keiskamma Guernica. The embroidered pieces for this exhibition, according to Brown, were all inspired by Kuru Art showing that art can communicate and cross boundaries.'

From Mmegi Online
Click here to read more.

Keiskamma Canada Foundation's Fundraiser 'ART FOR ART' raises nearly $17,000

Reaching a hand of hope across the ocean, an Edmonton silent auction of North American and South African art raised just under $17,000 to support artists in rural South Africa who are part of the award-winning Keiskamma Art Project.

Hosted by Women of Hope (part of the Stephen Lewis Grandmother to Grandmother movement) and Keiskamma Canada Foundation, the October 23 event at Edmonton’s Timms Centre for the Arts featured over 30 works donated by North American artists as well as exciting new pieces from South Africa.

South Africa’s contribution of textile artwork depicted scenes of birds, plant life, and other animals, crafted in brightly coloured collages of recycled and hand felted fabric. One distinct hanging, Cynthia’s Cloth, featuring a characteristic sacred cow, was a beautiful tribute to the earliest beadwork crafts initiated by the Art Project in Hamburg, SA.

Special guests at the auction included a South African grandmother and granddaughter who were visiting Alberta as part of AfriGrand Caravan, a Stephen Lewis initiative.

Annette Woudstra, Director of Keiskamma Trust, provided a brief update on the work in South Africa, where shortages in anti-AIDS medication are adding enormous strain to already burdened budgets.

Proceeds from the event will support The Keiskamma Trust, whose programs bring hope and healing in a neglected region of South Africa that is battling AIDS and ninety per cent unemployment.

Keiskamma Canada FoundationPO Box 34199, 126 Kingsway Mall Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaT5G 3G4www.keiskammacanada.com

Health - Training the Village Health Worker Trainers in Hamburg: 25 – 29 October 2010

A week-long ‘train the trainer’ session got off to an uncertain start on Monday 25th October when we heard that our expert trainer who was to have flown in from Rwanda, had been arrested at Kigali Airport.

Fortunately for us, Partners in Health whose training programme we were to follow, have produced an excellent trainers manual, with step-by-step instructions on how to proceed. Our training event picked up steam during the week and by all their reports our participants had a most informative and entertaining experience.

The purpose of the week’s programme was to familiarise future Xhosa-speaking trainers with the Village Health Worker’s Handbook, adapted from Partners in Health’s Accompagnateur handbook and with PIH-designed training methods. The Handbook was well received by course participants. It is written in comfortable English and a number of participants on the course felt that it would be most useful to VHWs in the field.

The train the trainer course covered recognition of HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections; management of HIV and TB; psycho-social support skills and duties and responsibilities of Village Health Workers.

The PIH training manual is full of engaging and interesting activities. The highlight was probably our Thursday afternoon ‘radio show’ when participants ‘phoned in’ questions to a panel of expert Village Health Workers, for their responses to various challenges that would be presented to VHWs at work.

We are happy to report that our expert trainer has been released by the Rwandan police and that the charges brought against him were proven to have been false.

Post by Dr. Paul Roux