On Friday, I was in Sasolburg at the Etienne Roussouw Theatre to present my "VENT!" project to the youth of the greater Sasolburg community.
VENT! - for those of you who don't know - is a creative arts project, which gives permission and creates a platform for the marginalised, the disempowered, the 'invisible' - to express their stories in a raw, real way - to purge - to VENT! (in a way that does not harm themselves or others).
The theatre filling up (we eventually had 275 youth attending)
Sasol (corporate giant in fuel & chemicals) is sponsoring the project.
Everything ran smoothly... initially. Almost 300 kids from the local community showed up to hear what VENT! was all about. I played our video, some slides and explained the concept of the project.
Just as we were wrapping up (and I was heaving a sigh of relief that everything went so smoothly) - the "problems" began.
"QUESTIONS!!!" yelled an angry voice from the back of the theatre, "WHEN DO WE GET TO ASK OUR QUESTIONS!!!!".
Sasol - for those who weren't aware - haven't had a very... uh... warm and fuzzy relationship with their community. There's some ugly history there. History which involves politics, an ugly situation in 1987, and lots of (understandable) anger and hard feelings from the Zamdela community. I had been told of a 'militant element' in the Zamdela youth... youngsters who were loud and vocal in their belief that Sasol "owes" them... a group of young men who had previously made death threats against Sasol staff when they had turned down a long list of demands ranging from cell phones to cushy jobs (it's a long story).
Anyway - I may have underestimated the animosity between the Zamdela youth and Sasol. The speaker - a young man in a red jacket (whom I later learned went by the name of Stix) stood up and gestured angrily.
"We demand to know why Sasol did not consult us about this project! We demand to know why Sasol has brought in these people from Johannesburg to teach us. How would these people from Johannesburg know anything about us, anything about what it's like to live in these townships? We demand to know why Sasol hasn't sponsored any of our projects - or given us the money that we have requested! We demand to know...."
On and on he went... joined by a chorus of vehemently applauding, nodding friends. Other youngsters shook their heads in irritation and stood up to leave. Eventually, most of the youth had left the theatre - except for about 20 of the hard-core guys. Angry. Vocal. Accusing.
Their outburst gave me a lot to chew on, and they had many valid questions. I have some valid responses to their questions, but due to the situation (lots of shouting, yelling and not much actual discussion) - I never had a real chance to address their concerns, as I would have liked (or, at least, from my perspective as VENT! project manager... I obviously can't speak on behalf of Sasol).
Doing my little speech - surrounded by Sasol branding...
Nutshell? I think that it's going to be somewhat of a journey... somewhat of a process... and I think that the VENT! project is definitely going to have it's challenges. I'm not expecting this to be an easy, fluffy ride.
Still... I stand by my belief in this project, and my belief in The Arts... my belief in Storytelling... my belief in creative collaboration.... my belief in cross pollination between the Haves and the Have-Nots - for the benefit of both.
I guess... there's only one thing I can say about the project right now - even at it's earliest stages... we are certainly VENTING! Them... me... all of us... VENTING!
Now, let's bring in the Arts as a mediator and conduit for development... upliftment... and healing.
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