Visions of Joy (VoJ) hosted an art festival for orphaned and vulnerable children at St Mary’s Children Home, Rosettenville, on February 18.
They invited children from Resthaven Ministries, Nkosi’s Haven and St Mary’s to attend the fest.
The event started with speeches that introduced VoJ and a motivational talk by a life coach.
There were activities for the children and the staff from all three orphanages. These included drama, speech, singing and dancing competitions.
VoJ is a registered non-profit founded in 2006. It is run by professionals with the common goal of educating and uplifting members of their society and investing in future generations.
Rabiya Mohammed, the project manager, said, “We provide basic needs for underprivileged children. VoJ envisions a space for children to learn about culture through music and dance. We want to create a place where orphans feel part of something.
Also, they have a sense of community built through practising and appreciating various cultural music and dance forms.
“We believe that the arts should be part of children’s daily lives because creative engagement results in healthier children. Our approach to this project and community is a commitment to equality and inclusion.”
The chairperson and founder of VoJ, Zaheer Surka, said their focus is vulnerable and underprivileged children.
“We are accessible to these children, and we go to them. When we started, we used to throw parties for them. Now we are doing these kinds of engagements with them.
“I remember years back going to Nkosi’s Haven and seeing these young girls there. Now they are adults. It is great to touch base with them and see them growing. Other than this, we were also involved in giving them textbooks.
“We also have great people who are volunteers. They help us to manage this undertaking. Although there are challenges in finding the time and funding to do this, Rabiya has been fantastic in organising and ensuring our events run smoothly,” he said.
