Connecting across the years
Tafta’s elders tell their tales in a storytelling competition.
DURBAN’S elderly were recently given the chance to reveal their extraordinary true life tales, through Tafta’s annual “Tell my Story” competition.
The Association for the Aged (Tafta) opened the competition to all its elders and club members with the aim of “inspiring a life worth living” The elders submitted a range of stories from fun and whimsical to deeply personal accounts of their lives.
Aimed at reawakening a love of storytelling and reading among the elderly, the competition allowed Tafta residents to connect their ideas and inspiration of their journey through time, as well as identify undiscovered storytellers within their communities.
“Stories bring us together and allows us to imerge into a beautiful world. We believe that we owe it to each other to tell stories and we want to celebrate the magnificent art of storytelling by inviting our residents to share their stories with the world. They were encouraged to grab a pen and submit either a fiction or non-fiction masterpiece,” said Femada Shamam, Tafta CEO.
After an overwhelming response, Maureen Rooks of Sunshine Community Club in Sydenham scooped first prize of R500 cash, with Berlinda Johanson of John Conradie House coming in second place with a R300 cash prize, followed by Hazel Naicker of Tafta Lodge filling the third spot with a R200 cash prize.
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In her story, Hazel Naicker wrote: “I will never forget the words that old friend said to me as long as you are active, curious and have a good sense of humour, you are never too old to speed down life’s highway.”
“Storytelling is one of the greatest tools we have to develop not just our curiosity and imagination, but also a sense of empathy and belonging. Storytelling and reading aloud allow us to build connections with each other by passing on knowledge and providing a shared experience while at the same time being important building blocks of literacy learning,” added Shamam.
Shamam said the Tafta team was greatly touched by the heartfelt moments experienced while reading the entries.
“These were all real experiences and intimate journeys into the hidden lives of ordinary people where each episode is an empathy shot in your arm,” said Shamam.
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