Khorixas tour to Omusati

The Khorixas youth group, comprising 17 talented members, toured the Omusati region from 20 to 27 June, performing for schools and communities.

Together with OYO the group created an interesting performance dealing with two issues:

Rape by a family member: a couple asks an uncle to look after their daughter, since they are away to work till late and don’t want their daughter to stay alone at home in the afternoon. The uncle takes the chance of being alone with the daughter to regularly rape her, threatening to kill her if she reports anything. Thanks to a friend, she gets information and reports the case to the Woman and Child Protection Unit, leading to the arrest of the uncle.
Sugar daddies: meanwhile some of her school friends are flirting with elder men, till one of them falls pregnant. The others start discriminating against her, saying it was her own fault she didn’t use contraceptives or condoms. They forget they were the ones pressurising her to take an older man as lover.

The performance, combining drama, songs and dances, had a very strong message and was clearly enjoyed by the audience. The group, under the leadership of OYO’s production coordinator, Matias Kamati, visited 12 schools and also performed for 5 communities, reaching 6610 people. Despite technical problems (OYO speakers blew during one performance and we had to quickly find speakers to rent which, in rural areas, is more difficult than it sounds!), the tour was a great success.

Prior to the tour, the group had a chance to perform to its own community. They performed as part of the African Child Day celebration in Khorixas to the secondary schools. They also had a performance for the community and for the rural school, Braunfels High School (20 km outside Khorixas). The community was impressed by the performance and the local youth centre realised the potential of the group. We therefore expect the group to become more active in its own town and to act as an ambassador of change.