ULWAZI
This highly successful Caversham CreACTive™ Centre has been operating for the last five years at Ulwazi Combined School in Lidgetton. Gabi continues to conduct popular fun-filled yet instructional workshops, which have resulted in poems, books, prints, performances and also contributing to building pride and ownership in the school’s environment with the painting of a mural inside the CreACTive™ Centre and on the outside of the school hall.

ISIPHO
The Isipho (meaning “Gift”) is the brainchild of Khululiwe Mabanga, a rural woman from a village of KwaMsane Reserve in Mtubatuba who came to Caversham for a Crafters Workshop in February 2006. She was inspired by a visit to Ulwazi at Jabula, went back home and approached Induna for a piece of land. The tiny shack is now a daily meeting place for women during the day and school children in the afternoons. A variety of workshops have been run by facilitators from Caversham Centre including Jewelry-making and Embroidery.

14th July 2008

There is great excitement and much activity at ISIPHO as a new purpose-built facility takes shape. Once again, this is due to the sheer vision and determination of creActive catalyst,Khululiwe Mabanga. This remarkable woman visited her local council offices where she sat patiently waiting for the attention of the officials. Khululiwe invited them to visit ISIPHO, where they were overwhelmed and humbled to see what she had achieved with her limited resources, Caversham inspiration, and sheer determination. The result has been immediate, with plans, building supplies  and workmen arriving on site within the week. We hope to bring you photos early next week as we all share in the excitement of Kululiwe’s achievement!

HLANGANANI
This CreACTive™ Centre, Hlanganani, meaning “Gathering”, situated at Oscarsberg Primary School in Rorke’s Drift was established by Phindile Manyoni and Sibongile Mthiyane who also facilitate workshops at this Centre. In 2006 a mural was painted inside and the Centre was used as a venue for the commemoration of the 2006 Youth Day celebrations attended by over 200 members of the community.

KWAMBONAMBI
Kwambonambi Pre-Primary School in rural Zululand is the first Caversham CreACTive™ Centre to explore and focus on eYe programmes. Susan Bonney, an embodiment of creativity with many years of rich ECD experience, heads the Zululand Team and with the assistance of two other competent facilitators offers accredited eYe courses to women from different backgrounds, thus developing inspirational teachers for our most impressionable, vulnerable citizens

Six new CreACTive™ Centres have been established this year by “creACTive catalysts”. As an introduction to these centres, these women share their stories. The  first story follows…..

Khanya Sibiya     Zifumane Ngobuciko CreACTive™Centre, KwaMbonambi

 Khanya, despite her youth, oozes confident maturity.This is immediately detected from the manner in which she shares her life story. Khanya is the youngest of three daughters, born and raised in Gingindlovu, KZN by her grandmother. Her older sister, Mpume, her mother figure and with whom she shared a strong bond, died suddenly during Khanya’s final year at high school.  Devastated by her sister’s death, she found herself pregnant and gave birth to her son, Sibonakaliso.  The daunting prospect of raising a child alone only served to increase her trauma. Amidst this turmoil, Khanya met Mandy Tereblanche, a good samaritan who took both Khanya and her son into her home.  Mandy introduced her to Sue Bonney, principal of KwaMbonambi PreSchool where Khanya now teaches.     Sue has been involved with Caversham Centre’s eYe program since its inception and she immediately recognized Khanya’s potential. Identified by Jill Sachs to take part in a residency at Caversham, Khanya returned home a “completely transformed person”, narrates Sue.    So inspired to begin implementing her vision , Khanya immediately used her home as a temporary space for her Zifumane Ngobuciko CreACTive™ Centre.Her passion is to share her powerful story of hope with young women who have also experienced hopelessness and trauma in their coming of age journeys.She incorporates creativity and her life story as ingredients to affirm, transform and replace attitudes of self-doubt and hopelessness with a positive outlook.

A Caversham CreACTive™ Center is place of:

Reflection - Focused environment to explore and value uniqueness and issues of personal and common history
Refuge - Safe environment that fosters trust through interaction and dialogue
Renewal - Inspiring environment that develops hope and builds individual self belief through skills, values and the principles of Ubuntu