The ‘Our Story, Your Story‘ project visited nine schools in and around George (South Africa) at the start of May 2017, delivering interactive sessions to young learners and their educators.
The photographs below show the workshops in action, captioned with the observations of teachers and facilitators:
“It was very interesting seeing how the learners are interacting with the storytellers and with each other [...] Everyone got into the whole story."
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
“It was very insightful, very interesting, very realistic.”
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
“My highlight is seeing the transformation of your [the young facilitators’] stories, from the beginning to now. Every time you told your stories something new was included.”
Lisa Cohen, Facilitator, Clowns Without Borders South Africa
Lisa Cohen, Facilitator, Clowns Without Borders South Africa
“I was quite surprised to see some of my learners, never outspoken in class, come forward here and tell their stories.”
Wally Du Preez, Teacher, Hibernia VGK Primary School
Wally Du Preez, Teacher, Hibernia VGK Primary School
“The grade told such truthful stories.”
Catherine, Youth Facilitator, The Seven Passes Initiative
Catherine, Youth Facilitator, The Seven Passes Initiative
“What I saw here was another side of the students that I didn't see before. It came out here. They opened up […] They wouldn't do it normally, in a normal class situation.”
Wally Du Preez, Teacher, Hibernia VGK Primary School
Wally Du Preez, Teacher, Hibernia VGK Primary School
“A young lady came to share her story […] on how she lost her mother and father, went through so much poverty and struggle but she still believed […] that there is hope for her future. It was such a sobbing moment and yet such a powerful moment that storytelling could do that for her […] for me that was a highlight that will stay with me forever.”
Simone Peters, Facilitator, Clowns Without Borders South Africa
Simone Peters, Facilitator, Clowns Without Borders South Africa
“Some of them were quite emotional […] the fact that she [a student] could share it with the rest of the group, in front of people, is also some kind of therapy I think.”
Wilbur James Pedro, Principal, Hibernia VGK Primary School
Wilbur James Pedro, Principal, Hibernia VGK Primary School
“They listened so attentively, they look and listen to what you are saying […] And afterwards they came up to us and hugged us and said thank you and that they appreciated it all.”
Catherine, Youth Facilitator, The Seven Passes Initiative
Catherine, Youth Facilitator, The Seven Passes Initiative
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The project delivered various outcomes for the young learners, which can be seen in the following photographs and captions:
“They like a story as opposed to going to the books and seeing words on white paper […] So, for me, storytelling is a must. Whether it's Grade One or Grade Ten, there's always a story for a specific person, a specific age. Stories grow so, yeah, I think teaching [and] stories go very well together.”
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
“They can use [storytelling] to improve their lives.”
Denzil, Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
Denzil, Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
Storytelling “will broaden their vision and also their knowledge as well as [supporting learning] in the classroom with especially languages.”
Denzil, Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
Denzil, Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
“It can support their learning because they increase their vocabulary.”
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
Storytelling “makes it [learning] more believable and it makes the kids grasp it and understand it much, much better.”
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
“It helps with the healing, it helps the learners to open up. And we need children who can open up because they need to hold their own outside, in the community, so that they can know, ‘I need to speak up’. Sometimes we need to speak up to better our own circumstances.”
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
“We learn where people are sensitive because we never know what is happening in other people’s lives and we can learn that from their stories.”
Clamercia, Youth Facilitator, The Seven Passes Initiative
Clamercia, Youth Facilitator, The Seven Passes Initiative
“So a child can say, okay, I am in this situation, but I can deal with it better because there is somebody who is able or willing to listen to my story.”
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
“If you tell your story, somebody is listening and sometimes somebody can help you.”
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
“I'm sure it will help them very much. It will help with their self-esteem.”
Wally Du Preez, Teacher, Hibernia VGK Primary School
Wally Du Preez, Teacher, Hibernia VGK Primary School
“Something has been awakened that's been kind of sleeping.”
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
Raylene, Student Teacher, St. Mary’s Primary School
“We would like to encourage them [Clowns Without Borders South Africa] to come back to cover the whole school.”
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
Irvin-John Scheepers, Principal, Heidedal Primary School
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You can find more information, and links to further resources, about the ‘Our Story, Your Story’ project here.
© Dialogue Community Performance / Clowns Without Borders South Africa
