SPORTS AND ARTS FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Monday 3 May 2010

Youth Activity Weekend 2009

Space 2009 kicked of with a jumpstart! we had an activity weekend with a bunch of exciting projects

Sarah with a bucket of smiles a.k.a Pharell during a tree planting project.

We planted native fruit trees, such as Mango, Dilly, Noni, Sea Grape and Coco plum, on the community park. After cleaning litter off the streets to help clean the island up before the arrival of the Miss Universe pageant contestants. This project served to literally teach kids how to plant trees while, reminding them of the import role trees play in our lives providing, fruit, medicine, clean air, shade and beauty. Caring for the environment is a central value that we try to instill in our kids over the course of the program.

Old fashioned Sack race during a fun sports day that was help on the ball field and which all kids from the community even those not in the program were welcome too. Leo Glazer helped organize a soccer tournament and we also held egg and spoon races and relays.

A talk was given about dangerous drugs and the problems they cause their users and the wider community. The talk was given by Jackswell Percentie a local Anti-drugs activist. The use and trafficking of illegal drugs and alcohol have been connected with many of the social ills experienced in the Bahamas. By increasing awareness among the younger generation maybe we can change this in the future.

THE MURAL: SPACE TO CREATE ART PROJECT 2009

THE MURAL SPACE 2 CREATE 2009

This summer we decided we wanted to do a more committed and permanent art project with the children, something that they could hopefully have to remember camp by and to help remind them of the values that we are trying to instill in them with S.P.A.C.E. We sketched out a basic mural on four large pieces of plywood for the children, it depicted a cross section of Harbour Island, beginning with the beach and working its way through the town to the bay. The children spent time painting in the mural and sketching/ painting details which they felt were representative of the Harbour Island community. The idea of a permanent art piece created by the children of S.P.A.C.E. made the children eager to work on the mural daily and it also allowed them to experience the magic of having a final piece created by the whole camp and the joy of having it come together as beautifully as it did. Some students even approached us after camp saying that they were now more inspired to paint then ever. The final product reflected the values of SPACE, showing that as a team we could really accomplish whatever we put our minds too. The mural also served as the perfect backdrop to our set.

Thursday 1 May 2008

SPACE 2007

Nations of the World

Tree Planting, community beautification activity

Oral History Lesson from Miss Eva

Capoiera Lesson

Dance and musical theatre Class

Out in the Community 'Island Cleanup'

Learning words for the Play

SPACE to Learn

SPACE volunteers with a Vowel man to teach phonics

Every Child kept a journal of their activities in the program here they are designing the covers.

What We Do!

SPACE to Create: Kids are split into groups which rotated between dance, music, and drama lessons. A heavy emphasis is placed on exploring Bahamian heritage; children learn traditional calypsos and preformed skits along Bahamian themes. They also greatly enjoy learning dances from Broadway Musicals. By giving our children space to create they develop confidence, gain an understanding of team work and discipline as these are key to success in performance arts. This is a fun way of keeping our heritage alive and exploring the diverse culture of the world

SPACE to Learn: English and maths classes given every morning. Children cover key grammar, literacy and numeric skills, visit the library and work on art projects. This year we hope to expand the program to include more science particularly to help kids learn about the Island’s ecosystem and the importance of preserving it. The ‘space2 learn’ classroom is a fun learning environment we give the children as much individual attention as possible and try to motivate them for the coming school year to that they return to classes with confidence and a head start.

Community Space: Our vision is based on the philosophy that it takes a community to raise a child and we try as much as possible to involve the wider community in the program. In this spirit local elders come and share their stories and the oral history of the island with the children. Different members of the community also are invited to give workshops or just come and spend time with the children. Children are encouraged to become community minded citizens and we do litter picking expeditions, as well as tree planting and beautification projects. We hope to expand this to include a project to clean the island’s mangroves, beach clean up, graffiti removal, as well as visiting the elderly and immobile. The final day of camp is a performance for the community, of all the songs, dances and skits learned during the camp, in the spirit of uplifting and uniting Harbour Islanders in nurturing our greatest hope: our youth. This is our way of combating the negative forces of violence, poverty and despair affecting many Bahamian youth.

Help us out.

Donating

We would greatly value any assistance you could offer in making it possible to run the program; no matter how small or large, any contribution is valued. We Need equipment for Sports, Music, dance, drama, academic learning and arts and Crafts.

We also need supplies for our community projects, such as Paint, Trees and Plants, Garbage Bags to help us beautify run down areas of the island, restoring community pride.

We are Also recruiting educators, theatre practitioners and community workers from the US the UK and Nassau, arranging for these people to travel to the island and housing and feeding them whilst on the island is costly, these people bring invaluable skills and ideas to the camp and the island any assistance in getting them there and housing them is valued.