Lalela Project uses art to give kids hope

(please make volume highest or use headphones)

The Lalela Project is a global exchange of ideas, art and music that empowers children affected by extreme poverty.

It runs weekly programs at five different schools in the township communities of Imizamo Yethu and Hamgberg (Hout Bay), and Masiphumulele (Fish Hoek), with children between the ages of seven and 18. Using art as a tool for social change, Lalela helps them develop their creativity, while at the same time, giving them critical life messaging skills.

“These children live in very difficult conditions. When they return home, they are exposed to a lot of violence, poverty and gangsterism. They see things a child should not see. Here they are different, quieter. They are interested because we give them the opportunity to express themselves, to grow, to create something. It’s amazing to see what they can achieve,” says volunteer, Kami Cohen (17), an ex-South African living in New York, who came out specifically to teach art at the Lalela Project for a week.

For more information about the Lalela Project or to become a volunteer, visit: //www.lalelaproject.org