Second Session of the Art project in Missellele: The Cleansing and Meditation Exercise

The Art project geared towards  building  talent and confidence in conflict affected adolescents girls through creative arts and life skills in collaboration with Penboy kicked off with a dance excercise to get the girls engaged and feel more comfortable.

The teenagers were given an assignment the previous day to brainstorm on “ the challenges they faced that does not bring out their full potential”. The challenges were written pieces  of papers. They were in turn asked  asked to read them out.

The excercise was filled with emotional devastation and tears as the teenagers expressed thier greatest challenges and fears which comprised of:
1. Poverty
2. Gender based violence in the home
3. Broken homes
4. Shame and insults from relatives.
This Meditation exercise was to make the girls free their burdens, listen to other peers experiences and know that other people share the same experiences and they are not alone.

Mental Health and Psycho social support can also be administered through art, the cleansing and Meditation exercise connects the mind and body, helps the individual
search into the inside and express pain in a safe space. TeenAlive continues to prioritise the mental health of these adolescents as they journey into making the homes and Communities a safe space for children.