Jewish Life Digital Edition November 2014 | Page 84

BACKPAGE

INSPIRATION

Butterfly
KISSES

The possibilities
for transformation
are achievable

BY CHANDREA SEREBRO

A

80 JEWISH LIFE

ISSUE 79

which to think about, understand and process difficult life circumstances and trauma
in ways that they can relate to culturally,
and so she went out to create it. Inspired by
the tremendous resilience and strength displayed by children once they are given this
space, Shalya founded the project to incorporate the arts into therapy.
“Children may not have the words to describe their feelings, or, due to differences in
demographic or cultural backgrounds, they
cannot verbalise them. ‘Talking therapies’ are
therefore not always the most useful way of
helping them story their experiences.” The
Uvemvane Project pioneers the use of creative
expressive arts in therapy in South Africa, as a
transcultural way for children to make use of
dance, movement, art, music, drama and ritual storytelling to express and process their
thoughts, feelings and life experiences. “It is
amazing to see what can come out of a therapy session that is nondirective, which uses different ways and materials to evoke the
children’s feelings. Sometimes, it’s a musical instrument that a
child picks up and the session takes flight from there. Puppets sitting as part of the group serve to externalise the children’s problems. Crayons and paper used to draw different stories combined
into a fictional narrative, which then becomes a true representation of their real stories, can be a powerful way to empower the
children into processing their emotions and thoughts.”
Through this, they offer therapeutic services to those who do
not receive adequate support, as well as skills development and
training to professionals, to help them navigate difficult life circumstances. The Uvemvane Project has partnered with CHOC
and Lefika la Phodiso to help children and their families overcome various traumas associated with illness.
Shalya named her project ‘Uvemvane’ as it is the Zulu word
for butterfly. Born out of the caterpillar in the chrysalis, butterflies symbolise rebirth, regeneration, change and even happiness, explains Shalya. The Uvemvane Project represents the
possibilities she envisages for transformation, change and hope
in the spirit of those who have experienced great adversity. JL

PHOTOGRAPH: SUPPLIED

THEY OFFER
THERAPEUTIC SERVICES
TO THOSE WHO DO NOT
RECEIVE ADEQUATE
SUPPORT, AS WELL AS
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
AND TRAINING TO
PROFESSIONALS, TO
HELP THEM NAVIGATE
DIFFICULT LIFE
CIRCUMSTANCES.

S PARENTS, WE CAN SIT AND WATCH OUR children interact with the world for hours.
It brings us joy and nachas at seeing
their growing personalities, and it helps us
get to know them and understand them better. For most of us, we use it as a way of mentally recording our children’s development,
but for Shalya Hirschson, it is so much more.
As a researcher and educational psychologist, Shalya’s professional development, peppered with the more personal experience of
seeing her kids and their own experiences,
culminated in the need to do more than just
understand children’s experiences of their
world. She needed to do something to apply
the principles learned in her professional
journey in a real-life, practical and supportive way to those whose experiences are not
all wonder and joy.
When Shalya had to stop working in order
to study for her master’s degree, it was a new experience. She
had been working since matric, and now, to pursue her professional dream, the only thing standing in her way was funding for
her studies. Unable to get bursaries from the institutions themselves, Shalya was finally helped by a lone man from a large company who had her CV land on his desk. He helped fund her medical aid, and it kick-started a prof \