Arandis youth group go on mini tour

Main photo: Arandis youth group performing At the beginning of the year OYO had a chance to work twice with the Arandis youth group, helping them to devise a very interesting play on multiple concurrent sexual partners. The play follows the story of three girls who have multiple sexual partners. Monica likes to play and has unprotected sex with three men. When she falls pregnant, she doesn’t know who the father of the baby is. Butterfly likes Mr Bones, so when he cheats on her, she feels betrayed. To teach him a lesson, she has unprotected sex with other men. When she discovers she is HIV positive, she realises her revenge backfired. Martin loves Camilla with all his heart. When he discovers that she cheats on him with his older brother, he loses control and kills them both. The stories portray what is happening in our community. Passionate crimes are quite common and many young people have multiple sexual partners. Young audiences can therefore easily relate to the stories. In April, the Arandis Youth group asked two partners, NAPPA (Namibia Planned Parenthood Association) and OYO to support them to present their play in schools in their region. We proudly accepted the invitation. We had three more rehearsals day with eight talented performers and by the 07 June they were ready. During the three days tour, they held 9 performances. The first performance was at Kolin Foundation Secondary School, the school situated in their own town. The show was very well received and learners were proud to see their own peers performing. Other shows were presented in schools in Sptizkoppe, Usakos, Omaruru, Okombahe and Uis and for communities in Usakos, Omatjete and Henties Bay. All shows were well received. Fly facilitating with learners after the show OYO is proud of this experience, since the tour was an initiative from the youth group. OYO provided technical support and transport while NAPPA provided meals and accommodation. This was a successful collaboration and we hope to have other chances to interact with this talented group.