Performing arts NPO appeals for funding aid
AMOYO, a non-profit organisation investing in the dreams of children in Imizamo Yethu through weekly classes in the performing arts, has appealed for public support.
The organisation has called on the community and corporations to assist it with long-term sustainability.
In March 2015, Hout Bay-based voiceover artist and entrepreneur Kim Worrall teamed with dance teachers Mandisa Qwesha and Nandipha Sandlana to establish Amoyo, with the aim of making a difference in the lives of poor and marginalised children by encouraging them to engage with their bodies and minds through drama, dance and music.
Amoyo runs up to 32 classes a week, but due to a lack of support and funding it is in trouble. It costs Amoyo R80 000 a month to run its after-school programme.
“This doesn’t cover weekend and holiday workshops, but it’s enough to get us by. We have recently been let down by numerous donors and the facility is at risk of being shut down,” said project administrator Marilyn Noble.
Worrall, Amoyo executive officer, said: “We are heartbroken. We need desperate help. These children need us – our children get their daily dose of care, motivation, encouragement, direction and so much more at Amoyo. They will lose a daily meal.
“There is no other project like Amoyo geared towards these children in our community. School attendance has increased, gang affiliation and teenage pregnancies have decreased.
“Our children feel they can believe in a future of success. They believe they have the family they need to help them get there.”
Qwesha, one of the founders and teachers at Amoyo, said she could not imagine walking down the street if Amoyo should close.
“That these kids will come up to me with those questioning facial expressions, as in ‘what now?, where do we go now?, ‘why can’t we keep going to Amoyo?’.
“It will be heartbreaking to not have an answer for them. These children have come to trust Amoyo. They have come to belong to Amoyo. They see Amoyo as their second home.”
Anyone wishing to contribute can do so via EFT:
Amoyo Performing Arts Foundation First National Bank Hout Bay Swift code: firnzajj Branch code: 204009 Account number: 62558858620 Donations can be made via https://www.backabuddy.co.za/ amoyo-performing-arts-foundation
To discus corporate sponsorship, please email: kim.worrall@ amoyo.org – Staff Writer