Joza kids get behind the camera
Young pupils from around Joza paired up with the thirdyear journalism class from Rhodes University to create 21 films in which the children were taught about participatory video and filmed and edited short films on topics they found interesting.
The project, Amazing Voices, was aimed at highlighting the broader social issues that affect South African youth.
Today (Friday 16 October), these films will be shown to the public in a two-hour screening of the work the Upstart Youth Development Project took part in.
Over three weeks the students managed to create films ranging from stories about the love of music and sport to deeper issues regarding schools and the community.
Other films focused on lighter issues such as a young boy’s dream to be a rapper or a young girl’s dream to be a gospel singer.
Aphiwe Gotyana is a teenager who goes to Archie Mbolekwa high school.
She loves her school and enjoys education but the toilets in her school are in a bad state.
She produced a video in which she emphasises the problem with the hope that something will be done to fix it.
Chwayita Ncula is a young female who is in love with soccer. She enjoys playing it and hopes one day to be a soccer player. She produced a film that focuses on this sport and why there is no soccer team at her school for Grade 9 pupils.