Drug prevention with music: groundBREAKER Vuvu during a presentation in a church in KwaNobuhle. T 60 he karate trainer stands sweating in front of the picture of Jesus that someone has painted on a sheet and hung on the wall, watching as Vuvu calls the kids to gather round. Vuvu is 23 years old, and her full name is Vuyokazi Noyo. But to her friends and the kids who form a circle round the young woman in this church on the hill above the South African township of KwaNobuhle, she is simply Vuvu. She is getting ready to talk to the kids about drug prevention. But Vuvu’s presentation technique bears as much resemblance to a dry educational lecture as this simple room with its wooden walls, corrugated roof and strip lights where karate training has just finished does to the traditional image of a church. Vuvu claps her hands. She gesticulates, sings with the kids. Her sentences are a mixture of English words and the isiXhosa language with its click consonants. She talks about “Flakka,” the horror drug which can lead to violent aggression and is widespread among South Africa’s poorest in particular. It is an everyday reality in this district where many of the houses are simple brick buildings or huts. Vuvu mimes an addict staggering about, and urges the openmouthed kids to be careful. Then she plays some techno music and everyone dances, even the karate trainer. The children crowd round Vuvu, she says her goodbyes and promises to come back soon. “Has this work changed me?” Vuvu laughs at the question. “You have no idea what I used to be like. I’ve learned so much about myself here. I have never been shy, but I wasn’t able to build up real relationships with people.” Vuvu has left the church and is now sitting in a bright room at the loveLife Centre in KwaNobuhle. The modern, purpose-built youth center opened in 2012, cost about €2 million, and is located in
63 Publizr Home