What We Do

 

VAIMA is a shona word which means shine bright therefore that is our mandate to make the life of the less priveledged and disabled kids shine bright.

 

Music

 

We are working on a 6 track Ep titled Mhembero (Celebrations).We are saying for a time immemorial people living with disabilities especially in Africa has been associated with negativity, sadness, poverty and seeking empathy from their dramas,songs,poetry but we are saying NO,we are celebrating who we are and what we are and we want to spread that joy to the people through our songs.We want people to know that given a chance we can do exploits.We are physically disabled but mentally and emotionally we are powerful hence Celebrations the album.

The Disability HUB

 

Disability Hub Proposal

Background:

 

Mr Kelvin Chikumbirike’s History towards the development of the Hub

I am a Jairos Jiri Secondary school former teacher and I have been doing a research on the students who finished their O levels in 2017 up to 2019.Most of them have just gone back home and are not doing anything productive in their lives. They then loose that zeal and excitement for life which they had when they where at school because the school provided a conducive environment which their homes cant provide. and hope for them. This might seem so normal especially because of the current social and economic situation that we are facing now as Zimbabwe. It is even harder for a normal degreed person to find work to sustain himself. Most of the Zimbabweans in general are hustling to survive including the learned ones. It is against such a background that we wish to open a space that will cover this gap by giving people living with disability a chance to learn practical ways of surviving using their hands and talents. Again I was in the United States of America for almost 5 months and I learnt a lot about how they work with people living with disability. I discovered that discrimination and stigma is a thing which does not exist and if it exist it’s very little to be noticed. One major reason for this is that the people living with disability there are considered in all the mainstreams and are empowered even through the  laws. For example if one is constructing a building, it is mandatory by the law that it should be accessible  to people living with disabilities. They are seen and considered as people hence they are confident about themselves and do not have low esteem. You find them formerly employed and they live their lives as normal. This is what we slowly want to achieve in Zimbabwe and through that hub they will learn to be both employable as well as entrepreneurs. We would want to create a system that will push and equip them for real life situation which formal education does not .I certainly believe that my experience in working with people living with disability can yield positive results and will live a mark in their lives.

 

AIMS

-To Empower people living with disability

-To Mentor ,Teach, Equip and Expose the people living with disability to the corporate and creative market

-Teaching the disabled business(entrepreneurship) and providing them with other skill sets including marimba making and repairing, for sustainability of their livelihoods.

-Creating an educative, entertaining ,creative and empowering centre where the people living with disability can call a home and  can come and share ideas, revive themselves and get transformation.

 

FACILITIES

-I.T room- Furnished with Computers and other I.T gadgets

-Music room : with traditional and modern instruments

-Crafts room :for activities such as sawing, beading and creation of other crafts

-Creative room :For meditation, painting , writing and other quite creativity

-Library: with a variety of literature

-Office : for administrative purposes

 

OUTDOOR SPACE

-Marimba Workshop

-Project working space -an area reserved for working projects such as setting a fowl run for chickens project, gardening and other outdoor projects

 

Brief Detail

The Disability Hub is to be a place where the disabled will come and learn, socialise, create, be empowered ,be equipped , marketed and connected. We plan to start with 20 active members of different physical disabilities and will be enrolled and offered all the services free of charge. The 20 members will visit the hub at least once per week and at most 3 days per week to learn and/work on their projects at the hub. There will be academic and business classes as well as other educative and equipping lessons running inter alia with the Hub’s base programs such as Marimba making and playing lessons, I.T lessons e.t,c.Food and refreshments will be provided for at the hub and a clean environment with clean water and proper sanitation will be maintained. During school holidays we will also offer extra academic lessons to push the students to further their chances of passing their exams.  Five Project facilitators and other volunteers will be on the ground to facilitate the projects as well as to work on the day to day runnings of the hub, guided by the Hub’s manager Mr K.Chikumbirike who will set daily , weekly , monthly and annual targets and goals after various consultations with the Board Members and the sponsors.

Poetry

 

We are working on a shona poetry book called Tapinda-Tapinda meaning we have entered.Indeed we have entered in an industry that has for long been dominated by people without disability. Poetry is an art which allows us to speak our mind,expirences,believes and values.

We offer

 

Marimbas are hand made, using recycled materials, such as used shipping pallets, rubber flip flops, tires, reclaimed nails, string – all marimbas come with a song sheet and link for a YouTube video to learn to play the songs.

Founded in 2017, Vaima Arts Trust is registered  as a Trust in ZImbabwe.


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