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Wednesday 1 July 7.30pm
Youth In Action: The Journey
Fundraising event in aid of the Thembalethu HIV/AIDS prevention program, South Africa. Every journey starts with a single step. Thembalethu Youth In Action Performance Group performing with young people from North Somerset and Bristol St George's Bristol is proud to welcome the Thembalethu Youth in Action Performance Group, performing an irrepressible mix of uplifting Siswathi song, vibrant traditional music and explosive dance straight from the heart of the Nkomazi Region of Mpumalanga in South Africa. This performance is the culmination of small steps and giant leaps - across the region, across the globe, across cultures, within and between ourselves. The performance is a mosaic of shared songs, dance, rhythm, images and stories created together by local young people from North Somerset and Bristol and their visitors from South Africa. It celebrates their different lives and cultures, the connections they've made during the journey, and the shared futures that lie before them. Who knows where it will lead ...? Youth In Action is a cultural exchange project with a difference. It involves bringing together young people from schools in North Somerset and Bristol with 15 young people from the Nkomazi Region of Mpumalanga, South Africa. The young South Africans are part of the youth performance group of a community-based organisation called Thembalethu (meaning our hope), who use performance as a means of communicating important messages about HIV and AIDS prevention. Thembalethu operates in an area with one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. It provides support to 4.5 thousand orphans whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS. The young people from Thembalethu engage in a range of activities designed to create local employment opportunities and bring a sense of purpose to their lives. Their motto is 'challenged to take control' and their message is something by which all young people will be inspired. As part of the cultural exchange project they will also work with young people locally in a variety of workshops on African dance, music and culture.   
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