He leads an organization called the Amani Institute, which uses theater to help young ex-combatants process trauma they have experienced and reintegrate into their communities. But virus restrictions now prohibit large public gatherings.
So he shifted tactics. Joseph and other volunteers began a public awareness campaign, focused on the virus. Through flyers — and in some cases a megaphone — they educate villagers in their region about virus developments and best safety practices. “We have been in some remote villages to spread the message everywhere,” he said.
The group is doing other practical things to help the community. Its garden is providing food for those who can’t afford it. “The fear is enormous because food prices have increased since this crisis,” Joseph said. “Coronavirus or not, we will have in more or less three months, fresh vegetables to feed woman survivors of sexual violence” and other members of the community. It’s called Shamba la Matumaini or “garden of hope” in local Swahili.
And after the virus subsides?
Joseph is already thinking about ways to tailor his organization’s theater workshops, which are designed in the psychodrama style, to encourage people to express their emotions to process the trauma caused by the virus quarantines and deaths. He said:
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