"I COULD SENSE THE HAPPINESS"

Jacqui Ennis-Cole meets the Mothers' Action Group

By Standing Voice

May 10^th, 2017

One day I was rummaging through the documentary section of a video store in Covent Garden when I came across In the Shadow of the Sun. I was so moved by the documentary when I viewed it, that I contacted Standing Voice (SV) the next day to see how I could get involved.

Together, the team and I developed a plan of action. I knew I wanted to explore intersections between art and anthropology, and SV suggested I could get a lot out of working with the Mothers' Action Group on Ukerewe Island. The Mothers' Action Group is a collection of women with albinism and mothers of babies with albinism. We decided on a 4-day participatory workshop where the mothers could come together to draw and connect with one another, culminating in a final exhibition of their work.

We tried to marry established artistic methods with SV’s philosophy of empowering and engaging people with albinism.

When I planned the workshops, I knew I wouldn’t be teaching the mothers; I would be learning from each other. I wanted to be respectful, honour their cultures, and give them the space and resources for their processes to come through. I didn’t want to impose any formal ideas of what drawing should be.

When I first arrived at the Umoja Training Centre, the beauty of the space was so inspirational, with lovely light streaming through the windows. All the mothers were sitting in a row, waiting for me: it was so formal! I had a translator and was able to provide drawing materials – pencils, felt pens, crayons.

I invited them to draw their vision of Ukerewe Island, their homes, their families, and their dreams for the future. Although I couldn’t comprehend what they were saying in their indigenous language, I could sense their feelings of joy and happiness. In acknowledgement of their creativity and their life achievements expressed within their drawings and photographs, we held a community exhibition and celebratory party at the conclusion of the workshop. There was plenty of food, music, and dancing and a much-loved female community leader was invited as their special guest of honour.

There were lots of smiles, and happiness, and joy, and giggling.

The Mothers' Action Group is a testament to the power of relationships to heal challenging situations. The provision of a safe, creative, and beautiful natural environment brought this group of women closer together, overcoming any initial apprehensions with a growing confidence to express their innate potential and vision for their future. Previously they had approached each other as separate, but after the days of exchange and self-expression I think that they began to understand that they shared a commonality of needs, experiences, dreams, and ambitions for a brighter future. It was heartening to witness these women learn from each other and begin to access their true potential.

Thank you, Jacqui, for developing this amazing community development programme with the Mother’s Action Group. We sincerely appreciate the passion you brought to the project and hope you keep making the world a better place through art and anthropology.