With some nerves and trepidation we entered the imposing 9 foot high green school gates. “Who the f*** are you?” queried a young child ….. we had arrived at Vernon House!
For the next couple of weeks we were to work with children from very difficult backgrounds, each with their own peculiar circumstances and stories but as we were to find out, many with gifts and talents soon to be discovered. Encouraging music, drama, fine art and dance to express themselves, (their hopes and dreams), seems a tall order amongst children with so little esteem, yet I have seen many times that the arts often bring hope. Kitty and I teamed up to give classes for movement and rhythm …… hearing the word “dance”, most of the kids freaked out; “I’m not doing that stuff, it’s boring”. Yet by the end of the sessions these children who were trying to be hard and grown-up were back to being children again. Thankfully over the next two weeks, with Kitty’s wonderful enthusiasm, we never lost one child from boredom. Through these disciplines we were able to encourage individuality, team work and allowing them to lead and take control. Our time finished with an amazing exhibition of the children’s work …… their joy and “wonderment” as they came into the room was fantastic. With Heather’s supervision they had colourfully decorated boxes, which were back-lighted on one wall. Neil had got them to write words on shower curtains and these were hung around the room along with many stories. A projector constantly showed pictures from the 2 weeks, whilst a video of some of their performances played in another part of the room … two groups even managed to do a small performance of some of the rhythm and movement work that Kitty and I had prepared with them. Schools of this nature often get a bad rap, yet I have never met so many caring teachers in one place before, and I thank them for their help and excitement about this project. A huge part of the success was down to their wonderful help and co-operation. Personally, it was so good to be involved in a project where I have been challenged and have learnt so much …. thanks kids for allowing me to be apart of your lives for a couple of weeks …. “it was well wicked!”
