Lighting the Fire......

Wednesday 22nd April

This morning "Tumaini ya Kesho"(Hope for Tomorrow) will facilitate the healing drumming and singing group with the Panzi women- it is going to be a chance for them to practice everything that they have learnt in the training. It is like their practicum! We arrive at 9am and of course they do not get there til 10.15am! However they go about the business of preparing the space – going to get benches so that the more physically challenged women can sit and still be part of the group. We are once again in the garage- only this week after a week in the Congo it does not seem so dirty- but still there is the smell of urine in the air……Its amazing how quickly we can begin to adapt to what is around us in terms of surroundings….

Its 10.30 and we can see women starting to come down to the space- soon we are gathered- there are many more women here this week probably about 60 or so- it’s a big group – probably much bigger than the group is used to doing. We are wondering how they will adapt to this challenge! Bigge stands up and starts to lead the group- he is explaining a name game to them- from the outside we are surprised- there are far too many women to play this kind of game- and they are not all in one circle! Its chaotic and does not really take off…..we are all waiting to see if they pick up the need to change…….and they do- So slowly the group takes shape and pretty soon we have three social assistants (who were in the creative arts training the day before ) and 5 of the Tuanimi group and about 60 women singing, playing drums, bells, maraca, dancing and singing. Silvia and I are on the outside- encouraging and beaming with pride as the group finds it own rhythm. I can see them communicating with each other and finding their way to facilitate.

Suddenly I am grabbed by arm- it is Esther one of the social assistants she is beaming at me and is swaying to the music and saying Asante Elllen – translated as Thank you Elayne…..i feel a swelling in my own heart- I feel the celebration of these deeply wounded women- I feel the depth of their culture. We are all dancing together now- workers, patients, Muzungus( white ones). We are all joined by the music and the ever present drum. A Mama next to me grabs my hands and we dance- she begins to let out a high pitched squeal- and teaches me her tribal call- all the women respond….Then I grabbed by another and she takes the scarf from my neck and starts to wave it in the air- which is now full of dust as we are stomping on the ground. I look down and see a woman on all fours undulating- she looks like she is giving birth- and then I realize she is blowing on the fire- and that the women around her are waving to help the fire ignite…..this is a traditional tribal dance of the South Kivu region…..the energy is very high and the women are transfixed- I am in awe- I check to see if the wonderful Silvia is capturing this moment and of course she is…..

In this moment my awareness is that we are collectively reinvigorating the fire – relighting the fire of the community around which the women can gather and dance- and heal. The fire that will protect, warm, cook and provide light- the fire that is in the center of the communal heart. I am at once deeply moved and inspired- and convinced that the healing for these women and kids comes through the dance and drumming and song- I have never been so keenly aware of the process of alchemical transformation taking place as I was in that drum circle.
As the drumming begins to quieten once again Bigge stands up- and start to teach the women some of the very Tai Chi and breathing exercises that we had taught during the training! Silvia and I just about explode with pride and joy at their incorporation of these exercises- that they had really learnt about how to manage the energy and pay attention to the need for relaxation as well as expression. Certainly there is much for the kids to learn about facilitation – how to run the group- to be more effective- but today Bigge, Eve, Imacculee and Muvee astounded us. They are the Hope for Tomorrow that is for sure- if they can be further empowered to move into the community with their message of joy and love- then the Congo has hope.

Silvia and I have been so blessed to have this connection to he kids in Hope for Tomorrow to have witnessed them really turn their own pain in to a form of creative empowerment that carries the very heart of their own culture- The re-invigoration of this Congolese resilience, joy of movement, song and dance is at the centre of recreating new communities that can function together.

What we have witnessed today is something that has deepened our commitment to supporting ASO and the group "Tumaini ya Kesho" in their amazing work. What I got see was something that I have always yearned for- the first hand experience of the crucial and vital role that theatre, music and ritual play in healing and revitalizing the core of the social fabric. What we have been able to share with ASO and the women at Panzi is the very heart of healing ritual- not orchestrated but organic to this culture. In this moment we can also have HOPE FOR TOMORROW……