In my culture …
April 1, 2010 – Sawubona, Dumelang, Mhoro, Guten Tag! My name is Insa, or Insalethu, and since August 2009 I have been a proud member of the DFL family. I come from Berlin, Germany, and I am doing voluntary work through DED (German Development Service) at Wits.
So far my time here has been enriching in many ways. By working together with people from various different backgrounds, I have been able to learn a lot.
It’s amazing what possibilities Drama for Life creates. People are suddenly dealing with issues they have never dealt with before and they start opening up. This happened, for example, during a performance on human rights in Zimbabwe by a former DFL scholar, which led to a discussion on Mugabe, human rights and gay rights.
During a workshop at Sizwile School for the Deaf, I experienced how well the scholars managed to address their issues through image theatre. It was an amazing experience and I enjoyed watching the growing confidence of these often-marginalised students during our workshop.
As with any other family, the DFL encounters problems, especially in view of the fact that people come from very different social environments. We learn to deal with these cultural differences and misunderstandings as they arise.
During a workshop for DFL students, hosted by Betsi Pendry, everyone was sharing, explaining and learning about their different cultures. The phrase “in my culture” is probably the most-often-quoted phrase within Drama For Life.
During the conference and festival I helped to escort various international guests and found it amazing to encounter the creative spirit of so many artists from all over Africa.
When the new scholars arrived this year, a colleague and I escorted them through registration via the bureaucratic Wits system (this is from someone from Germany) and showed everyone around Johannesburg, which was a lot of fun.
I enjoy the DFL family so much that my goal for the future is to become the first non-African DFL scholar.
By Insa Kuschnerus