Word of mouth tells a story
She says her first day in New Zealand is hard to forget.
When Sarah Uchai arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo as a refugee, everything was different from what she was used to.
‘‘I noticed my skin colour was different to the people I saw around me, the scenery was different. Congo was violent, New Zealand looked peaceful. It felt good.’’
Before attending a recent workshop, the 16-year-old says, she was unaware of how powerful her unique memories are.
The teen is one of 14 participants at a nine-week course called Word of Mouth that runs every Saturday at the Corban Estate.
Organised by a west Aucklandbased not-for-profit called Mixit, the purpose of the programme is to help young people find their voice. Creative producer Wendy Preston says the course is unique in that the participants are going to determine the direction of the project, which will culminate in a final performance completely scripted and presented by the youths.
‘‘[Word of Mouth] is supposed to run in three phases. First, we will explore words to dig deeper and find out what it is the participants want to world.’’
This is the phase where Uchai was able to convey in words her belief that life is the best gift of all.
‘‘Being alive is precious. Life, it is like a diamond. Don’t throw it away on the small things,’’ she says.
Preston says the role of the facilitators, all of whom are proud west-Aucklanders, is to ‘‘ignite tell the the spark’’.
Recording artist and rapper Mel Bailey is one of the coaches.
‘‘I was blown away by what these young people have come up with. The stories I heard and the words they chose, it gave me goosebumps.’’
In the second phase, the participants are going to start taking ownership of their work and decide how their story should be told.
‘‘It is time to take the words off the paper and on the floor,’’ says Bailey.
Finally, the Mixers would take creative control of their work and put on a performance.
Mixit is a creative youth arts project for 13-20 year olds with a refugee background, however, young people from all backgrounds are welcome.