My name is Victor, I live in Hillbrow but I am from Kwa-Zulu Natal from my mother’s side. I am 16 years of age. I am very artistic, that’s what I do, you know? I am also talented and I am a kind person. I am a child in Lefika La Phodiso. I understand that I am a volunteer, no a ‘volunteen’, but I am a child in Lefika La Phodiso. I came to Lefika La Phodiso in 2015, and still counting. The first image I drew is of darkness, and the second is a rough ugly sketch of light. In 2015 I was shy and filled with anxiety and depression. I think I was most of the time, except if I was with the facilitators. Then people in Lefika La Phodiso gave me their hands. They let me know that I have their support. In the second image, it’s a child and another person asking what is wrong, it’s like me asking another child what is wrong, because I have been given the support of the people of Lefika La Phodiso. It will be a big thing for me to give another child support and make the child feel safe because Lefika La Phodiso is a safe space. I was 8 or 9 in 2015, which means I have been at Lefika La Phodiso for more than half my life so far, because there is no other place than Lefika La Phodiso where I feel accepted. My mother learned how to love me because of Lefika La Phodiso, and I got to and have made friends in the NSA (National School of the Arts) because of Lefika La Phodiso. I have become a better person because of Lefika La Phodiso because back then I had serious anger issues. That is the main reason why I came to Lefika La Phodiso, and I adapted to the place. I preferred to be called Victor, my first name. The reason I didn’t want Sphesihle or Sihle was because that name, a beautiful name of course, carried traumatic things from my past and I didn’t want to bring that with me when I came to Lefika La Phodiso. I have been abused by people using that name, and I have treated people badly using that name. It gave me an opportunity to explore different parts of myself. I was a monster, a terrible monster, living in a monster’s cave. I’m not an angel, I can’t say that, but what I have learned is that having the right people around you, you can change from being a monster or a boulder to something special in one’s life. I want to be there for people the same way Lefika La Phodiso would be there for me. That’s how I intend to make my life. The empathy part is important. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Without really knowing them and what they are going though, you are just trying to help them.
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