Acrobatics for Children in Kayole

Dan O. is a young man of 16 who has been involved in Acrobats for Children since he was a little boy.

Dan lost his mother last week. With only a brother around, Dan is finding it difficult to cope. Thankfully, his acrobat family has supported him in his hour of need. We have helped raise funds to support the funeral expenses and kept him busy focussing on his sport - training and performing. We are there for him and will be there to see him through to better days. 

This is where it is. This is why our project is so necessary. To us, this is not just doing a sport we love. It is changing lives. Being there for the children when no one else is. Keeping desperation at bay and helping them mature into responsible and able men and women. 

We love what we do. We love seeing the change we make to these children in need. We love that you are supporting us in this. It gives us the fuel to keep on doing what we do in spite of the difficulties. 

Thanks for being there for us and the children. Thanks for being there for Dan. 

Easter holidays have come!

There are many ways a young boy or girl could spend their days in Kayole....many bad ways. 

These children and over 50 more decided to engage in something they love - acrobatics. And instead of wasting their time idling or doing silly things, they honed their craft and their discipline. They learnt new tricks. They socialised in a safe and positive environment.

Thanks to the love and support they are given, they'll turn out to be loving and supportive themselves. And hey, maybe turn out a neat performance or two!!

Thanks for being a part of changing someone's life for the better.

Matata Acrobats are looked up to and revered by local children. Kids aspire to be like them: impressing audiences, travelling the world and generally being confident of their ability and worth. They, are in a very factual sense, role models - like the larger-than-life characters that fill our kids' screens every day, but these guys are real.

As such, they understand that they have a responsibility to model positive, healthy, and safe behaviors, not only athletically, but ethically. Characteristics such as respect, confidence, leadership, originality, positive attitude, willingness to admit mistakes, and good communication are encouraged among the aspiring acrobats and their mentors seek to practice what they preach.

Children learn acrobatics by observing and imitating. Modeling is a powerful tool, not only for passing on knowledge and skills, but values as well. The guys aren’t perfect, not by any means, but they are very aware of their words as well as their actions:

“The way we speak, what we talk about, our opinions and frustrations, all influence the children’s values. We have to be safety conscious for the mind as well as the body.”

Thanks for coming this far with us. Please share our dream with others so that they can join us too.

God bless

With shows locally and abroad, Matata Acrobats is thriving.

Michael, one of the key trainers and performers, informed us that twenty-five of his fellow acrobats are touring in China, and tomorrow more of them will be heading to Kazakhstan for a month long tour there.

With school holidays just arrived (our reports often coincide with holidays) Michael and his friends are busy training up the next generation of globe-trotting performers. Up to sixty kids visit Kayole Social Hall to learn new tricks, strengthen their muscles and generally have a great time. Along with acrobatics, the kids are encouraged to pursue their dreams with discipline and vision.

The performers who train at Kayole Social Hall give their time for free. They make their living performing at shows and working other projects. The kids pay nothing for the opportunity to learn from them. The guys practice using truck tyres for springboards and sugar cane mulch for landing mats - and they are world class!

Your donations are moving this project forward from humble beginnings to big, big things.

Thanks again.

Links:

• More information on Matata Africa

Well, they've finally arrived and 1000s of children couldn't be more happier. Every day is now filled with childrens playing noises from every corner of Kayole. It's like Sunday for 7 days a week. It's the school holidays. 

At the social hall, the numbers swell from a few hundred people per day to a couple1000 due to all the kids activities happening through out the day. Over 60 kids have been showing up for daily acrobatics classes. And they are getting better. 

We've also had a few German acrobats come through the place with some gifts and some training. This was exciting and pushed our capacity to new levels. We are still looking for the gym matts and landing mattresses for safer practice. In the mean time, we've offloaded a bunch of squashed sugarcane that makes a fine outdoor matt for practicing cartwheels and flips. The kids love it and it is much much safer!

Thanks to you, we've been able to do this. Thanks to you, our practices are safer. Thanks to you, we are building lives. Thanks for walking with us. 

Please pass this email on to others who might also be interested in what we do with children of Kayole. Your support means a lot to us. We couldn't do it near as well without you!

God bless you,