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Streetwise Abantu: Rehabilitation through art
Culture Fund
June 04, 2009

Streetwise Abantu is a unique project that is rehabilitating those stigmatised in society, that is the mentally challenged, homeless and destitute and those affected by HIV and AIDS.

The project instils technical skills and provides entrepreneurial and professional skills hence capacitating the individuals to produce crafts for sale locally and internationally.

The project was started in a bid to bridge the gap left by the Streets Ahead programme which caters for the same criteria but only for those below the age of eighteen.

Streetwise Abantu Workshops operate from Harare Hospital Psychiatric Unit and the organisation is headquartered in Milton Park, Harare.

Counselling for members undergoing rehabilitation is provided at the workplace and both rehab technocratic and department heads continue to monitor the process.

All members in the workshops receive medication provided with assistance from Streetwise. There are three departments in the workshop; the papermaking department, the product-designing department and the wire craft department.

The workshops are all run by department heads under the workshop manager's supervision who ensures good product quality and control.

These products are fashioned in professional manner and grace the shelves of some of the bookshops and arts shops in the city. The products have been well received on the export market.

Streetwise Abantu rent a farmhouse in Tynwald where accommodation is offered to members of the Streetwise family.

The farmhouse where some of the members live is community based thus providing a home for them.

The set up is such that each individual caters for their own needs and is provided with their own room, but at the same time they have a community feel as they work in the fields together and are housed in the farmhouse together.

Along with this, the individuals in the programme are provided with a small stipend that they administer on their own. This is done to instill a sense of responsibility as a way of preparing them for reintegration into society.

The Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust last year commissioned the organisation to design and produce its batch of Christmas cards. This was in a bid to support culturally unique products that will make a positive impact in society.

This is a project that is quite outstanding as it is working within the arts sector and making positive changes to the community at large by assisting those that are otherwise shunned or stigmatised.

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