Babishai Poetricks is an adventure toolkit that encourages children to maximise their creative potential using poetry, creative illustrations, movement and sound and inter-personal communication.
This programme, under the e Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation, was launched on June 16th 2015, on The day of The African Child, to promote new spaces for children aged 4 to 12. Having visited and facilitated in many primary schools in Uganda, the Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation noted a significant lack of African poetry for children. Babishai Poetricks is a toolkit divided into eleven adventures that emphasizes the use of the five human senses as a wholesome way of describing and articulating, builds on team-work and introspection to develop children individually and with others.
The busiest times are during the holidays. Over the Easter Weekend, Friday, Saturday and Monday, there were nine children who underwent the training. Ranging from 3 to 10, we articulated the five senses, compared colors to emotions, improvised with kites to determine the power of wind and had an impromptu spelling bee. This coupled with story-telling and composing their own poems, gave the children a real Babishai experience.
During the Babishai Poetry Festival which will take place from 24-2 August 2016, we will have an entire day for primary school children to perform in poetry and theater and hold a pan discussion, presenting their case for poetry.
We partner it hike-minded organizations like Malaika Educare, which is one of the largest mobile children’s libraries in Africa. With over on thousand children’s books for children in various towns, they ably deliver books to individual homes on a weekly basis.
This year on June 16th, The Day of The African Child, we will launch the Babishai Poetricks Leadership Academy for African Children Living in Africa. The main pillar of this academy is Creative Leadership Through Creative Readership. The target is African children from 4 to 12, living in Africa. We will be using the Babishai Poetricks toolkit, which is a proven workable creative method of nurturing the leaders that Uganda and Africa need.
The Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation, founded by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva, a writer editor, poet, long-distance swimmer, actress and leadership trainer, coordinates annual poetry competitions for Africans. This year, they introduced the Haiku competition, dubbed Babishaiku, they publish poetry by Africans, coordinate creative children’s programs, business programs, annual poetry festivals and poetry mentorship programs.
This year in June, Babishai is leading a team of creative explorers to the foothills of Mt. Rwenzori to hold a poetry session, launch a poetry collection and have a wide barbeque spread. Poetry on The Mountain is another annual event which Babishai will share with her audiences and friends.
Our #Babishai2016 Poetry festival runs from 24-26 August in Kampala while our #Babishai2017 Poetry festival runs from 7-9 June in Kampala.
