Tengeza Art Program

Long description

Tengeza “to make” in Swahili is an initiative by Sekoya East Africa that enables access to the arts among deaf children and youth through provision of free materials sourced from upcycling excess, scrap and slightly used craft supplies.

Tengeza was started by a group of craft artists seeking to make good use of leftover materials from projects to avoid waste and enable creative growth among deaf communities from an early age. These materials are collected through an open call for donations and after being received are prepared by volunteering artists into toolboxes that would produce re-imagined versions of handmade projects. For example, fabric donated by a textile artist would be cut into square sizes to make pockets for sanitary towels.

Once the materials are ready, artists visit the institution to make the donation but also offer workshops to illustrate how to make use of these materials. The workshops are divided into various craft activities and participants allowed to rotate through them in a drop in model. When Tengeza is taken to a school, teachers are also taught the projects to give them the creative knowledge that enables continuous learning.

This initiative has enabled deaf children to realize their artistic potential, have an avenue for creative leisure, acquire transferable skills that can be turned into economic value as artists later on in life. Since beginning, Tengeza has benefited over 250 participants. 

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