Brief overview of life at SPARK!

Ok so Frank and I (Christina) have the privilege to be volunteering at a certain youth centre/club and even organise our very own Cultural session. A slightly ironic part to this session is that the young people we invite have difficulty understanding the concept of culture but...we persevere!
Anyway, what have we been up to...Well every tuesday fom 6pm till 9pm the Bleanymaes youths are welcomed into the local community centre to have some fun and do some activities such as creating a papier mache volcano. Frank and I initially just loitered around but soon we we're chatting, playing and doodling with anyone who was around. It's been so rewarding to see a progression in relationships such as Marc (11 year old boy who comes to every youth club activity EVER) casually leaning on me or insisting I come play pool with him. These little details make me feel like I blend in to the surroundings and can flutter into different games or activities freely and welcomed. That is what is so great about the youth club nights. Nothing is set in stone: it is purely an informal place for young people to gather, to talk between themselves or talk to us youth workers, no pressure but always an invitation.

The most rewarding aspect of life at Spark has been the Cultural sessions that we plan, organise and perform at our leisure. The responsibility on us to communicate clearly and correctly our ideas is sizeable but the set up is as always informal and encouraging. Our supervisor Ioan has been amazing at supplying us with the right amount of freedom (we have no set budget and any ideas are welcome) whilst discreetly feeding us advice and criticism in the form of a friday review that keeps us on our toes! The first thursday we led was an introduction and as any introduction we presented the main theme: Culture. We have a map ( Frank and I spent a whole day making it so it represents our first achievment with pride) around which we commence every thursday. On the Culture day we had a string illustrating Frank's travel from Zambia to the U.K.
'You came all the way from Africa to be here with us?' They (7 young people) asked inquisitively.
'Um...'
I can safely say Frank and I have been dedicated to our thursday session which have included drumming, drawing, cooking nshima and banoffee pie, human bingo, making cup phones, quizzes and supplying snippets of valuable information such as how many languages they speak in India (we did a session on communication so this was relevant)...

But it would be wrong for me to let you see the world (Spark) through rose tinted glasses. Now I will expose our challenges. Number 1 is the difficulty in getting young people to come. Yesterday was our most disheartening experience when no one except Marc came (I told you he always comes)! It was a real shame as it was probably the topic most useful and relevant to them: Sexual Health. However we now have a greater incentive to spread the word and get those young people participating! I will not surrender!
Another challenge has been maintaining their attention. One of our considerations in planning the sessions is ensuring they are always kept busy as relying on them patiently listening is not an option! This applies to all young people as even Team 94 needs nurturing in the form of regular energisers and fun!

So thats the story so far...but maybe Frank can share another side to it...