How the arts help homeless youth heal and build | Malika Whitley

Translator: Clarence Bitegeko Reviewer: Samuel Njenga

Don't you love a good nap?

Hupendi usingizi mzuri?

(Laughter)

(Kicheko)

Just stealing away that small block of time

Kuiba kidogo kale kamuda kafupi

to curl up on your couch for that sweet moment of escape.

kujikunja kwenye kochi kwa muda mfupi mtamu wa kutoroka.

It's one of my favorite things,

Ni moja ya vitu nivipendavyo,

but something I took for granted

lakini sikuvitilia maanani

before I began experiencing homelessness as a teenager.

kabla sijaanza kupitia hali ya ukosefu wa makazi kama kijana.

The ability to take a nap is only reserved for stability and sureness,

Uwezo wa kusinzia kidogo ni kwa waliothabiti na wenye uhakika,

something you can't find

kitu usichoweza kupata

when you're carrying everything you own in your book bag

unapokuwa umebeba mali zako zote kwenye begi lako

and carefully counting the amount of time you're allowed to sit in any given place

na ukihesabu kwa makini kiasi cha muda unaoruhusiwa kukaa sehemu yoyote ile

before being asked to leave.

kabla hujaombwa kuondoka.

I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia,

Nimekulia Atlanta, Georgia,

bouncing from house to house

nikihamahama nyumba moja hadi nyingine

with a loving, close-knit family

na familia kipenzi ya karibu sana

as we struggled to find stability

tulipokuwa tukipambana kupata kutengamaa

in our finances.

kifedha.

But when my mom temporarily lost herself to mania

Lakini pale mama alipopata wazimu kidogo

and when that mania chose me as its primary scapegoat

na pale wazimu uliponichagua mimi kuwa msingiziwa namba 1

through both emotional and physical abuse,

kwa unyanyasaji wa kihisia na kimwili,

I fled for my safety.

nilikimbia kwa usalama wangu.

I had come to the conclusion that homelessness was safer for me

Nilfikia hitimisho kuwa kutokuwa na makazi kulikuwa salama kwangu

than being at home.

kuliko kuwa nyumbani.

I was 16.

Nilikuwa na miaka 16.

During my homelessness, I joined Atlanta's 3,300 homeless youth

Nilipokuwa asiye na makazi, nilijiunga na vijana wasio na makazi 3,300 wa Atlanta

in feeling uncared for,

katika kuhisi kutojaliwa,

left out and invisible each night.

kuachwa na kutoonekana kila usiku

There wasn't and still is not any place

Hakukuwa na bado hakuna sehemu yoyote

for a homeless minor to walk off the street

kwa mtoto mdogo asiye na makazi kutoka nje ya mtaa

to access a bed.

na kupata kitanda.

I realized that most people thought of homelessness

Nilitambua kuwa wengi hufikiri kuwa kukosa-makazi

as some kind of lazy, drug-induced squalor and inconvenience,

ni aina ya uzembe, udhalili na usumbufu utokanao na dawa za kulevya,

but that didn't represent my book bag full of clothes and schoolbooks,

lakini hilo halikuakisi begi langu lililojaa nguo na vitabu vya shule,

or my A+ grade point average.

au wastani wangu wa point wa A+.

I would sit on my favorite bench downtown

Ningekaa kwenye benchi nilipendalo mtaani

and watch as the hours passed by

na kuangalia huku masaa yakienda

until I could sneak in a few hours of sleep

hadi ningepenyeza masaa machache ya kulala

on couches, in cars,

kwenye makochi, kwenye magari,

in buildings or in storage units.

kwenye majengo au sehemu za stoo.

I, like thousands of other homeless youth, disappeared into the shadows of the city

Mimi, kama maelfu ya vijana wengine waso- makazi, nilififia katika vivuli vya jiji

while the whole world kept spinning

wakati dunia nzima ikiendelea kuzunguka

as if nothing at all had gone terribly wrong.

kama vile hakuna kitu chochote kilichokwenda vibaya

The invisibility alone almost completely broke my spirit.

Kutokuonekana pekee kulikuwa karibu kunivunja moyo kabisa.

But when I had nothing else, I had the arts,

Lakini nilipokuwa sina kitu kingine, nilikuwa na sanaa,

something that didn't demand

kitu ambacho hakikuhitaji

material wealth from me in exchange for refuge.

utajiri wa mali kutoka kwangu kubadilishana na usalama

A few hours of singing, writing poetry

Masaa machache ya kuimba na kuandika ushairi

or saving up enough money

au kuweka akiba ya pesa ya kutosha

to disappear into another world at a play

kupotelea katika ulimwengu mwingine katika igizo

kept me going and jolting me back to life when I felt at my lowest.

kuliniwezesha kwenda mbele na kunirejesha kwenye maisha nilipojihisi duni sana.

I would go to church services on Wednesday evenings

Nilikwenda kwenye huduma za kanisa kila Jumatano jioni

and, desperate for the relief the arts gave me,

na, nikitamani sana ahueni ambayo sanaa ilinipa,

I would go a few hours early,

Nilienda masaa machache mapema,

slip downstairs

na kushuka chini

and into a part of the world where the only thing that mattered

na kuingia sehemu ya ulimwengu ambayo kitu pekee cha msingi

was whether or not I could hit the right note in the song

kilikuwa ni kama nitapata noti sahihi kwenye wimbo ama la

I was perfecting that week.

Nilikuwa nikilikamilisha juma lile

I would sing for hours.

Ningeimba kwa masaa.

It gave me so much strength to give myself permission

Ilinipa nguvu nyingi kujiruhusu

to just block it all out and sing.

kufunguka mzima na kuimba.

Five years later, I started my organization, ChopArt,

Miaka mitano baadaye, Nilianzisha shirika langu, ChopArt,

which is a multidisciplinary arts organization for homeless minors.

ambalo ni shirika la sanaa mchanganyiko la watoto wasio na makazi.

ChopArt uses the arts as a tool for trauma recovery

ChopArt hutumia sanaa kama nyenzo ya kupunguza maumivu

by taking what we know about building community

kwa kuchukua tunachojua juu ya ujenzi wa jamii

and restoring dignity

na urejeshaji heshima

and applying that to the creative process.

na kutumia hiyo kwa utaratibu wa kibunifu

ChopArt is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia,

ChopArt ina makao yake makuu Atlanta, Georgia,

with additional programs in Hyderabad, India, and Accra, Ghana,

pamoja na programu za nyongeza Hyderabad, India, na Accra, Ghana,

and since our start in 2010,

na tangu tuanze mwaka 2010,

we've served over 40,000 teens worldwide.

tumehudumia zaidi ya vijana 40,000 duniani.

Our teens take refuge

Vijana wetu hupata msaada

in the transformative elements of the arts,

katika vipengele vya sanaa vyenye kubadilisha

and they depend on the safe space ChopArt provides for them to do that.

na wanategemea nafasi salama ambayo ChopArt huwapa ili wafanye hivyo.

An often invisible population uses the arts to step into their light,

Jamii ambayo mara nyingi haionekani hutumia sanaa kupiga hatua kwenye mwanga,

but that journey out of invisibility is not an easy one.

lakini safari hiyo kutoka kutokuonekana siyo rahisi sana.

We have a sibling pair, Jeremy and Kelly,

Tuna ndugu wawili, Jeremy na Kelly,

who have been with our program for over three years.

ambao wamekuwa na programu yetu kwa zaidi ya miaka 3.

They come to the ChopArt classes every Wednesday evening.

Huja kwenye vipindi vya ChopArt kila Jumatano jioni.

But about a year ago,

Lakini yapata mwaka mmoja nyuma,

Jeremy and Kelly witnessed their mom seize and die right in front of them.

Jeremy na Kelly walishuhudia mama yao akikakamaa na kufa mbele yao.

They watched as the paramedics failed to revive her.

Waliangalia huku wanahuduma ya kwanza wakishindwa kumhuisha.

They cried as their father

Walilia pale baba yao

signed over temporary custody to their ChopArt mentor, Erin,

alipotia sahihi hati ya usimamizi ya muda kwa mnasihi wao wa ChopArt, Erin,

without even allowing them to take an extra pair of clothes on their way out.

bila hata ya kuwaruhusu kuchukua jozi moja zaidi ya nguo wanapoondoka.

This series of events broke my heart,

Mfululizo huu wa matukio ulivunja moyo wangu,

but Jeremy and Kelly's faith and resolve in ChopArt

lakini imani na azma ya Jeremy na Kelly katika ChopArt

is what keeps me grounded in this work.

ndicho kinachonishikilia katika kazi hii

Kelly calling Erin in her lowest moment,

Kelly akimwita Erin awapo chini sana,

knowing that Erin would do whatever she could

akijua kuwa Erin atafanya chochote awezacho

to make them feel loved and cared for,

kuwafanya wajisikie wakipendwa na wakijaliwa,

is proof to me that by using the arts as the entry point,

ni ushahidi kwangu kuwa kwa kutumia sanaa kama pa kuingilia,

we can heal and build our homeless youth population.

tunaweza kuponya na kujenga umati wa vijana wasio na makazi

And we continue to build.

Na tunaendelea kujenga.

We build with Devin,

Tunajenga na Devin,

who became homeless with his family

ambaye amekosa makazi pamoja na familia yake

when his mom had to choose between medical bills or the rent.

pale ambapo mama alitakiwa kuchagua kati ya bili za madawa na kodi ya pango.

He discovered his love of painting through ChopArt.

Aligundua mapenzi yake ya kuchora kupitia ChopArt.

We build with Liz,

Tunajenga na Liz,

who has been on the streets most of her teenage years

ambaye amekuwa mtaani miaka yake mingi ya ujana

but turns to music to return to herself

lakini ameelekea muziki kurudi kwa nafsi yake

when her traumas feel too heavy for her young shoulders.

ambapo mateso yake yamekuwa mazito sana kwa mabega yake machanga.

We build for Maria,

Tunajenga na Maria,

who uses poetry to heal

ambaye hutumia ushairi kujiponyesha

after her grandfather died in the van

baada ya babu yake kufa ndani ya gari

she's living in with the rest of her family.

anaishi na familia yake iliyobaki.

And so to the youth out there experiencing homelessness,

Na kwahiyo kwa vijana nje huko wanaopitia kukosa makazi,

let me tell you,

wacha niwaambie,

you have the power to build within you.

mna uwezo wa kujenga ndani yenu.

You have a voice through the arts

Mna sauti kupitia sanaa

that doesn't judge what you've been through.

ambayo haihukumu umepitia mambo gani.

So never stop fighting to stand in your light

Hivyo usiache kupambana kusimama kwenye mwanga wako

because even in your darkest times,

sababu hata kwenye wakati wako wa kiza kinene,

we see you.

tunakuona.

Thank you.

Asanteni.

(Applause)

(Makofi)